“Today is October 31—Halloween has finally arrived!” That’s what my 7 year old daughter yelled first thing in the morning rubbing her sleepy eyes and waiting for breakfast. Kids do love Halloween. It’s only natural—lots of candy is always a good idea, isn’t it? Meanwhile, adults are divided into three large groups: Halloween fans and supporters, people who don’t mark the last day of October with a red marker on their calendar and people who are strongly opposed to the very idea of celebrating Halloween or even mentioning it in conversation. Attitudes to the most creepy holiday of the year are ambiguous.  While Jack-o-Lantern enthusiasts organize themed parties, joyfully trick-or- treating alongside their children on the Sweets Hunt, Halloween’s ardent opponents ignore the ancient feast of All Saints. They wholeheartedly believe  that the spooky holiday comes straight from the devil and, thus, does not deserve a good word. So is it worth spending time to decorate your home and front yard, buying rather expensive costumes and packing up on sweet threats?

The United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom are indisputable leaders in the scale of Halloween celebrations. There is no surprise here, since  the holiday with an afterlife taste originated from the Celtic pagan festival Samhain. Celts observed it as the the end of the harvest season, marking the beginning of winter. Over time, Samhain partly overlapped the Roman Catholic holiday of All Saints, which was celebrated on November 1, and, having mixed up with the European folk traditions, it was reborn in today’s Halloween, which we either joyfully celebrate or steer clear off.

The ancient Celts believed that on the All Saints Eve, the dead returned to the earth, blurring the lines between the worlds of the living and the dead. Therefore, in order to mislead and confuse evil spirits, people dressed up as ghosts and witches, lit torches and jumped through the fire, cleansing themselves from filth. Interesting…

Personally I find a bunch of similarities between the old Halloween celebration and the St.John the Baptist holiday which used to be a pagan festival.  The essence of the latter is purification by means of two most powerful natural forces: the Fire and the Water. It is the oldest type of enchantment. The attributes of the two holidays are also very alike: hearths and ritual ceremonies protecting from all the evil. Our ancestors believed that in order to repel the dark forces attack, they should place sheaves of nettle on the windowsill and doorstep. And what about our ancestors’ belief in the magic power of fern blossom and wreathes on the water fortune telling? Sum it all up and you will clearly see that mysticism and superstition go side by side with any pagan rooted holiday—and Halloween is no exception.

Generally speaking, many of our favorite holidays emerged from the pagan beliefs and rituals. Let’s take for example, Christmas. It was born from the holiday of the winter solstice, or Easter—the result of spring fruitfulness rite. The difference between these red-letter days and Halloween is only the timeline. Under the strong influence of Christianity most ancient feasts had abandoned  their pagan features much earlier than Halloween. The mysterious holiday of skeletons and werewolves started losing its magical after-tone in the nineteenth century.  And a century later it turned into a children’s fancy dress party with sweets and parades.

 A little bit of magic dust still remains in the countries of Latin America.  There Halloween is celebrated as a preamble to a well-respected holiday – El Día de Muertos – The Day of the Dead.  It is commemorated on the first day of November and still acquires religious tint. Families get together and pay tribute to their dead members (in certain ways, The Day of the Dead reminds me of the Dead Memorial Week that Orthodox Eastern Rite Christians have after Easter).  However, Latin Americans also wear death-themed costumes of witches, mummies, ghosts, etc. and take part in the street parades.

While thinking whether it is worth celebrating All Saints Eve, I came across an article written by someone called Alan Rudnik—a pastor at the Baptist church in the United States, who is currently earning a Doctor of Divinity degree, entitled “Seven Reasons Why a Christian Can Celebrate Halloween”.  I advise reading it to those who are still on the fence about Halloween celebrations, who are afraid the Lord will punish them for “flirting with death”. Here is a link to the article: 

http://www.alanrudnick.org/2010/10/28/7-reasons-why-christians-should-celebrate-halloween

To summarize all thoughts, I am planning on introducing my profoundly religious friends with pro-Halloween reasons to celebrate. 

After all, how often do we, adults, have the opportunity to imagine ourselves as some mythological characters or superheroes accompanying our “monstrous sweethearts” on a quiet evening chocolate hunt? Have to run! School Halloween parade is about to start!