Why Do We Celebrate Halloween?

The origins of Halloween are a bit obscure. It might have begun as a Christian holiday in honor of the faithful departed. It might have been influenced by Celtic harvest festivals, like the Gaelic Samhain, which marks a time when the spirits of the dead could more easily visit the earth. Good spirits might visit their families while evil spirits might be out seeking revenge. One way or another, the celebration of Halloween was originally about the spirits of the deceased, and possibly other types of spirits.

Today, the influence of these spirits isn't as obvious. Now, Halloween is seen as a time for kids to dress up and eat candy. It might be a time to have a party, to carve jack-o-lanterns, and just have fun, and little thought is given to spirits, unless one appears in a scary movie. Costumes no longer are limited to monsters, ghosts, skeletons, witches and the like in an effort to blend in and escape notice from actual spirits roaming the earth.

Maybe we no longer believe in spirits and ghosts, or if we do, maybe we don't believe that they can have any effect on us, or vice versa.  I wonder.

I do believe in spirits. I believe in two types of spirits. One type of spirit is the spirit of someone who has lived on the earth, and passed away. Occasionally, when I am thinking about one of my grandparents, all of which have passed on, I wonder if that grandparent can somehow sense my thoughts and know that I am thinking of them. Every once in a while, I have a feeling like they are not very far away. This isn't a scary feeling at all - my grandparents were all kind people - in fact it is a comforting feeling. It is like I have someone I know close by, just in case I need them.

The other type of spirit is less comforting to have around. These spirits are those who rebelled against God long ago, and therefore lost the ability to gain a body on this earth. I believe these are the devils mentioned in Luke 8:27-33:

27 And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.

 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.

 29 (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)

 30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.

 31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.

 32 And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.

 33 Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.

These spirits want a body, and lacking the chance to have one of their own by birth, they seek to influence those of us who do have bodies. We must be wary of them, however, because they are neither wise nor caring. They rebelled against God, and they desire to stop us from following God as well. Their methods may be subtle, but I believe they have been working a long time to desensitize us, to direct the celebration of Halloween into directions that might not be as harmless as we would hope.

For example, costumes. Wearing costumes could be seen as roll playing, trying out a persona that one would not ordinarily take on. Maybe it is an expression of a suppressed dream or wish. Usually it is harmless fun. But have you looked at the costumes that are being sold these days - especially those for girls and women? How many of them are revealing with plunging necklines and soaring hemlines? Even some for men are neither modest nor appropriate. Is Halloween a chance to be daring - to wear something that would be considered inappropriate in any other setting, to be a little "wicked," just because it is Halloween?

Pranks are another activity often associated with Halloween. When someone is wearing a costume, when they are not easily recognizable as themselves, what risks are they more likely to take because they are less likely to be caught? Does the holiday justify unkindness? vandalism?

Candy has become a huge part of our Halloween celebrations. While I'm not saying anything is inherently wrong with eating candy, I do worry about promoting greed and gluttony.

So... as Halloween approaches, as we're figuring out what costumes our children (and maybe we) are going to wear, and as we plan our activities for October 31st, we may want to keep in mind what spirits we are heeding.

Incidentally, I think it might be fun to start a new Halloween tradition - of remembering deceased ancestors that evening by reading or telling stories of their lives. (Of course we would still go Trick-or-Treating afterwards, in our modest costumes, doing no pranks, maybe performing a random act of service, and then come home to eat a reasonable amount of candy before brushing our teeth well and heading to bed.)