Halloween And Christianity

448 Words1 Page

Halloween and Christianity

It is often said that Halloween is not the "harmless" holiday it is

thought to be, instead it is believed to be a pagan ritual which dates back to

the ancient Celtic Druids. According to the article "Should Our Kids Celebrate

Halloween?" in Catholic Digest Halloween's origin is very much Christian and

American.

Although the ancient Celts celebrated a minor festival on the 31st of

October, it fell on that day because the Feast of All Saints or "All Hallows"

falls on November 1st. During the 840s Pope Gregory IV gad All Saints Day to be

celebrated everywhere. The day before the feast became known as "All Hallows

Even" or "Hallowe'en". At the time, that day did not have any real significance.

In the year of 998, the abbot of the monastery of Cluny in southern France, St.

Odilo added a celebration on November 2nd called All Souls Day. The new

celebration was a feast whose purpose was to recognize those in heaven and in

purgatory.

The tradition of dressing up in costumes on Halloween is derived from

the Feast of All Souls Day in France. During the 14th and 15th centuries when

Europe was hit by outbreaks of the bubonic plague, about half of its population

was wiped out. Since life spans were greatly shortened because of the plague,

Catholics began to focus on the after life. The number of Masses help largely

increased and people of all social classes gathered to dress in different

garments and lead lost spirits to the tomb in a daisy chain which became known

as the "Dance of Death".

Dressing up did not become part of Halloween until the creation of the

British colonies in North America. During that period of time, Catholics had no

legal rights in England. At times English Catholics attempted to resist. One

such occasion was a plot to destroy King James I and his Parliament with

gunpowder. The plan was ill-conceived and easily foiled when the guard of the

powder, Guy Fawkes, was found and hung on November 5, 1605. The date became

widely celebrated in England. Bands of revelers began to wear masks on that date

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