Trick or Treat?

In the evening of October 31st the doorbell rings. You open it and see one or more urchins dressed as witcnes, goblins, mummies, the Frankenstein monster, ghosts, and in other scary costumes.

“Trick or treat,” they say and hold out a bag for candy.

The newcomer to North America is bewildered. What is this all about? Isn’t that evening supposed to be a religious holiday? Didn’t Martin Luther nail his 95 Theses to the church door on that day because he expected peoiple to come to attend mass?

Dear readers, Halloween today has been transformed from an ancient pagan festival into a fun night for kids and adults alike. Kids go out in the evening treat-or-treating, while adults don outlandish costumes and party into the wee hours. It’s an occasion to get together and blow off steam. There are even parades of enthusiasts showing off their costumes and, of course, the Gay Pride crowd showing us the finger and saying, Up yours.

Halloween follows Christmas in terms of money spent on costumes, sweets, and other accessories. Billions. Just go to any supermarket and see all of the wares on display, tempting you to buy and participate in the festivities.

What is behind these strange celebrations?

Halloween means All Hallows Eve, Hallowmass or the vigil of All Saints’ Day on November 1st, when people in European countries visit the graves of their departed family members.

The festival and its attendant ceremonies go back long before Christianity. For the Celtic peoples, Samhain (Sah-ween) was the most important festival of the year. It marked the end of summer and the beginning of the season of darkness. The Celts believed that on this night the souls of the dead could mingle with the living. Accordingly, on Halloween the Celtic peoples lit bonfires to honor the dead, to aid them on their journey to the netherworld, and to keep them away from the living. Scary stuff.

The Druids believed that on the eve of their great sutumn festival (November 1st ), Saman, the lord of death, assembled the wicked souls that during the past twelve months had been condemned to inhabit the bodies of animals. In Ireland to this day, the festival is still known as Oidhche Shamhna, “Vigil of Saman.”

On November 1st the Romans held a festival to honor Pomona, an autumn goddess who was keeper of fruit trees and orchards. Some of the ceremonies of that festival were grafted onto the Druidic festival. These include the roasting of nuts and “apple-ducking” –trying to seize an apple floating in a tub of water with your teeth.

Are all of these goings-on just innocent fun?

Christian churches have taken a dim view of Halloween, condemning it as a glorification of paganism.

Recently, the evangelist Pat Robertson launched into a tirade against Halloween, warning people that the day is meant to celebrate Satan and his minions.

The Cathiolic Church wasn’t far behind in condemning the festival.

If we don’t take Halloween seriously, what harm can it do to a person’s religious faith?

In bis book Halloween: From Pagan Festival to Party Night, Nicholas Rogers nails it. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, he shows how Halloween, at bottom, is a night of inversion when social norms are turned upside down and freedom of expression rules the day. Moreover, it’s a people’s holiday not controlled by any church or other organized group.

What’s there not to like?