Halloween has always been a great joy to children of all ages. And it's no wonder why. We get to dress up and pretend to be someone or something else and get gobs and gobs of candy by going door to door and yelling "Trick or Treat!"
But all over this country, town councils and school districts are taking that away... because of religion. While it is true that practitioners of many pagan faiths mark this as a religious holiday and many of the traditions/reasons behind Halloween events are pagan in origin, this doesn't mean that these past couple hundred years of parents taking their children trick or treating has been a celebration of devil-worship.
Samhain (pronounced sow-en) is the ancient Celtic New Year's celebration. For these ancient country dwelling and farming folk, life revolved around nature. They didn't have central air and heat; they had to collect firewood in order to keep warm. They didn't have refrigerators or stores to pick up supplies when the cupboards ran bare; they had to spend the autumn months storing food to last them through the long winter. In this way, Samhain was the last of the three harvest festivals (Lughnasadh and Mabon being the first two) where neighbors could get together and celebrate the bountiful harvest. They also took the time to help provide for the neighbors whose harvest was not as plentiful.
It is said that the 'veil between the worlds' was the thinnest on Samhain night, and spirits, both good and evil were free to roam the earth to visit friends and family, or wreck havoc on the non-cautious. If folk had to leave the comfort of friends and family, they covered themselves in animal skins to trick the spirits into believing they were animals. If no animal skins were available, they would carry a candle within a carved turnip to convince spirits they were a will-o-wisp. Both practices were designed to trick the evil spirits into believing the person was not worth plaguing with their tricks.
These two traditions should sound familiar. They are the basis for our Jack o'Lanterns and costume wearing of today.
During the celebrating and festivities, folk would set a plate of food outside their door to appease spirits and keep them from entering the home. Some spirits were invited in of course, like the passed on members of the family. These were served with a plate of food at the table, letting them know they had not been forgotten. These two customs have survived the centuries as well. The plate of food at the table for welcome spirits has not survived so much as a Halloween tradition, but has made its way into the wake dinner after a funeral. Offering the beloved one last meal before they passed on through the great divide.
And the food on the doorstep? What other reason could entice our little goblins and ghouls go door to door? To get the treats left for them of course!
These are just the main traditions of Halloween that have survived the test of time from the ancient Samhain celebrations. Now here's my question. Where in any of that was there mention of worshipping the devil?
Exactly. No where.
Halloween and Samhain, as separate yet connected celebrations, are a time for reflection, thankfulness, and remembering loved ones. During this trying time of religious discrimination, Pagans and Christians alike have raised their voices crying out against what they feel is meant to oppress them. But in the end, who suffers the most? The children.
No matter who is wrong or right, Halloween has become an American tradition. Does it matter what its spiritual connections are? Absolutely not. Many Christians get frightened that the 'witch' next door is going to spend the evening casting spells and hexes against them. Many Pagans are worried that their religious practices are being put on trial. For an uptight Christian with a stick up her butt, the one thing my mom never did was try to take Halloween and trick or treating away from us kids. It was a time to use our imaginations and spend time with friends walking neighborhoods and storing memories. Even if I spent seven years in the same costume as Snow White, I never once thought of how Halloween got started. All I knew was that it was one of the few times of the year Mom didn't complain about how much sugar my brother and I were eating.
Where did those days go? Children look forward to the dressing up (promoting creativity) and the massive sugar high. Why take away something that gives our children so much joy? Has the religious misunderstandings of recent years really turned us into a nation of people hurting our children under the guise of protecting them?
