What is Halloween?

[Theunicornhunter 2]

I ask this because I have had co-workers and family members who are adamant about not celebrating, observing Halloween. They refer to it as Satanic. I was suprised that no one on this board has said that so far. I realize there are some Celtic pagan origins as well as European traditions and All Souls Day influences. I don't equate Pagan and Satanic although some do.

 

I do think Trick or Treat is a custom whose time may have come to an end. Personally I think it foolish to try all year to teach children not to take candy from strangers and then one day a year go and do that very thing. I think we hate to let go because we all remember as children going out trick or treating. Of course when I was young you thought nothing of taking homemade rice krispy treats from an unknown neighbor.

 

I know many churches are having Fall Festivals. Ours for several years has done a "trunk or treat" Certain volunteers decorate the trunk of their cars and line up in the church parking lot and everyone brings a bag of candy. The children then go from trunk to trunk - "trick or treating" plus there are games, pony rides etc.

 

Halloween is second only to Christmas in revenue for decorations.

[Gotabite 0]

I personally have never liked Halloween, even when I was a youngster. Still, I did allow my son to do the "Trick or Treat" thing when he was a kid, and I always had candy for the youngsters who came to our door......... I just have never gotten into the celebration of witches, goblins, monsters, and being scared out of my wits with movies that glorify horror, including murder and abuse..........I've just never quite understood this. There have also been some very bad things that have happened to young children that innocently go out "Trick or Treating" on Halloween. In addition it seems to give many the idea that it's okay to do other kinds of criminal acts, like breaking automobile antennas, scratching down the sides of automobiles, breaking car windows, throwing eggs at cars and houses, and many other kinds of ugly behaviors. Yes, there are many parents who are very concerned about their kids having a "safe" Halloween........If you have to protect yourself from a holiday.....................why bother?

[Takara_Soong 4]

For me it is mostly an opportunity to dress up. When I was a kid I loved the candy aspect but my daughter doesn't eat candy (her choice, woo hoo) but she loves to dress up. She has a party at school, a party at her daycare and we go trick or treating up and down our street (just 1 block of it).

 

I'm not sure what it will be like this year. I know on previous years when Halloween has fallen on a Friday that a lot of houses don't give out candy because they are gone for a Halloween party and a lot of kids will have school dances or other activities that they will go to instead of trick or treating.

[archerfan 0]

I voted for a cultural tradition morphed from a pagan holiday. I personally don't believe that pagan is the same as satanic. But I do understand how people who are religious and are taught to condemn this do. They have that right. My belief is pagans and pagan rituals are really just what existed before organized religion became popular. It was a way of connecting with the larger picture. Humans have always needed that. I think its a shame that people who worshipped the earth and the heavens and celebrated the changing seasons are seen a satanic. By the way I am a christian, but I prefer to make my own observations and conclusions. I always loved Halloween when I was younger. It's sad that the way the world is now just doesn't allow for some of the simple pleasures we used to enjoy.

Edited October 29, 2003 by archerfan

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

I voted: A Cultural Tradition morphed from a Satanic Holiday

 

While in this day and age, it's seen as a "cultural tradition", I do indeed believe it started out as a satanic holiday, despite good intentions.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

I voted: A Cultural Tradition morphed from a Satanic Holiday

 

While in this day and age, it's seen as a "cultural tradition", I do indeed believe it started out as a satanic holiday, despite good intentions.

Are you equating Pagan and Satanic? I've done some research and I've found nothing about Satanic worship ... other than recently (the last decade or so)

[NordicBearskin 0]

Morphed Pagan holiday. It started out as a day set aside for all the evil spirits to do their mischief so that for the rest of the year the townsolk would be left in peace. I don't see it as Satanic as the people didn't worship these evil spirts, they were fearful of them. Hence the one day when everyone locked up their houses and left saucers of milk to appease the evil spirits wrath. And yes I mean evil spirits not demons. This was before christianity.

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

I voted: A Cultural Tradition morphed from a Satanic Holiday

 

While in this day and age, it's seen as a "cultural tradition", I do indeed believe it started out as a satanic holiday, despite good intentions.

Are you equating Pagan and Satanic? I've done some research and I've found nothing about Satanic worship ... other than recently (the last decade or so)

Running arround dressed as gouls, goblins, demons, whatever. Regardless of the intentions, it seems to me like they're condolling evil.

[NordicBearskin 0]

But they didn't do that originaly. This dressing up has only happened very recently in our culture. (I'm guessing 25 years tops)

[Mike 5]

I've always thought that Halloween started as the Catholic Holy Day 'All Souls Day'..In my opinion it is now 'A Cultural Tradition'..I've never ever thought it was Satanic..On this day we may dress up like ghosts, goblins and monsters but I don't see us worshiping evil spirits at all..

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

It may not be worshiping evil, but it's condolling evil, which is just as bad.

[Mike 5]

It may not be worshiping evil, but it's condolling evil, which is just as bad.

I don't agree but no big surprise there..

[Tattoo 0]

Holloween used to be a yearly event that someone dresses up and tries to scare you for fun. You used to get hitmies and half pennies. Now its become in fact dangerius with people putting razors in apples. I don't believe in Holloween because it has become retail oppertunity. Do you notice every year Holloween stuff goes up before September? The price ranges are between $5-10 for one mask? I could make my son, a mask for free and it'd look fr better than the stores.

 

Captain Picard, infact Devil Worshipers infact see Holloween as the Devils birthday. I know this from serving with a Devil Worshiper in the Army.

Edited October 30, 2003 by Tattoo

[cptwright 1]

i put a combination. but i dont beleive it to be satanic, and CJLP some of what i recall, is that the dressing up as a goblin, monster, ghost, or goul, none of which are satanic creatures, as you may recall in the show you love TREK, you see all these things, i dont see you stop watching that or calling it satanic. but back to what i was saying, they dressed up that way to SCARE OFF THE EVIL SPIRITS, i do know that they have been dressing up for far more years than 25, as this was part of the original beginings, but its been so long since ive heard all the begingins of halloween that i dont relly remember most of it. i also beleive that it is such a sad state of affairs that the children today cant have as much fun with it as we did in our day. but i do also notice that there arent near as many scares today, as when i used to do it. i remember going to places with metal detectors checking out my canyd. so i guess the worst of it started in my trick or treating prime. oh well i have seen sooooo many things that i used to love to do, go down the toilet for one reason or another with todays youth.

[Goose 0]

Stardate:213827.9

 

 

To me halloween represents going out and having fun.Carving images on pumpkins,hanging up decorations in your house,and dressing up like whatever you want.Its a holidays and holidays are meant to be fun!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wheather its trick or treating, going to a party, or just sitting at home and watching movies its FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I have never really given a rats butt how Halloween started and I still dont.For people who dont celebrate for the reasons above i say fine its your choice but your missing out on alot of fun!!!!!!!!!

[mrskirk 0]

I voted cultural tradition morphed from pagan holiday. Nothing satanic about it. I remember reading somewhere that the pagan holiday was originally called All Hallows Eve, from which the shortened Halloween emerged. And I also equate Halloween with fun. I love seeing small children come to my door with their parents while trick or treating. Some of those little costumes are so damned cute!! Halloween parties at the bar are a hoot, too. I've seen alot of creative and hilarious costumes over the years. I myself don't dress up. If anybody asks, I tell them I'm costumed as a tall, skinny, thirsty Polack and ask the person to buy me a beer. Usually works-got a lot of free beer with that line. When I was a kid, trick or treat was on Halloween night. I thought trick or treating at night was alot more fun than what goes on now-trick or treating on the Sunday afternoon BEFORE Halloween. No fun there!!![/color]

[prometheus 0]

Halloween. Or 'all Hallow's eve'. When it was believed that the dead would rise from their graves and return to the houses they once lived in. So lanterns were made to scare them away. Big in America as, like the baby shower, these things died out in England over time but remained with the nerve shattered pilgrims who moved to America in the 17th century. Now the influenence of American culture has brought such things back to the fore in Britain.

[Tal 0]

To me halloween is a bit of everything you stated above but i haven't really thought about it until now. I to don't really like halloween ever it just annoys me but i don't now why.

 

 

[Klingonmike 0]

Halloween is morphed from an old Pagen holiday, nothing satanic about it. Here is a little history lesson on the origins of halloween:

 

Halloween is an annual celebration, but just what is it actually a celebration of? And how did this peculiar custom originate? Is it, as some claim, a kind of demon worship? Or is it just a harmless vestige of some ancient pagan ritual?

 

The word itself, "Halloween," actually has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. November 1, "All Hollows Day" (or "All Saints Day"), is a Catholic day of observance in honor of saints. But, in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The holiday was called Samhain (sow-en), the Celtic New year.

 

One story says that, on that day, the disembodied spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. It was believed to be their only hope for the afterlife. The Celts believed all laws of space and time were suspended during this time, allowing the spirit world to intermingle with the living.

 

Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes, to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily paraded around the neighborhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.

 

Probably a better explanation of why the Celts extinguished their fires was not to discourage spirit possession, but so that all the Celtic tribes could relight their fires from a common source, the Druidic fire that was kept burning in the Middle of Ireland, at Usinach.

 

Some accounts tell of how the Celts would burn someone at the stake who was thought to have already been possessed, as sort of a lesson to the spirits. Other accounts of Celtic history debunk these stories as myth.

 

The Romans adopted the Celtic practices as their own. But in the first century AD, Samhain was assimilated into celebrations of some of the other Roman traditions that took place in October, such as their day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple, which might explain the origin of our modern tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween.

 

The thrust of the practices also changed over time to become more ritualized. As belief in spirit possession waned, the practice of dressing up like hobgoblins, ghosts, and witches took on a more ceremonial role.

 

The custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1840's by Irish immigrants fleeing their country's potato famine. At that time, the favorite pranks in New England included tipping over outhouses and unhinging fence gates.

 

The custom of trick-or-treating is thought to have originated not with the Irish Celts, but with a ninth-century European custom called souling. On November 2, All Souls Day, early Christians would walk from village to village begging for "soul cakes," made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars would receive, the more prayers they would promise to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors. At the time, it was believed that the dead remained in limbo for a time after death, and that prayer, even by strangers, could expedite a soul's passage to heaven.

 

The Jack-o-lantern custom probably comes from Irish folklore. As the tale is told, a man named Jack, who was notorious as a drunkard and trickster, tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Jack then carved an image of a cross in the tree's trunk, trapping the devil up the tree. Jack made a deal with the devil that, if he would never tempt him again, he would promise to let him down the tree.

 

According to the folk tale, after Jack died, he was denied entrance to Heaven because of his evil ways, but he was also denied access to Hell because he had tricked the devil. Instead, the devil gave him a single ember to light his way through the frigid darkness. The ember was placed inside a hollowed-out turnip to keep it glowing longer.

 

The Irish used turnips as their "Jack's lanterns" originally. But when the immigrants came to America, they found that pumpkins were far more plentiful than turnips. So the Jack-O-Lantern in America was a hollowed-out pumpkin, lit with an ember.

 

So, although some cults may have adopted Halloween as their favorite "holiday," the day itself did not grow out of evil practices. It grew out of the rituals of Celts celebrating a new year, and out of Medieval prayer rituals of Europeans. And today, even many churches have Halloween parties or pumpkin carving events for the kids. After all, the day itself is only as evil as one cares to make it.

 

© 1995-2002 by Jerry Wilson

 

References: Charles Panati, Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things, 1987; and Dr. Joseph Gahagan, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Personal letter, 1997

Edited October 30, 2003 by Klingonmike

[Yellow_Dragon 0]

Where's the "I Don't Care?" option?

Halloween is an awesome holiday.In fact,a recent news poll on Fox showed that amongst American's it was second only to Christmas as favorite holiday.I don't care where its roots lay.Its just an excuse for merrymaking today,and that's fine with me.

I'm going to a Halloween costume party tomorrow night,dressed as Pogo the Clown (John Wayne Gacy's alterego....scary,a REAL monster!).

[Theunicornhunter 2]

Thanks Klingonmike, that was a good piece. I agree with what others have said as well... whatever the origins there's nothing wrong with dressing up and sharing a fun cultural event.

[BigRedManiac 0]

I got an aunt that doesn't celebrate Halloween and thinks its satanic,and that everybody that does celebrate it is going to hell.But she's wrong.

I can't claim to know a thing about Halloween's roots.I've heard about its origins laying in ancient Druid religious rights,and a few other things.But that's not what Halloween means to me.As far as the holiday concerns me,it's a time to dress up and eat candy and act a little crazy with your friends.A time to watch horror movies and visit haunted house and carve pumpkins.Thats it.No devil worship.No sacrafices.None of that.Myself,I'm looking forward to tomorrow night.

[captainfreeman 0]

Halloween is a combination of several different celebrations.Today's holiday,however,in no way,shape,or form is like unto any of them,however.The closest thing I can think of as a holiday tie-in (and this has more to do with Thanksgiving)would be the ancient practice of celebrating the end of Harvest time,and the beginning of the year.

I think its sad and a little silly to spurn Halloween as satanic and an endorsement of Lucifer (or,as Rowan Atkinson called him,"Old Toby").Nothing could be further from the truth.

Oh well,I suppose if some of us didn't have something or someone to spurn,we wouldn't be happy.

[cyphrx 0]

I think the holiday originated from some religion or belief at one time, but by today standards whatever message they had is now forgotten through commericalism. (To a certain extent I believe this with christmas too.) But hey I was tricker treating like the rest of them, so I don't believe there's no harm. Also it is a time where I can wear my Star Trek uniform with out being ridiculed.

[Klingonmike 0]

Its is a great time to wear the Starfleet uniform without getting strange looks from people....I'm wearing mine now! I'll be wearing it to work later this afternoon!

[BakulaBabe 2]

Thanks, Klingonmike, for your earlier Pagan holiday research post - you said it far better than I could!

(Pardon me while I get up on my soapbox)

Satanism and Paganism have nothing to do with each other, but demonising is always easier than understanding. I suspect that the "evil" aspects of Halloween are partly due to the secularization of the holiday - it's more fun to be naughty than nice - and the "horror" aspect makes good money.

[APW 0]

For me and mine,Halloween is a fun holiday and an opportunity to make money.We turn our farm into a little Halloween theme park each October.We have a massive pumpkin patch,petting zoo (nothing exotic,just farm critters...city kids seem to like them a lot,though),haunted hayrides...I or my brothers take a load of folks out on a haywagon ride through a "haunted" crop field,while other family members dress as muderous scarecrows,zombie amish,etc and "attack" and chase the haywagon,and our barn gets converted into a haunted house (low tech).This year,we also had refreshment stands,and I offered my coin-op arcade games for play in a mini-arcade tent.I won't be certain for a while,as I don't do the books,but I think we turned a tidy profit this year. :lol: $$$$$Its good to be a capitalist.

Maybe Master_q has something about the economy turning around,afterall.I'm sure we had a lot brisker busines this season than the last several.

As for Halloween's origins?I could care less.

[sea trooper 0]

Tradition morphed from a satanic holiday. It's all fun!

[Rivendells_king 0]

I think it is a combination of all 3. Locals celebrated it and when catholicism came some times the priests or who ever try to celebrate some holidays to make the transition from pagenisism to christanity easier by combining them with some of their holidays, like days of the dead in mexico, aztecs celebrated it and the catholic missonairs combined some christian aspects along with pagen things.

[Matt 0]

Hallowe'en originates from All Hallows Eve, it was a pagan holiday and has absolutely nothing to do with satanism. Satanism and paganism are nothing alike, don't confuse them.