The Truth About Halloween

By Catherine Beyer

What is Halloween?

Halloween is a secular holiday combining vestiges of traditional harvest festival celebrations with customs more specific to the occasion such as costume wearing, trick-or-treating, pranksterism, and decorations based on imagery of death and the supernatural. The observance takes place on October 31.

Though it was regarded up until the last few decades of the 20th century as primarily a children's holiday, in more recent years common Halloween activities such as mask wearing, costume parties, themed decorations, and even trick-or-treating have grown quite popular with adults as well, making Halloween an all-ages celebration.

What does the name 'Halloween' mean?

The name Halloween (originally spelled Hallowe'en) is a contraction of All Hallows Even, meaning the day before All Hallows Day (better known as All Saints Day), a Catholic holiday commemorating Christian saints and martyrs observed since the early Middle Ages on November 1.

How and when did Halloween originate?

The best available evidence indicates that Halloween originated in the early Middle Ages as a Catholic vigil observed on the eve of All Saints Day, November 1.

It has become commonplace to trace its roots even further back in time to a pagan festival of ancient Ireland known as Samhain (pronounced sow'-en or sow'-een), about which little is actually known. The prehistoric observance marked the end of summer and the onset of winter, and is said to have been celebrated with feasting, bonfires, sacrificial offerings, and paying homage to the dead.

Despite some thematic similarities, there's scant evidence of any real continuity of tradition linking the Medieval observance of Halloween to Samhain, however. Some modern historians, notably Ronald Hutton (The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain, 1996) and Steve Roud (The English Year, 2008, and A Dictionary of English Folklore, 2005), flatly reject the commonly held notion that November 1 was designated All Saints Day by the Church to "Christianize" the pagan festival. Citing a lack of historical evidence, Steve Roud dismisses the Samhain theory of origin altogether.

"Certainly the festival of Samhain, meaning Summer's End, was by far the most important of the four quarter days in the medieval Irish calendar, and there was a sense that this was the time of year when the physical and supernatural worlds were closest and magical things could happen," Roud notes, "but however strong the evidence in Ireland, in Wales it was May 1 and New Year which took precedence, in Scotland there is hardly any mention of it until much later, and in Anglo-Saxon England even less."

Earliest Halloween customs

The earliest documented customs attributable to Halloween proper grew out of the tandem observances of All Saints Day (November 1), a day of prayer for saints and martyrs of the Church, and All Souls Day (November 2), a day of prayer for the souls of all the dead. Among the practices associated with Halloween during the Medieval period were the lighting of bonfires, evidently to symbolize the plight of souls lost in purgatory, and souling, which consisted of going door-to-door offering prayers for the dead in exchange for "soul cakes" and other treats. Mumming (or "guising"), a custom originally associated with Christmas consisting of parading in costume, chanting rhymes, and play-acting, was a somewhat later addition to Halloween.

Again, however, despite the obvious similarities between old and new, it's an overstatement to say these Medieval customs "survived" to the present day, or even that they "evolved" into modern Halloween practices such as trick-or-treating. There's no direct historical evidence of such a continuity. By the time Irish immigrants brought the holiday to North America in the mid-1800s, mumming and souling were all but forgotten in their home country, where the known Halloween customs of the time consisted of praying, communal feasting, and playing divination games such as bobbing for apples.

The secular, commercialized holiday we know today would be barely recognizable to Halloween celebrants of even just a century ago.

Is Halloween Christian, Pagan, or Secular?

The most straightforward answer is "secular." People who celebrate this day in a religious context generally do not call it Halloween, and the common practices associated with Halloween such as costuming and giving of treats are secular celebrations.

Christian Origins – All Hallows Eve and All Saints Day

However, Halloween evolved out of a Catholic holiday called All Hallows Eve, which occurs the day before All Saints Day, a general celebration of the saints on November 1.

In turn, All Saints Day originally was celebrated on May 13, and in the Orthodox Church is continues to be celebrated in late spring on the first Sunday after Pentecost, which in turn is seven weeks after Easter. Pope Gregory III is commonly credited with moving it in the 9th century to November 1, although the reasons for the move are debatable.

Ancient Celtic Origins - Samhain

It is often argued, most commonly by neo-pagans and Christians who are against Halloween celebrations, that All Saints Day was moved to November 1 to co-opt a Celtic Irish celebration called Samhain.

Did the Catholic Church Co-opt Samhain?

There is no direct evidence to say they did. Gregory's reasons for moving it from May 13 to November 1 remain mysterious. A twelfth century writer suggested it was because Rome could support larger numbers of pilgrims in November than in May.

There are similarities. Samhain appears to have connection with the dead and may have involved communication with, placating of, or honoring of those who had died. All Saints is a celebration of dead saints, whom Catholics communicate with through prayer and offerings in the hopes of the saints acting as intermediaries between humanity and God.

However, Ireland is a long way from Rome, and Ireland was Christian by the time of Gregory. So the logic of changing a feast day throughout Europe to co-opt a holiday originally celebrated in a small portion of it has some substantial weaknesses.

What is Samhain and How Does it Relate to Halloween?

Historically, Samhain was an Irish Celtic harvest festival that marked the beginning of the winter season. It is not likely to have been held on a specific calendar day, but rather whenever the harvest was finished for the year.

Connections between Samhain and Halloween

There are a variety of Halloween traditions often credited to Samhain, such as costume wearing and the creation of hallowed out vegetables (predecessors to the jack-o-lantern). Readers are cautioned to be very wary of such claims. The Irish were non-literate before the coming of the Romans and even then left us no documents about their society. Most of what we know of them therefore comes from outside sources, often people who had never actually met the Irish or, more often, were writing hundreds of years after their pagan society had vanished.

In addition, the common claim is that ancient Celtic practices became folklore practices in the Christian period which is how they were transformed into modern Halloween celebrations. Again, the evidence is often sketchy, with most of it dating on a couple centuries back. Many of these claims of Halloween celebrations being ancient are therefore conjecture at best.

Samhain in Mythology

From the mythological stories (again, written many centuries after Christianization), Samhain appears to be a time of transitions when chaos reigns. The are references to the closeness of the Otherworld to the world of the living during this time, and it is commonly associated with divinations and remembrances of the dead. The mythology rarely if ever touches upon specific rituals performed by common people.

Modern Samhain Celebrations

Today, a variety of neo-pagans celebrate Samhain. Many celebrate it the night of October 31, but some calculate the date via other methods such as astrologically or even by when local harvests are completed. Some even refer to the holiday as "Halloween" rather than as "Samhain," which merely further confuses the issue.

Modern celebrations manifest in a wide variety of ways. First, they may reflect mythology and beliefs specific to the celebrating neo-pagans. Wiccans and Druids, who belong to two separate neo-pagan religions, might hold significantly different celebrations, for example. Second, they frequently reference Northern European folklore or Celtic practices as they understand them to have been (which may or may not align with what was actually historically).

Modern Samhain celebrations are certainly not part of an unbroken pagan tradition. In fact, they post-date the secular emergence of Halloween.

Is Halloween Satanic?

Only in certain circumstances, and not historically.

Halloween is most directly related to the Catholic holiday of All Hallows Eve, although it has picked up a variety of practices and beliefs most likely borrowed from folklore. Even the origins of those practices are often questionable, with evidence dating back only a couple hundred years and older records being suspiciously mum about what might have been taking place around the end of October.

None of these things have anything to do with Satanism. In fact, if Halloween folk practices had anything to do with spirits, it would have been primarily to keep them away, not attract them. That would be the opposite of common perceptions of "Satanism."

Satanic Adoption

When Anton LaVey formed the Church of Satan in the mid-20th century, he stipulated three holidays for his version of Satanism, the first organized religion to ever label itself Satanic. The first and most important was the Satanist's own birthday. The other two are Walpurgisnacht (April 30) and Halloween (October 31). Both dates were often considered "witch holidays" in popular culture and thus linked with Satanism. LaVey adopted Halloween less because of any inherent Satanic meaning in the date and more as a joke on those who had superstitiously feared it.

Conclusion

So, yes, Satanists do celebrate Halloween as one of their holidays. However, this is a recent adoption. Halloween was being celebrated long before Satanists had anything to do with it. Therefore, historically Halloween is not Satanic, and today it only makes sense to call it a Satanic holiday when referencing its celebration by actual Satanists.

Sources and Further Reading

• Adams, W. H. Davenport. Curiosities of Superstition and Sketches of Some Unrevealed Religions. London: J. Masters & Co., 1882.
• Aveni, Anthony. The Book of the Year: A Brief History of Our Seasonal Holidays. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
• Hutton, Ronald. The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
• Opie, Iona and Tatem, Moira. A Dictionary of Superstitions. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
• Rogers, Nicholas. Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
• Roud, Steve. The English Year. London: Penguin Books, 2008.
• Roud, Steve and Simpson, Jacqueline. A Dictionary of English Folklore. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
• Santino, Jack. "Halloween: The Fantasy and Folklore of All Hallows." The American Folklore Center, Library of Congress, September 1982.
• Santino, Jack (Ed.). Halloween and Other Festivals of Death and Life. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1994.
• Skal, David J. Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween. New York: Bloomsbury, 2002.
• Wolfson, Jill. "Halloween Handwringing." Salon.com, 29 Oct. 1999.


Source

Did St. Nikolai Velimirovich Write Against Halloween?

St. Nikolai Velimirovich

By John Sanidopoulos

This question brings up many issues, so I'm going to explain the process of how I arrived at the answer in order to clarify some of these issues.

As every Halloween for the past five years, I received quite a bit of Halloween-hate mail from Halloween-haters due to what I have written and posted on Halloween, in which I expose the falsehoods many Orthodox Christians and non-Orthodox love to circulate around this holiday. Though I have a tendency to just ignore it all, this year something different happened. This year my annual Halloween-hate mail came with an attachment from an alleged essay written by St. Nikolai Velimirovich (sometimes spelled "Nikolaj Velimirovic") on the topic of Halloween. When I first saw it, I wondered, how could this possibly slip by me in my research? But as I began to read it, I noticed something very peculiar.

The Halloween Debate In Russia

Maria Kuchma
October 31, 2011
RIA Novosti

As Western youths flock to Halloween parties dressed as ghosts, zombies and witches, opinion polls show most Russians will ignore the event, with only a few people planning to celebrate a holiday many Russian officials and religious authorities claim is “Satanic."

Sixty-seven percent of Russians said they had no plans to mark one of the world's oldest – and most commercialized – holidays, according to a poll conducted by Russia’s Levada Center in late October.

Just 6 percent of Russians plan to attend Halloween parties on the night of October 31, amid growing concerns the psychological and social impact of the Celtic holiday is “destructive.” The low expected participation rate comes despite increasing Russian awareness of the holiday, which grew from 54 percent to 73 percent in the past five years.

Education officials and religious figures have fuelled fears about the Halloween celebrations, which date to Pagan times. Back in 2003, the Education Department of the city of Moscow recommended that primary and secondary school teachers ban Halloween at schools.

According to a recommendation issued by the department, the holiday stems from “rituals of Satanically oriented religious sects” and promotes “the cult of death.” Quoting psychologists, the document’s author concludes that Halloween celebrations “mystify and satanize a child’s mind,” leading to the “moral corruption of children.”

Halloween, which once marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of winter, gained popularity in Russia after the Soviet collapse, with the first Halloween parties held in Russian schools in the late 1990s, said Konstantin Ushakov, the editor-in-chief of the magazine School Headmaster.

“Before that time, we did not know anything about the holiday,” he said, adding that Halloween celebrations in Russia “were not prompted by any social or political reasons – people just wanted to have one more holiday.”

Following a global trend, the popularity of Haloween, which has long lost its religious meaning and is viewed by youths as an opportunity for fun rather than a Satanic party, has increased in big Russian cities since the fall of the Iron Curtain, but the Russian provinces remain largely untouched by Halloween fever.

“Banning Halloween?! It’s a witch-hunt and bigotry!” said a 26-year-old Muscovite, who identified herself as Yekaterina. She recalled her school Halloween parties as joyful events that had nothing to do with “Satanism.”

“Each group of students prepared some attractions for the party – a Panic Room, a fortune telling session, or a Haloween Pumpkins contest for example. We sang English songs and organized performances for our parents,” she said.

"I've always enjoyed Halloween," said Julia Planova, a Russian-born student from Ottawa. She said, however, that she understood why some people do not want children to celebrate the holiday.

“Many girls dress slutty for Halloween. Here [in Ottawa] for example, most people buy their costumes in sex shops," said Julia, whose family left Russia for Canada in the late 1990s. "Children’s moral values can certainly be damaged by such things."

“But ‘Satanism’ is all around," she added. "Take various films about vampires for example... Banning Halloween alone would not change anything."

'Secular' education

Besides the psychological threats allegedly posed by Halloween, opponents say the holiday should be banned from schools because under the Constitution, Russia is a secular state.

In July, the Education Department in Russia’s northern Republic of Karelia addressed a letter to local education authorities and school headmasters recommending that Halloween parties that “include religious elements” and therefore violate the “secular character of education” in Russia, be cancelled at schools throughout Karelia.

Instead, “new forms of school holidays based on Russian cultural values” should be promoted among children, the document reads.

Ushakov dismissed the argument that Halloween’s “religious” nature makes it unsuitable for schools.

“I believe that this argument is not relevant anymore, because the pressure of non-secular education [at schools] is quite strong,” he said.

A few years ago, the Russian authorities moved to introduce optional religious education at secondary schools, which is due to include a course on Russia's four largest religions, as well as on secular ethics. A subject called the Basics of Orthodox Culture has already been launched in some Russian regions as part of an experiment by the Russian Education Ministry.

The move, which was supported by more than two thirds of Russians, according to a 2009 poll by Levada Center, as well the Russian Orthodox Church and leaders of some other religions, sparked heated public debates. Many public figures, rights activists and other religious leaders have warned that the initiative would lead to discrimination and social divisions.

As for Halloween, Ushakov said he believed its celebration at schools was “quite normal.”

“There are many holidays that have pagan roots and I don’t see the need to link the holiday to any deep ideology,” he said. “If they want to celebrate – let them.”

Halloween is not the only holiday considered “improper” by Russian conservatives. The increasing popularity of St. Valentine's Day among Russian youths has also alarmed some high-ranking officials and religious authorities, who have warned of the holiday’s “negative influence” on the youngsters’ “spiritual security” and their “moral values.”

In 2008, Russia introduced an alternative to St. Valentine's, the Day of Family, Love and Faithfulness. The holiday, also known as the Day of Sts. Peter and Fevronia, the Orthodox patrons of marriage, is marked on July 8 with a daisy being its symbol instead of a red heart. Russia’s first lady Svetlana Medvedev is among the new holiday’s most active promoters.

How Christians Made Halloween A Satanic Holiday

By John Sanidopoulos

When it comes to religion, Halloween was always viewed as a Christian holy day. Beginning with the 1930's through till the 1950's, Halloween was regarded on a secular level as primarily an innocent children's holiday, and there was never a reason to think otherwise. Halloween festivities were mostly limited to school and family activities, and trick-or-treating became a nationwide custom to bring neighborhoods together after they were devastated with childish pranks during the time of the financial collapse of the 1930's. Even horror movies during this time were primarily moralistic gothic tales where good and evil were clearly delineated.

However, the 1960's would bring a new paranoia among American parents, and this was the fear of deranged adults who specifically sought to harm innocent trick-or-treaters. Urban myths through the help of the media began to circulate about razor blades hidden in apples and candy coated in rat poison. In the early 1970's, this fear would become combined with the beliefs of conservative fundamentalist Christians that Satanic cults roamed the country and plotted to kidnap and sacrifice children on Halloween night. In the wake of this, community safety standards were further stressed concerning the practice of trick-or-treat. In some areas, it was required that the children trick-or-treat during the daylight hours, before it got dark. In other areas, trick-or-treating became banned entirely.

It was during this time that fundamentalist Christian concerns about the Satanic implications of Halloween became popularly publicized and even believed in some communities, as demonstrated through the publications of such books as Mike Warnke's The Satan Seller. Even today it is still propagated by such people as the evangelical comic artist Jack Chick that Satanists like to hand out candy that has been poisoned or somehow made dangerous to children. It is also commonly believed among such people that Halloween, being the "high holy day" of Satanists, is the one night of the year that most animals and human children are horribly butchered as "offerings" to Satan. Fundamentalists will say that Satanic power is glorified through the masquerading as "evil" creatures or the decoration of homes, schools, businesses and churches with so-called "occult symbols" (e.g., skeletons, ghosts, Jack-O'Lanterns, etc.). It was claimed that: "Those who oppose Christ are known to organize on Halloween to observe satanic rituals, to cast spells, to oppose churches and families, to perform sacrilegious acts, and to even offer blood sacrifices to Satan." They began to base their opinions on the studies of cultural anthropologists of the 19th century who spoke of the ancient pagan Celts sacrificing children to the god Samhain on Halloween night. These studies have today been debunked.

When Anton LaVey (who did not believe in the existence of Satan) formed the Church of Satan in the 1960's to shock hypocritical Christians, he stipulated three holidays for his version of existential Satanism, the first organized religion to ever label itself Satanic. The first and most important was the Satanist's own birthday. The other two are Walpurgisnacht (April 30) and Halloween (October 31). Both dates were often considered "witch holidays" in popular culture by way of influence from Christian fundamentalists and thus were linked with Satanism. LaVey adopted Halloween less because of any inherent Satanic meaning in the date and more as a joke on those Christians who had superstitiously feared it.

The unfounded beliefs of Christian extremists were further perpetuated during the "Satanic Panic" of the 1980's, during which a number of hypnotized mental patients claimed to have been "ritually abused" as children by Satanists, and their respective psychiatrists actually believed them (apparently throwing out all their training in skepticism in favor of monetary advancement through sensationalism).

One particularly distressing example of this mentality is what happened in the town of Jamestown, New York in the year 1987. People in the town began to believe that a number of teenagers who had held a Halloween party in an abandoned warehouse were actually involved in a secretive Satanic cult, and that they had been sacrificing animals at the party. The religious community, outraged, began flooding the local newspaper with letters explaining their concern about the growth of "Satanic activity" in the area. The humane society began receiving phone call after phone call, each informing them of various dogs and cats that had supposedly been ritually slaughtered. People actually began to walk the streets of the town at night, ready to beat up any "Satanists" that were supposedly running around after sundown. The kids who had been at the Halloween party also received various threatening phone calls. After an extensive investigation, it was found that there was absolutely no Satanic cult running around in Jamestown, and that there indeed had never been. The teenagers in the abandoned warehouse were no more than kids with strange clothes and haircuts, and no evidence of any animal mutilation was ever found.

But despite the foolishness of fundamentalist Christian propaganda against Halloween, the holiday is still a highly popular event on many people's calendars. It has become a mostly secular holiday for the majority of people, to which there is not much more than dressing in costumes, eating candy and watching scary movies. Horror movies have indeed become an extremely important Halloween franchise, most especially since the release of John Carpenter's Halloween in 1978. The movie depicted a demon-like killer stalking an average American neighborhood on Halloween. The fact that this was the first movie associating Halloween with horror should be telling, even though the golden age of horror films were in the 1930's and 1940's. It simply exploited the paranoia and fears that began in the 1960's.

Read more at my Halloween Resource Page.

Ten Things I Won't Do On Halloween

By John Sanidopoulos

Last year (2009) I wrote a controversial piece about Halloween titled "Orthodoxy and Halloween: Separating Fact From Fiction". I want to make it clear that I am not out to defend Halloween or promote its celebration by Christians, though I do find it important to separate fact from the numerous fictions regarding this holiday promoted by Christians, and leave each individual to observe the day as their conscience and taste determines. Personally I see no contradiction between Halloween and Christianity and it is perfectly coherent in my heart the way I celebrate it. The fictional fundamentalist folklore and mythology surrounding Halloween is in my opinion the darkest aspect of the holiday, and it is the truth that I seek to bring to light lest Christianity be undermined, as it so often irresponsibly is in society. However, I also understand it is not within everyone's taste to celebrate Halloween, so mutual respect plays a large role in how I present the topic to Christians.

Who’s Afraid of Halloween?

By Fr. Mark Sietsema*

I have a confession to make. And it’s a bad one ….

When I was a kid … I used to get dressed up for Halloween! And it was not always something innocent either, like an astronaut or a cowboy. Once I was even a ghost! Worse yet, I would go door-to-door with my brothers and say “Trick or treat!” Idolatrous! Occultic! Satanic! Over time, of course this demon-glorifying activity caught up with me. Look at me now. I dress in black almost every day …

Of course you see the problem here. If not, you will very soon start reading about it in the paper again. Many people of churchy persuasions object strenuously to the observance of Halloween. Every year we read letters to the editor that run as follows:

“Halloween is the worship of the devil! Halloween comes from heathen roots! Trick or Treat comes from an ancient pagan custom: the Druids would go from house to house seeking a virgin to sacrifice! If you complied and handed over your family’s virgin, they left outside your door a jack-o-lantern with a candle inside … fueled by human fat! If you did not comply, a terrible trick would be played on you! The Catholic Church perpetuated the pagan legends with its Feast of All Saints. If you let your kids celebrate Halloween, you expose them to the possibility of demonic possession!”

Well, good Orthodox Christian, what should our Church make of this controversy? Is Halloween something we Christians should shun like the Black Mass? Don’t the facts about Halloween’s origins prove that it is an abomination?

No. First of all, none of these “facts” are true. It’s all fiction. We know almost nothing about the culture and practices of the ancient Druids, except what little the Romans had to say. (Mind you, these are the same Romans who also used to say that Christians hold secret orgies where they sacrifice babies and eat them—so let’s be careful about how much credence we give them.) The Romans invaded Britain in 43 B.C. There they found a number of Celtic tribes, which the Roman legions subjugated with relative ease.

Now, you need to know that the Romans were not what you would call “culturally curious.” They had little interest in the ways of the conquered Britons. Generally, when there is interaction between conqueror and subject, the conqueror picks up and uses the local names for rivers, hills, and the like. For instance, our state is full of names from the native languages of the Indians: Michigan, Mackinac, Saginaw, Escanaba, Kalamazoo, Washtenaw. However, we find almost no use of the Celtic place names by the Romans. The Romans did not come to Britain for kaffee-klatsches, but for plundering and pillaging. Under the Roman sword the Celtic place-names perished with the Celts, as did any certain knowledge of Celtic or Druidic customs (like what kind of fat they used in their candles).

But what if the stories about pagan Halloween were true? Does that prevent us from making a fun day out of the Thirty-First of October? Or do pagan origins damn a thing forever?

I would hope that as Orthodox Christians we would know better than to say that. We borrowed an awful lot of useful things from ancient pagan cultures. Our musical system of eight tones? From the pagan Greeks. (Next time you hear a dismissal hymn in the Third Tone, picture a phalanx of Lacedaemonian warriors marching into an attack: they liked Third Tone for their battle hymns.)

And our iconography is an obvious adaptation of Egyptian funerary art: the portraits painted on Egyptian coffins look just like the faces in our icons. Christmas, we all know, is a retooling of the Roman celebration of the winter solstice, the Feast of Sol Invictus (the Invincible Sun-god). And many, many Christian churches were built atop pagan shrines and holy places, the most famous example being the conversion of the Parthenon (a temple built in honor of Athena the Virgin Warrior) to a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Even Protestants with their Puritan impulses and their “just the Bible” mentality have to contend with borrowings from pagan sources in the Scriptures. For example, chapters 22-24 of the Book of Proverbs are almost certainly a translation of the older Egyptian advice guide The Instruction of Amen-em-Opet. And elsewhere in the Bible different titles given to God such as El Elyon “God Most High” and “the one who rides on the clouds like a chariot” (Psalm 104:3) are originally epithets for the pagan storm-god Baal.

What’s my point? You can’t judge a custom by its origins. What counts is one’s intention in the here and now. And let’s be honest: modern Halloween for you and me—and even the Wiccans down the street—has nothing to do with virgin sacrifice or black magic. It’s about having fun in a costume and eating things your dentist wouldn’t approve of.

“Well!” the anti-Halloween crowd would reply, “Halloween teaches kids that they can get something for nothing!!” But is that so bad? To my ears that sounds awfully close to the Christian idea of grace!

“Yes, yes, but we shouldn’t teach our kids that it’s OK to threaten someone with vandalism if they don’t fork over something you want!” Well, let’s look at this from another perspective. Maybe Halloween holds a nice little life lesson: you give a little to get a little. The Book of Proverbs speaks often of the power of gifts. If we all practiced the spirit of Halloween—being prepared always to give small kindnesses to those around us—what a wonderful world we would have.

Again, let’s be honest: no one was ever possessed by the devil because he or she dressed up for Halloween or passed out licorice or read a Harry Potter book. Our modern lives have way too many other avenues for temptation to enter, and these things are the real cause of our spiritual problems: pride, gluttony, hatred, materialism, and ignorance.

This may be the only pro-Halloween article by a clergyman you read this year. Actually, this piece isn’t so much pro-Halloween as it is anti-superstition and anti-paranoia. American Christianity is too much titillated by thoughts of demons, based on a mythology of evil that has more to do with pagan folklore than the sober statements of Scripture. Such superstition gives all Christians a bad name.

That’s why I’m not afraid of Halloween, and I see no problem with Orthodox Christians having fun at costume parties. After all, why would anyone want to learn more about Jesus Christ and his message, if being a Christian means forever being a spoilsport and a killjoy? If you believe in one God, if you trust Him, then accept his protection and don’t live in fear of demonic bogeymen. The real battle with the devil is fought in the heart, not in front of the Harry Potter bookstore.

Some people drink too much on New Year’s Eve. Should that stop you and me from enjoying a glass of champagne? Some people eat too much at Thanksgiving. Should that stop us from having our turkey with all the trimmings? Some people spend too much at Christmas. Should that stop us from exchanging gifts?

Some people go overboard on the spooky side of Halloween. It’s not too hard to avoid that for your family. Skip the horror movies. Don’t revel in gore. Don’t profane death. Don’t indulge in occult practices … But don’t be paranoid or superstitious either!

And have a Happy Halloween!

*Fr. Mark Sietsema is the Presiding Priest at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Lansing, MI

Source

Halloween Safety Tips and Crime Myths

J.D. Valesco

October 28, 2012

Daily News: Los Angeles

Halloween is a time for fear and fright, but some common worries about the ghastly holiday may be overblown, experts say.

There are legitimate safety issues to consider on the holiday - pedestrian-vehicle accidents, fire hazards, dogs who get into chocolate.

But many of the scariest Halloween horror stories - poisoned candy, satanic sacrifices of pets, and rampant criminal activity - have little basis in reality.

Amanda Perez, a lecturer in American studies at Cal State Fullerton, calls those kind of myths and legends "Halloween sadism."

"It's this idea that bad things happen on Halloween," Perez said.

West Covina Police Chief Frank Wills said fear of holiday dangers seem to have resulted in fewer costumed kids roaming the streets in search of treats on Halloween.

"People lament that you used to see the residential streets bustling with children and you don't see that as much anymore," Wills said.

Poison and razors

Perhaps the most common cause of parental angst on Halloween is the prospect of a child being given candy laced with poison or drugs, or apples stuffed with razor blades.

The poisoned candy myth has its origins in a case that occurred in New York state in 1964, when a woman passed out ant poison, dog biscuits and steel wool to children she thought were too old to be trick or treating.

"She said she was doing it not to the kids, but to these older kids that were coming by for candy," Perez said. "This is when I think really a lot of the folklore about tainted candy got into circulation."

There have been incidents in which children have been killed or sickened by candy tainted with poison or drugs, but not by strangers, said Eileen Wallis, a Cal Poly Pomona history professor.

"That has happened a couple of times, but it's always been a relative," Wallis said. "It's always been a murder concealed as an accidental poisoning or a stranger poisoning."

The myth of poisoned candy was further cemented in people's minds by later unrelated events, Wallis said.

"I think a lot of it got tangled up with the Tylenol scare back in the `80s," Wallis said, referring to the 1982 murders of seven Chicago-area people through Tylenol that had been laced with cyanide. No one was ever convicted of the crime.

Incidents of apples containing razor blades have also occurred, but they were "pranks gone wrong," Wallis said.

Those pranks were between friends or siblings, not strangers, she said.

Rumors of temporary tattoos laced with LSD or PCP are variations on the same myth, Wallis said.

"We do know that powerful myths have a way of simply evolving over time," Wallis said. "It's like the old game of telephone."

These kind of myths are a natural outgrowth of a parents' desire to protect their children, Wallis said.

"It's about vulnerability and the vulnerability of children," Wallis said. "It's about letting your children go up to a stranger's house that you don't know."

Satanic sacrifices

Another persistent urban legend about Halloween is that pets, particularly black cats, will be captured by satanic cults and sacrificed if they are allowed outside.

Perez of Cal State Fullerton said it's a belief dating back to the celebration of Samhain by ancient Celts. The holiday marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter.

As Christianity spread through Europe and found itself in conflict with the pagan beliefs of the Celts, rumors were spread of human sacrifices on Samhain. The idea that pets are being sacrificed for satanic rituals is the modern incarnation of the belief.

"I think in the popular imagination these things have gotten mixed up," Perez said.

Pay Brayer, president of the San Gabriel Valley Humane Society, said rumors of pet sacrifice don't match with what she's seen in her career.

"We haven't had any experience of anything happening to pets on Halloween," Brayer said.

Some people will point out the fact that many animal shelters refuse to adopt out black cats near Halloween as proof that satanic activities are real, but Wallis said there's a more mundane reason for such policies.

"People might adopt them as props. You want to have a cat for Halloween," Wallis said. "It's like when people adopt bunnies around Easter."

Satanists or not, Halloween does present some very real dangers for cats, Brayer said.

"Bad things happen to cats that are outside to begin with," Brayer said. "Most kids are good, but sometimes if the opportunity presents itself..."

Halloween is fraught with danger for dogs as well, Brayer said.

"The biggest danger to primarily dogs is chocolate, it's deadly to them," Brayer said.

And the hustle and bustle of trick-or-treaters can be unsettling for dogs, she said. People should treat the holiday like July 4 and keep their dogs secured for the night, she said.

"We see dogs that get out their yard because they're afraid," Brayer said. "Even the children of the family dressed in costume is going to be different. They may find it threatening."

Real dangers

Though some of the rumors of Halloween dangers are based more on fear than fact, there are important safety precautions to remember while out for the night, authorities said.

West Covina Police Chief Wills advised parents and motorists both to exercise caution. Trick-or-treaters should be given flashlights or dressed with reflective clothing, Wills said.

"Sometimes traffic collisions spike on Halloween," he said.

Pedestrian fatalities do increase significantly on Halloween, according to statistics compiled by the California Office of Traffic Safety. Statewide, an average of 3.4 pedestrians were killed each Halloween from 2006 and 2010. An average day sees 1.7 pedestrian deaths.

Injuries to pedestrians were much higher, averaging 56 each Halloween during the same period statewide. About 35 pedestrians are injured on an average day.

Calls to police departments also increase on Halloween. In 2011, the Pomona Police Department received 15 percent more calls on Halloween than it did on the same day the previous week. That figure was 9 percent for the Whittier police. But calls to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department only increased by 2 percent compared with the seven-day average leading up to the holiday.

But Wills said additional calls to law enforcement do not necessarily mean more crimes are occurring.

"One of the other myths is that there's more crime on Halloween - sometimes that's true, sometimes it's not," Wills said.

Calls to the Los Angeles County Fire Department also increase, but statistics were not available, said Inspector Tony Imbrenda.

"I suspect there is more fire activity on Halloween," Imbrenda said. "Jack-o-lanterns near drapes or other flammable materials are an issue."

Some fire department calls are for injuries related to costumes, he said. Imbrenda advised parents to ensure their children's costumes are flame-proof and said trailing items that can get caught on things should be avoided. Shoes should be comfortable and easy to walk in, he said.

"Be sensible about masks that don't restrict vision or breathing," Imbrenda said.

Trick-or-treaters should remember that there's "safety in numbers," said Irwindale Police Chief Dennis Smith.

"Make sure you go up to doors as a group and leave as a group," Smith said.

Never enter a home, even when invited in, Smith said.

Parents should give their trick-or-treating children a cell phone for the night, and have a set time when the children are expected home, he said.

Halloween safety tips

Don't trick or treat! alone. Walk in groups or with a trusted adult.

Use reflective tape on costumes and bags so drivers see children.

Carry a flashlight.

Eat only factory wrapped candy. Avoid eating homemade treats made by strangers.

Check all candy and edibles for tampering - tears, pinholes, discoloration.

Remove any choking hazards from goody bags of young children - gum, peanuts, hard candy, small toys.

Don't let children snack while trick-or-treating before parents have had a chance to inspect goody bags.

Test face makeup in a small area first to check for allergic reaction.

Don't wear decorative contact lenses unless they have been properly fitted by an eye-care professional. Doing otherwise can lead to eye injuries, including blindness.

Wear well-fitting costumes and shoes to avoid falling.

Consider makeup masks or masks with big eye holes instead of loose-fitting masks that could block vision.

Don't use sharp swords or knives as part of costumes.

Don't use realistic-looking firearms.

Wear flame resistant costumes and avoid walking near candles - look for the label Flame Resistant. If you make your costume, use flame-resistant fabrics such as polyester or nylon.

Enter homes only with a trusted adult and don't accept rides from strangers.

Walk on sidewalks where possible. Avoid walking in street. Take care crossing streets.

Do not take shortcuts through backyards or alleys.

People expecting trick-or-treaters should remove obstacles from lawns, steps and porches and keep candlelit jack-o'-lanterns away from children's costumes.

Make sure apples are thoroughly washed before use in bobbing for apples games.

Don't eat too much black licorice - if you are over 40 years old and consume multiple 2-ounce bags a day for at least two weeks, you could be at risk for heart arrhythmia.

Information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Los Angeles Police Department.

Tricks in the Treats: The Myth of Poisoned Halloween Candy

Eryn Brown
October 29, 2011
Los Angeles Times

Every year, parents and police departments worry about tricks in their kids' Halloween treats: razor blades in apples, poison in candy bars.

But incidents of candy poisoning are very, very rare -- if they exist at all.

"There have never been any substantiated cases of strangers tampering with Halloween candy," said Susan Whiteside, in an email to Booster Shots Friday. Whiteside is a spokesperson for the National Confectioners Assn., which provides an FAQ on Halloween candy safety and coordinates with law enforcement to track reports of tainted treats.

The Los Angeles Times has written about popular misconceptions about tampered Halloween candy. In this report from 1985, Anne C. Roark noted that one L.A.-area hospital had been X-raying candy for four years and never found anything. Four years later, columnist Mike Spencer pounded the message home, calling candy poisoning "a myth."

Both stories featured the work of sociologist Joel Best. In the 1980s, Best was a professor at Cal State Fresno; today he teaches at the University of Delaware. He has devoted almost 30 years to debunking the "Halloween sadism" myth, addressing it in books and scholarly papers and at great length on his website (where you can find updated information, including a catalog of reports of Halloween poisonings that later turned out to have other explanations).

"Halloween sadism is best seen as a contemporary legend (sometimes called an urban legend,)" he writes on the website. "Contemporary legends are ways we express anxiety. Note that concerns about Halloween tend to be particularly acute in years when some sort of terrible recent crime has heightened public fears."

Best points out, for example, that the Sept. 11 attacks were followed by warnings against visiting malls on Halloween.

(For more on Best's work, check out this interview, posted on Tuesday, with USC sociologist Karen Sternheimer. This lengthy Snopes.com discussion of Halloween poisonings also mentions his research.)

It still makes sense to look over kids' candy haul before letting them dig in. This Halloween safety site from the Centers for Disease Control advises trick-or-treaters to "eat only factory-wrapped treats" and to "examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before eating them." In addition to more predictable warnings, the Food and Drug Administration cautions against tasting raw cookie dough and recommends making sure juice or cider served at parties is pasteurized.

For the most part, the dangers lurk elsewhere: in those creepy decorative contact lenses that give you lizard eyes (which are often sold improperly and used incorrectly, according to the FDA); in fireworks; in choking; and especially, with inattentive or drunk drivers. Want a safe Halloween? Make sure your little Angry Bird, astronaut or witch looks both ways before crossing the street. Carrying a flashlight is a good idea too.

Daimonologia Posts From October

Having concluded the first month of posts over at my new website www.daimonologia.org, I am sharing links to all the posts from this past month to encourage those interested in these topics to visit it and like my Facebook page for it as well as follow its Twitter page.

Halloween Safety Tips and Crime Myths

The Monsters Among Us

Jesus Likes Halloween a Little Bit, Doesn't He?

Tricks in the Treats: The Myth of Poisoned Halloween Candy

The Truth About Halloween

Who’s Afraid of Halloween?

The Halloween Debate In Russia

Popular Christian Myths About Halloween

How Christians Made Halloween A Satanic Holiday

Ten Things I Won't Do On Halloween

The True Origins of the Jack O' Lantern

The Christian, Not Pagan, Origins of Halloween

Orthodoxy and Halloween: Separating Fact From Fiction

Book Review: "The Undead and Theology"

Zombies and God

Lycanthropy (Werewolves) in Byzantine Times

St. Gregory of Nyssa on the Apparitions of Spirits of the Dead

St. John Chrysostom on Ghosts and Wandering Spirits

St. Nikodemos the Hagiorite on Vampirism

Halloween: An Orthodox Christian Perspective

The Haunted Cell Of A Heretic

Saint Gerasimos of Kefallonia and the Demon Possessed

On the Stench of Demons and Sin

Monastics Even Pray For Demons!

Fear of the Devil in the 1980's and Today

The Origins of Idolatry

"The Raven": Demon of Despair (On Poe and Death)

Book Review: "Very Short Introduction to Paganism"

Book Review: "Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation"

Magicians Who Converted to Orthodox Christianity

Saints Cyprian and Justina the Martyrs

A Secret History of Satan in America

What Is Occultism? An Orthodox Christian Response

Orthodox Demonology 101

An Image of Death's Relentless Approach

About This Website

The True Origins of the Jack O' Lantern

First of all, there is absolutely no evidence behind the alleged pagan use of the Jack O' Lantern, where it is said in modern fundamentalist folklore that they were invented to ward-off evil spirits. In fact, the carved lanterns had practical military use in Ireland and Britain simply as carved lanterns. And stories of Stingy Jack are a later invention.

Despite the colorful legends, the term jack-o'-lantern originally meant a night watchman, or man with a lantern, with the earliest known use in the mid-17th century; and later, meaning an ignis fatuus or will-o'-the-wisp. In Newfoundland and Labrador, both names "Jacky Lantern" and "Jack the Lantern" refer to the will-o'-the-wisp concept rather than the pumpkin carving aspect.

Throughout Ireland and Britain, there is said to be a tradition of carving lanterns from vegetables, particularly the turnip, mangelwurzel, or swede.[1] But not until 1837 does jack-o'-lantern appear as a term for a carved vegetable lantern,[2] and the carved lantern does not become associated specifically with Halloween until 1866.[3] Significantly, both occurred not in Ireland or Britain, but in North America. Historian David J. Skal writes,

"Although every modern chronicle of the holiday repeats the claim that vegetable lanterns were a time-honored component of Halloween celebrations in the British Isles, none gives any primary documentation. In fact, none of the major nineteenth-century chronicles of British holidays and folk customs make any mention whatsoever of carved lanterns in connection with Halloween. Neither do any of the standard works of the early twentieth century."[4]

In the United States, the carved pumpkin was first associated with the harvest season in general, long before it became an emblem of Halloween.[5] The poet John Greenleaf Whittier, who was born in 1807, wrote "The Pumpkin"  in 1850, in which he mentions the American tradition of pumpkin carving with no association with Halloween:[6]

"Oh!—fruit loved of boyhood!—the old days recalling,
When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling!
When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin,
Glaring out through the dark with a candle within!"

So now that you have the real and less eventful history of the carved pumpkin apart from the folklore and myth, you can carve your own pumpkin conscience-free at the following site: http://www.theoworlds.com/halloween/

Notes:

1. They continue to be popular choices today as carved lanterns in Scotland and Northern Ireland, although the British purchased a million pumpkins for Halloween in 2004. "Pumpkins Passions", BBC, 31 October 2005. "Turnip battles with pumpkin for Hallowe'en", BBC, 28 October 2005.

2. Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Great Carbuncle," in Twice-Told Tales, 1837:

"Hide it [the great carbuncle] under thy cloak, say'st thou? Why, it will gleam through the holes, and make thee look like a jack-o'-lantern!"

3. Daily News (Kingston, Ontario), November 1, 1866:

"The old time custom of keeping up Hallowe'en was not forgotten last night by the youngsters of the city. They had their maskings and their merry-makings, and perambulated the streets after dark in a way which was no doubt amusing to themselves. There was a great sacrifice of pumpkins from which to make transparent heads and face, lighted up by the unfailing two inches of tallow candle."

Agnes Carr Sage, "Halloween Sports and Customs," Harper's Young People, October 27, 1885, p. 828:

"It is an ancient Scottish custom to light great bonfires on Halloween, and carry blazing fagots about on long poles; but in place of this American boys delight in the funny grinning jack-o'-lanterns made of huge yellow pumpkins with a candle inside."

5. Skal, David J. (2002). Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween. New York: Bloomsbury. p. 32. ISBN 1-58234-230-X. The earliest reference to associate carved vegetable lanterns with Halloween in Britain is Ruth Edna Kelley, The Book of Hallowe'en (1919), Chapter 8, which mentions turnip lanterns in Scotland.

6. As late as 1900, an article on Thanksgiving entertaining recommended a lit jack-o'-lantern as part of the festivities. "The Day We Celebrate: Thanksgiving Treated Gastronomically and Socially," The New York Times, November 24, 1895, p. 27. "Odd Ornaments for Table," The New York Times, October 21, 1900, p. 12.


Read also: Orthodoxy and Halloween: Separating Fact From Fiction
 

Seeing is Believing: A Halloween Reflection

The Joshua Ward House in Salem, Massachusetts

By John Sanidopoulos

A few people have asked me, "John, as a knowledgeable and pious Orthodox Christian who has a positive view of Halloween, how do you celebrate the holiday? You wrote down what you wouldn't do, but never explained what you actually do." Well, the simple answer is that Halloween for me is just like any other day, pretty much, not because I avoid Halloween, but for me Halloween is a daily experience throughout the year, it just happens to be a little more intensified in the autumn months of September through November. So for me, October 31st may be Halloween, but every other day is Halloweenish, because I will involve myself with something on other days that your average person will consider only a theme for Halloween.

I understand that such an answer will confuse most people, while few others will feel me to be one of their kindred spirits. I'm not going to explain at this time what I mean when I say that Halloween is a daily experience, nor should you speculate, because that's not what this reflection is about, but I will say that by the time Halloween comes around, I sort of just sit back and relax and watch everyone else experience a little bit of what I daily experience, and I experience the day through others. Then I'll go home and watch some horror movies and Halloween specials while eating some candy, since I don't eat candy everyday. That is my typical Halloween.

Halloween Iconoclasm

"False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil."

- Socrates

By John Sanidopoulos

For the past few years I have been writing about the true origins of Halloween, attempting to demythologize a cultural practice which some in the Church have demonized in extremely gross manners. By doing this, some of our clergy and faithful have only done evil in the name of good, and glorified Satan instead of God, since misplaced demonization is in fact demonic. They may somewhat be excused for being deceived by scholars and extremists who originated such false theories, but in all things the members of the Church should seek the truth with gentleness and honesty, and not stain itself with sensationalism and propaganda that may  comfort their fears and soothe their confusion.

These critics seem to delusionally think that to demythologize Halloween is the same as to justify it. This only shows stubbornness. The ego often flaws the logical faculty. They think I want children to go trick-or-treating or to carve pumpkins or watch horror movies. They miss the point all together. Of course, I'm not against these things, but neither do I defend them, as I feel they need no defense when the truth sheds its light on these things when they are demythologized. They can choose to swim along the surface of the water without knowing its depth if they choose, but to confuse the shallow area for the deep. A Christian is able to trick-or-treat in the name of the Lord or in the name of Satan if they choose, but the action doesn't mean anything unless they make it to mean something (most just do it in the name of candy). By the same logic, anyone who goes to church on Sunday is a saint just for attending. Of course, they would never admit the latter, but it is the same logic. St. Paul dealt with a similar issue regarding Christians being allowed to eat meat that was sacrificed to idols. His opinion was yes, Christians can eat meat sacrificed to idols, as long as they do it in the name of the Lord and not in the name of a demon. Even Jesus dealt with this among the Jews when He told them that they can have no eternal life unless they ate His body and drank His blood. Everyone turned their back on Jesus when He said this, because they chose to focus on the surface of what He said instead of exploring its depths.

When I started making my thoughts and studies about Halloween public, and I am still only at the beginning stages, I was pretty much the only voice in any Orthodox forum doing so siding with the facts instead of falsehoods. Many who read some or all of my writings on the subject so far, accepted the truth and have graciously thanked me for balancing in their minds and hearts a subject which they thought had to be demonized, because scapegoats that seem to give the appearance of evil are often demonized in this way. Others have accused me of doing the work of the Church of Satan, justifying an evil and pagan practice, and blurring the line between the Church and the world.

But is the Church called to demonize or to sanctify the world? Or must the Church demonize the world in order to sanctify it? These are questions I am going to leave open for now, and hopefully revisit in the near future with more detail. But these questions are at the heart of much of the problem, not only regarding Halloween, but it affects the entire mission of the Church in the world.

Those who demonize such things as Halloween and the world in general, I am convinced, have never studied the corpus of patristic writings nor the original sources of ecclesiastical history. They show time and time again their ignorance of the Orthodox ethos and phronema. The things they say cannot be found, except in the writings of the heretics, which they also have not studied. How someone can voice their opinions on such sensitive topics without doing the necessary prelimary studies is really beyond me. Well, not really, since I also was once an opinionated fool. I believed that if I read one or two books on a subject that I was an expert, or at least had a right to an opinion. But the truth is, when you set the ego aside, the more one knows about something, the less one really knows. Knowledge of the truth humbles the mind, and does not puff it up. An over-opinionated person is a classic example of someone with puffed up knowledge, usually filled with errors. Humble knowledge goes to the sources, accepts the facts, and dispels with opinions.

In my many anti-Halloween emails from disappointed critics, I often feel like I am hearing the rants of 8th century Iconoclasts. The Iconoclasts basically believed that the images of Christ, the Theotokos and the Saints were idols. After all, the Bible did say to not make or worship any graven images. Images, they believed, originated with the pagans. Pagans would worship these images of deified gods, and even sacrifice children before them. How could the Church take something with such an evil history, before which evil things were done and saints toppled with their prayers, and which demons used to communicate with people, and depict holy things in a similar manner, bow down before them, offer incense to them, and kiss them? They said similar things about the relics of saints. Many Orthodox believed these sensationalistic lies because of their immature knowledge of the Faith and began a persecution against icons, the relics of saints and those who honored them. They would call those who supported icons and relics Pagans, and sometimes they would go to such extremes and torture and kill the Iconophiles. Iconoclasts were nothing more than people with puffed up opinions of what the Bible and a few Church Fathers seemed to have said about images, as was revealed by their contemporary Orthodox apologists who understood that "the letter of the law kills, while the spirit quickens".

When I read someone like St. John of Damascus, who defended icons, I read things that I would say to my critics today. One example is this:

"For I look upon it as a great calamity that the Church, adorned with Her great privileges and the holiest examples of saints in the past, should go back to the first rudiments, and fear where there is no fear. It is disastrous to suppose that the Church does not know God as He is, that She degenerates into idolatry, for if She declines from perfection in a single iota, it is as an enduring mark on a comely face, destroying by its unsightliness the beauty of the whole."

Here he basically says that the saints of the past, in Old Testament times, feared to make graven images because of its pagan associations. But now that God has taken to Himself material creation, there is no longer any fear. The Iconoclasts believed the Church was degenerating into idolatry, when in fact they do not know God as He truly is - fully God AND fully man.

He also wrote:

"Now, the devil, the enemy of the truth and of man's salvation, in suggesting that images of corruptible man, and of birds and beasts and reptiles, should be made and worshipped as gods, has often led astray not only heathens but the children of Israel. In these days he is eager to trouble the peace of Christ's Church through false and lying tongues, using divine words in favor of what is evil, and striving to disguise his wicked intent, and drawing the unstable away from true and patristic custom."

I can go on and on, but I think I made my point.

When it comes to the subject of Halloween, things get even worse from a logical point of view. At least the Iconoclasts were correct that graven images had their source among the pagans. Even St. John admits this, and says that it took Christ taking on human flesh to sanctify material creation and allow for images to be made in the name of the Lord. But modern Halloween has no pagan roots, as the clear evidence suggests. That Halloween has become associated with paganism and satanism is an invention of Christians primarily to demonize not only a folk tradition, but something that has its source in the Church of the Middle Ages before the Reformation. But I have written much on this subject and don't feel like I need to address this any further here.

The iconoclastic persecution lasted over a hundred years, and much bloodshed was spilled in the process. Why? Because certain Orthodox Christians who thought they knew theology and the tradition of the Church in fact were living in a delusional state with their childish theology that satisfied their own ego. That is a simple but true way of putting it. Nothing is new under the sun. People in the Church, which includes many of our clergy, monastics and theologians, have always been like this from the beginnings of Christianity and will be like this until the end of time. This is why a sober education is needed now, just as it always has been needed, not only for minor subjects like Halloween, but for everything in which a scrap of falsehood can be found. The Church was established, according to the apostolic fathers, to rid the world of superstition and falsehood in order to sanctify it. This is the primary mission of the Church in the world.

Booklet On Halloween Now Available!

A few years ago I began writing on Halloween to separate the facts from the fictions that have been circulating both within the Orthodox Church and among those who are not Orthodox. Though many have embraced the facts, the fictions are still circulating and one can find many gross and erroneous myths still being circulated in Orthodox circles and on Orthodox websites. For this reason I will continue posting things on this subject and will make available as a link a Halloween Resource Page at the top of my Mystagogy website over the next week with posts that I have thus far made, and will update it as more is posted.

With Halloween just over a week away, I am also making available by very popular demand a small booklet titled "Orthodoxy and Halloween: Separating Fact From Fiction", which will be available beginning today from my Mystagogy Bookstore. Though my desire has been, and still is, to produce a definitive and a bit longer study on this subject, this booklet is something introductory and short in order to be distributed by both clergy and teachers to those who have questions on this subject. I have literally received many dozens of requests for this, and those who order today or tomorrow should receive it by Halloween.

The booklet can be ordered either by clicking on the DONATE button towards the top of this page or by mail. The cost is $7.00, and please indicate your item being ordered when submitting payment. Mail orders can be sent to:

John Sanidopoulos

PO Box 320284

West Roxbury, MA 02132

Popular Christian Myths About Halloween

In the nineteenth century, cultural anthropologist Sir James Frazer studied the practices of the Northern Celtic people on Hallowmas (a term that has come to describe the three day period of October 31st or Halloween, November 1st or All Saints’ Day, and November 2nd or All Souls’ Day). He asserted that the traditions of Hallowmas were rooted in Samhain, and he claimed that the ancient pagan festival had been a day to honor the dead. Many cultural anthropologists after Frazer have repeated and exaggerated this claim ever since, and Protestant Fundamentalists have gone to extreme lengths based on these false studies and myths to distort and demonize Halloween.

Many Orthodox Christians are no better than these Protestant Fundamentalists. Always looking for scapegoats to ease their fears or calm their confusion, Orthodox extremists have more in common with Protestant Fundamentalists than with traditional Orthodoxy. Christians have demonized Halloween, mainly through the influence of Protestant Fundamentalists, and changed a day that was once dedicated in the West to all Christian saints and departed loved ones (with many healthy folk traditions as is common in all cultures) into a day of demons. After all, this is how Fundamentalist Protestants regard the saints of the Church, especially those of the Catholic Church.

In the video below are only a few of the many many myths being spread by anti-history demonizing Fundamentalists, which supports many things I have previously written about on the subject. The video covers the following myths:

Myth #1: Samhain - The Lord God of Death

Myth #2: Druids practiced Human Sacrifice

Myth #3: Halloween can be traced back to Samhain

Myth #4: Druid priests dressed in black

Myth #5: Black cats were considered to be reincarnated beings with the ability to divine their future.

Myth #6: Pagan Celtic origin of "Treat or Treating"

Jesus Likes Halloween a Little Bit, Doesn't He?

Jeff Kinley
October 17, 2011
The Huffington Post

Every year Christians face a cultural dilemma, beautifully articulated by a 5-year-old boy's announcement to his parents upon returning home from school one day.

"Mom and Dad, Jesus hates Halloween!" Then, pausing, he mumbled, "But He likes it a little bit, doesn't He?"

And therein lies the conundrum of the Christ follower -- what to do with Halloween. Traditionally, Christians and anything related to the horror genre have not mixed well. Like oil and vinegar. Church and State. Alcohol and tattoos.

Some Christians even go so far as to claim Halloween is, in reality "Devil's Birthday." Really? Never mind the Bible doesn't say that. Note to self: File under "Christian Superstitions."

What that little boy was really trying to communicate was, "Mom and Dad, can I dress up like a pirate and get some candy this Friday night?"

But the dilemma remains concerning this perennial predicament. What are Christians supposed to do with the hoopla and festivities surrounding this evil holiday? Are we to ignore it? Pretend it doesn't exist? Lob "Gospel Grenades" of condemnation at those who celebrate it? Hand out religious pamphlets instead of candy to trick or treaters? Or offer an alternative, like a Harvest Festival, Fall Carnival or even "Reformation Day Celebration"?

Unfortunately, many people's only exposure to Christianity is when the "religious right" is condemning or complaining about something -- culturally or politically. However, that's changing in a lot of communities. Christians are waking up and engaging culture instead of merely vilifying it. The apostle Paul was a master at observing culture and redeeming it for God's purposes -- using customs, practices -- even idols and quotes from secular poets to illustrate biblical truth. While in Athens, he used a pagan Greek word for 'God' (theos) to build a verbal bridge communicating who the true God (Jehovah) was (Acts 17:23).

In reality, a lot of church members are huge fans of the horror genre in books and movies, and untold numbers wait with baited breath to catch the highly anticipated second season of AMC's The Walking Dead (or TiVo-ing it to watch after Sunday night Church).

Enter a new book: "The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook: Slaying the Living Dead Within." Officially releasing this week worldwide, the title is sure to arouse curiosity, combining two seemingly contradictory terms. I wrote this book, in part because I've always been a fan of the horror genre. But anther dilemma: how to reconcile that to my faith without compromising or stretching the truth?

As it turns out, that part was easy as zombies are a powerful metaphor paralleling a core theological truth. George Romero, legendary director and godfather of zombie films, has said, "I've always liked the monster within idea. I like the zombies being us."

Bingo, George. And that's precisely why zombies are so disturbing. We see a mirror of humanity when looking into their dark sockets. They're messy, smelly and they want to consume our flesh and brains. They don't go away just because you wish it so. They don't even stop chasing you when you shoot them, unless of course you shoot them in the head. They're just pure evil and you never know when they're going to lumber up behind you and bite a bloody hunk of meat out of your trapezoid muscle.

But back to the idea of "stinky Christians." The bite of this zombie metaphor cuts even deeper now. There's a spiritual parallel in their insatiable craving for self-satisfaction. The Bible describes this as the "old man" or "old self" (Rom 6:6), also commonly referred to as the "sin nature." It's the part of us that resists God and runs from Him. It even hates Him. It's the immaterial, mystical part of our soul that wants our own way over God's way. And though as Christians this evil entity has no legal authority over us anymore (Rom 6:6-11), we still feel it creeping up on us. Like, every day.

This creates tension. And confusion. And frustration. But Christianity typically avoids messiness. We don't like friction in our faith. We prefer order and predictability. Smooth sailing is our journey of choice. But God likes to throw a wrench in the gears every now and then, to challenge us. To get us to think. To engage. And to find new ways to live out faith our in the marketplace. In doing this, we Christians discover we aren't really any "better" than anyone else. This zombie inside us smells as putrid as any portrayed by Hollywood. And though we have accepted Christ's atoning sacrifice on our behalf (Col 1:13-14), we still struggle with many of the same temptations and sins as the rest of humanity (Rom 7:15-25). We become acutely aware of an inner beast that constantly moans and gnaws at our spirit.

"The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook" offers escape, survival and a win over the zombie inside. This book shows you how to slay the living dead within. With its unique blend of fiction, graphic novel inspired illustrations, and spiritual guidance, it delivers a fresh, relevant look at the doctrines of sin, grace, salvation and the inner conflict we all face.

In the end, this annual Fall dilemma is much deeper than culture, Halloween, TV shows and trick or treating. The real issue is "What do I do with this rotting corpse?"