HALLOWEEN HISTORY

We know that Christmas is the holiday which brings the most income to business. But do you know which holiday is second most profitable? Valentine’s day? No. Easter? No. Thanksgiving? No again. The answer is Halloween. It is very popular and very profitable in the U.S. But where did Halloween come from?

“Hallow” in Old English means “holy” or “sacred” (as in the Lord’s Prayer’s “Hallowed be Thy Name”). “Hallow’s Eve” or “Halloween” simply means the “evening of holy persons” and refers to the evening before All Saints Day, which is November 1 on many Christian calendars. In the early years when Rome persecuted Christians, so many martyrs died for the faith that the Church set aside special days to honor them. In 607 Emperor Phocas presented to the Pope the beautiful Pantheon temple in Rome. Originally built in 27 BC by Agrippa in honor of Augustus’ victory at Actium and dedicated to Jupiter, the Pantheon was one of the few remaining old heathen temples. Pope Boniface IV quickly removed the statues of Jupiter and other pagan gods and consecrated the Pantheon to “all saints” who had died from Roman persecutions in the first three hundred years after Christ. During the dedication on May 13th in the year 609 or 610, a procession of 28 carriages brought the bones of martyrs from the various cemeteries to the church. In following years, a festival of All Hallows or All Saints Day honoring all martyrs spread throughout the western part of the Roman Empire.

PAGAN PRACTICES

In the eighth century Pope Gregory II moved the church festival of All Saints to November 1, partly to substitute for the popular pagan celebration of the Celtic New Year, which honored both the Sun god and Samhain, Lord of the Dead.

The Celts believed that at the New Year the dead came back to mingle among the living. They were greeted with tables loaded with food. After feasting, masked and costumed villagers, representing the souls of the dead, paraded to the outskirts of the town leading the ghosts away. Horses, sacred to the Sun god, were often sacrificed, and there are some records of human sacrifice during the festival.

Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) moved to restrict such pagan practices and told the people that “They are no longer to sacrifice beasts to the devil, but they may kill them for food to the praise of God, and give thanks to the giver of all gifts for His bounty.” Many, however, held on to pagan beliefs along with Christianity. Sometimes ancient gods were transformed into Christian saints, angels and heroes. Scriptures were allegorized to allow for many of these beliefs. Even into the eleventh century, many pagan beliefs were accepted by Christians – beliefs such as the fear of Fate, the use of medicinal herbs with incantations, and sacrifices at springs and crossroads to the spirits of the place (still observable in Mexico).

The devil became absorbed into the magical world of fairies, goblins, dwarfs and imps. Demons were said to appear in animal forms. Such beliefs, of course, diverged markedly from the Scripture, where the devil and his demons are cosmic personalities conquered by Christ on the cross.

In the tenth century, Abbot Odilo of Cluny began celebrating the November 2 following “All Saints’ Day” as “All Souls’ Day” to honor not just the martyrs, but all Christians who had died. People prayed for the dead, and many other superstitions continued and food was offered to the dead.

Though the church was able to destroy the pagan temples, it never fully eradicated pagan beliefs. In the Middle Ages, witchcraft and the worship of Satan continued to find followers.

It is reported this is the way the various Halloween traditions started:

JACK-O'-LANTERNS

Legend has it that an Irishman named Jack was too wicked to go to heaven and expelled from hell for playing tricks on the devil. So, Jack had to walk the earth forever carrying a lantern to ward off spirits.

TRICK OR TREAT Until recent times in some parts of Europe, it was believed that on this night witches and warlocks flew abroad; and huge bonfires were built to ward off these malevolent spirits. In the week before the Celtic Druids lit their bonfires, young boys would go begging for materials to burn. Eventually, the boys began asking for food treats too. This led to todays trick-or-treating customs.

COMMUNITY PARTIES

America's contribution to the Halloween holiday is the development of community parties. Some communities decided to hold organized activities on Halloween to keep mischievous trick and treaters out of trouble. Anoka, Minnesota is credited with holding the first community Halloween Party in 1921.

PUMPKIN A woman was asked by a coworker, “What is it like to be a Christian?” The coworker replied, “It is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then he cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc., and then He carves you a smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for all the world to see.”