Is it Okay for Christians to Celebrate Halloween?

October 30, 2017

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Is it okay for Christians to celebrate Halloween? Should we only let our kids dress up as saints? What about scary costumes, are they okay?
That’s what I discuss in this short episode

Also, here’s a photo of me dressed as Batman. You’re welcome.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sarah says

    Hello, thank you for replying about Halloween. However you make absolutely no mention in it of the ancient celtic seasonal feast of Samhain which existed before the establishment of the feast of All Hallow’s Eve, in the night of October 31st and November 1st, where it was believed that the doorway to the Otherworld opened and that the dead would come back for the night among the living. It is not the first time that the Catholic Church establishes a christian feast on a former pagan celebration day (the same is true about Christmas, set on the pagan feast of Sol Invictus) to break the pagan habits of the christian flock by soft substitution. Modern Halloween has inherited a lot of the traditions of pagan Samhain, including dressing up, going from door to door, playing with apples, and especially practices divination (since it is believed to be the night of the year where the communication with the dead is the easiest). Besides, the main problem is not about dressing up, its about dressing up as witches and devils -and for no practical or instructive purposes. Do you think this is okay ? If it wasn’t okay in a 6th century Gaul diocese to put on the head of a deer in a night of June and to dance, according to the old rites of fertility linked to the Gallic god Cernunnos (As the the synodical canons of the time report), I don’t see why it should be okay to give ourselves to pagan practices which have nothing to do with All Hallow’s Eve. What link is there between the celebration of the Saints and those practices? I believe one of the aspect of being Christians is precisely not to follow blindly everything that people do, but to question it and make sure that the roots and the meaning of it are not against anything that the Lord commands for our own good.

  2. Tanner says

    You have swayed me on this with your excellent use of logic and reason. Thanks. I stupidly thought it was dishonorable to celebrate Halloween. Changed my mind now. I would say though that we should never lose sight of the true purpose of the holiday and should probably try to bring it back to its authentic Catholic roots and not just go with the flow of the cultural milieu. Be counter cultural and dress up as a saint or participate in diameter de los muertos!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sarah says

    Hello, thank you for replying about Halloween. However you make absolutely no mention in it of the ancient celtic seasonal feast of Samhain which existed before the establishment of the feast of All Hallow’s Eve, in the night of October 31st and November 1st, where it was believed that the doorway to the Otherworld opened and that the dead would come back for the night among the living. It is not the first time that the Catholic Church establishes a christian feast on a former pagan celebration day (the same is true about Christmas, set on the pagan feast of Sol Invictus) to break the pagan habits of the christian flock by soft substitution. Modern Halloween has inherited a lot of the traditions of pagan Samhain, including dressing up, going from door to door, playing with apples, and especially practices divination (since it is believed to be the night of the year where the communication with the dead is the easiest). Besides, the main problem is not about dressing up, its about dressing up as witches and devils -and for no practical or instructive purposes. Do you think this is okay ? If it wasn’t okay in a 6th century Gaul diocese to put on the head of a deer in a night of June and to dance, according to the old rites of fertility linked to the Gallic god Cernunnos (As the the synodical canons of the time report), I don’t see why it should be okay to give ourselves to pagan practices which have nothing to do with All Hallow’s Eve. What link is there between the celebration of the Saints and those practices? I believe one of the aspect of being Christians is precisely not to follow blindly everything that people do, but to question it and make sure that the roots and the meaning of it are not against anything that the Lord commands for our own good.

  2. Tanner says

    You have swayed me on this with your excellent use of logic and reason. Thanks. I stupidly thought it was dishonorable to celebrate Halloween. Changed my mind now. I would say though that we should never lose sight of the true purpose of the holiday and should probably try to bring it back to its authentic Catholic roots and not just go with the flow of the cultural milieu. Be counter cultural and dress up as a saint or participate in diameter de los muertos!

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