The origins of Hallowe’en lie in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced sow’win): a festival focused on the spirits of the dead. The festival was traditionally held
on the of. cial start of win-
ter on the Celtic calendar, which corresponds to November 1 on our calendar. The wintry darkness of November symbolized death to the Celts.
During Samhain, revelers would light bon. res to keep spirits away. It was believed that the border between life and death was softened at midnight on October 31, allowing wandering spirits to “come back” to destroy crops and cause mischief.
The Celts wore animal-themed costumes as they sacri. ced crops and animals by throwing them into the raging bon. res, hoping to summon the protection of deities.
In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III made November 1 a holiday by which to remember saints and martyrs. This celebration, called All Saints’ Day, included a few Samhain customs.
All Hallows’ Eve—the night before All Saints Day—became Hallowe’en. Some believe that trick-or-treating had some of its origins in All Souls Day parades in England, where the poor would beg attendees for food.
To hallow means to sanctify or make holy. However, even as Christian missionaries tried to make All Saints Day the focus of celebration, the ghoulish paganism of Samhain remained, and the observance of All Hallows Eve as a celebration of the disembodied dead prevailed. Gifts of food and drink were placed outside the door to appease wandering spirits. This began the tradition of children dressing up as spooks and ghouls and going door to door to collect treats.
In the mid 1800s, Irish immigrants brought their version of Hallowe’en to North America, where it was celebrated with public costume parades and parties. Twentieth-century mass production of costumes increased the popularity of Halloween for kids and adults.
Candy became a staple in Hallowe’en tradition in the late 1950s, when candy companies began marketing sweets as the perfect Hallowe’en treat. Going door-to-door on Hallowe’en be began in the late 1930s. By the 1940s, dressing up as monsters and ringing doorbells became a nationwide affair.
Throughout the 40s and even into the 50s, kids received cakes, fruits, coins and even toys, but as trick-or-treater’s numbers increased, these items became too expensive. Candy makers had already been using holidays as a way to increase candy sales—they produced the heart-shaped chocolate box in the early 1900s to market candy on Valentine’s Day. Candy was cheaper than toys and fruit, and kids loved it. From then on, candy became a major player during Halloween and by the early part of the 1970s, it was the obvious choice for people to hand out to trick-or-treaters Many object Hallowe’en celebrations because of its ghoulish,
pagan roots, and I certainly think there are more bene. cial
events to commemorate. But I think we’re missing two very subtle, but extremely powerful, dangers of Hallowe’en: This over-indulgence of sugar that lasts far longer than one night of the year, makes Americans prone to diabetes, tooth decay, obesity, ADHD and cancer. Sugar is highly addictive, and should be given to children very sparingly at any time.
Americans will spend nearly $7,000,000,000,000 (yes, that is BILLION) on Hallowe’en costumes and candy this year.
Pet owners will spend $350,000,000 to dress pets in various costumes. With so much lack in our world, God must grieve over this egregious waste of His provision.
If we believers don’t step away from Hallowe’en because of its questionable foundations, perhaps we could prayerfully reconsider how we treat our bodies, and how we allocate the resources God has placed in our hands.
Send your questions and comments to: Dr. Dixie Yoder PO Box 466 Weatherford, OK 73096 [email protected] www.drdixie.org
