Halloween has long been celebrated as a fun-filled holiday of spooky treats.
Actually, it’s second only to Christmas as the most profitable holiday and about half of American households celebrate it.*But there’s so much more to the day itself than the merrymaking we enjoy today.
Halloween, also known as All Hallows Eve and Samhain, has marked the end of the harvest season for thousands of years. It was a festive, pagan occasion celebrating the harvesting of the last crops. Ingrained in those ancient cultures was also a deep-rooted belief of ancestor worship. Honoring and remembering those who came before them was integral in their spiritual belief system.
Marking the end of summer’s fruitful abundance and beginning of fall/winter’s season of death or dormant period, it’s easy to understand why the ancients believed that at this time of year or on this day in particular the veil between our living world and the spirit world was thinnest, allowing an easy way to communicate with those who’ve passed on. Since ancestors were thought of with love and longing, there was nothing scary about this day. There was no fear of the dead. Though they believed in an afterlife, heaven and hell were foreign concepts back then.
While the dead weren’t feared, the living spirits of impish fairies and elves caused enough mischief to terrify the pastoral countrysides. Of course, the mischief’s source was human and it laid the foundation for the beginning of our Mischief Night on October 30th.
As early Christianity took hold in Rome, many pagan festivities and beliefs succumbed (at knife point) to the new religion. In order to convert pagans more easily, Christianity incorporated some of the ancient practices. Fairies were considered demons and devils and the spirits of beloved family members were reduced to horrifying ghosts. With the introduction of these new ideas, the traditional, celebratory beliefs of Samhain took on a scarier tone as those in charge exploited pagan superstitions surrounding an otherwise joyous occasion. (To be fair, Christian belief was just as deep as that of the ancient pagans and the church felt it was their duty to save the pagans from eternal damnation. Of course, scholars/historians have also conjectured that less honorable motives may also have been involved.)
As Christianity assimilated some pagan beliefs, All Hallows Eve (October 31) extended to All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2). The celebration was intended to honor all those who have died.
While we’d like to think that celebrating the dead is an old-fashioned pagan practice, it’s actually alive and well all around the world in cultures spanning from Asia and Europe to the Americas. Occasionally, these days of remembrance also include the idea of New Year’s celebrations (honoring the end of one aspect of life followed by celebrating the future).
So, as you don scary, silly, and sexy costumes for this night of fright and send out your kids for the tricks and treats in which they delight, say a prayer for those who’ve passed away to keep those “evil” spirits at bay :)
Happy Halloween!
Sources:
"Halloween" by Silver Ravenwolf
* "The Real Story of Halloween" - History Channel
Picture of me and Jeff is from 1998.
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