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A Special Study on the History, Origin, and "Problem" of Halloween

Part 2 of 4

End Notes Indicated Within Brackets And Listed On Page 4

II. Later History

A. As the Catholic Church gained power in Europe, it systematically forbade any practice of pagan holidays.

  1. It was soon discovered that such a command was not always obeyed, especially when the old holiday was very popular.
  2. When there was a danger of widespread disobedience, the church hit upon an ingenious idea: it would change or "Christianize" the meaning of the holiday and let the people continue to celebrate.
  3. This practice involved giving the holiday both a Christian name and a "Christianized" meaning. It is similar to what anthropologists refer to as cultural reinterpretation, which is the process whereby an imported cultural trait or feature is reinterpreted to make it compatible with the values of the society embracing it [14].
  4. Christmas, Easter, and Halloween are all holidays which were Christianized by the Catholic Church. As one newspaper states: The name "Halloween" has distinctly Christian origins. In efforts to stop seemingly non-Christian celebrations, the Roman Catholic Church incorporated Samhain festivities into the Christian calendar [15].

B. Pope Boniface IV established an anniversary dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the martyrs when he consecrated a feast day on May 13, 609 (or 610).

  1. This feast day was moved to November 1st by Pope Gregory III in the eighth century in order to mark the dedication of the All Saints Chapel in Rome. This established November 1st as All Saints Day and October 31st as All Hallows' Eve [16]. This seems to be the process whereby the older holiday was "Christianized."
  2. The phrase "All Hallow's Eve" was often referred to as "Hallow E'en" (from Hallow's Evening) and was eventually corrupted into the modern term, "Halloween."

C. According to the Catholic Church, All Saints Day was "instituted to honour all the saints, known and unknown, and, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful's celebration of saints' feasts during the year." According to Christianity Today, "The move was a means to claim the day for Christians, yet connections to pagan, Wiccan, and Druid beliefs remained" [17].

D. Conclusion

  1. Pope Boniface IV moved a Catholic holiday onto the date of a popular pagan feast day. Although there is no documentation to prove the assertion, it seems probable that this was done in an attempt to "Christianize" the old holiday.
  2. Therefore, Halloween, as we have it today, is a commercialized holiday which can be traced first to an ancient pagan feast day which was then appropriated by the Catholic Church and identified with Christian saints.

Some Quick Facts About The Modern Holiday

  1. The pumpkin is one of America's oldest known vegetables.
  2. Some pumpkins can weigh as much as 200 pounds. The largest pumpkin on record (as of 2006) weighed 1137 pounds.
  3. Pumpkins can be orange, white, or yellow.
  4. 93 percent of children will go trick-or-treating.
  5. Ninety percent of parents admit to sneaking goodies from their kids' Halloween trick-or-treat bags.
  6. In Ireland, the kids get out of school for Halloween week.
  7. Kids ages 6-11 years old say if they were given lots of candy, they would:
    * Share some with their family, 66 percent
    * Share the candy with their friends, 64 percent
    * Give some to their teacher, 26 percent
    * Keep it all for themselves, 7 percent
    * Don't know what they would do, 2 percent

    Source: National Confectioner's Assn.

Next - The Problem Of Halloween