Modern secular society and neo-pagan enthusiasts have attempted to appropriate a Catholic holiday, leaving many people feeling confused and conflicted over whether or not to celebrate Halloween.
CatholicVote is here to explain the Catholic origins of Halloween and share traditional practices from around the world!
Hallowtide
Halloween is the colloquial term for “All Hallows Eve,” the first day in a Triduum that also includes All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
All Saints’ Day was commemorated by Pope Gregory III in the 8th century when he dedicated the oratory at St. Peter’s Basilica to the “holy apostles and of all saints, martyrs, and confessors, of all the just made perfect who are at rest throughout the world.”
November 1 was confirmed and decreed as All Saints Day, a holy day of obligation, by Louis the Pious in 835 at the request of Pope Gregory IV. All Hallows’ Eve is the vigil of All Saints’ Day.
The holy day of obligation was meant to consolidate the various Christian festivals throughout the Holy Roman Empire that celebrated the lives of martyrs, the Blessed Mother, and the saints.
All Souls’ Day follows on November 2 and commemorates the departed members of the Church. It is a time for Christians to offer up prayers for those in purgatory.
Conflicted Catholics?
There are popular beliefs by protestant Christians that modern Halloween practices are linked to evil and should not be celebrated. Jon Sorenson at Catholic Answers has provided information on the subject and discusses how to participate in Halloween without its problematic themes, and its Catholic origins.
According to Sorenson, Neo-Pagan scholars and neo-puritan groups have attempted to attribute the origins of Halloween to the Celtic celebration of Samhain. However, Samhain was a harvest festival used to mark the end of summer. Historians like Ronald Hutton have found no evidence that actually links Samahain to All Souls’ Day:
The medieval records furnish no evidence that 1 November was a major pan-Celtic festival, and none of the religious ceremonies, even where it was observed.
Hutton further explains Neo-pagan ideas:
their point cannot be proved from the tales themselves; it could just be that several narratives are started, set, or concluded at this feast because it represented an ideal context, being a major gathering of royalty and warriors with time on their hands.
The idea of Halloween being a strictly pagan holiday only dates back to the Protestant Rebellion.
Ways to Celebrate
In Mexico, the Hallowtide is celebrated as el Dia de Los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. Mexicans commemorate the feast by placing marigold flowers at the tombs of saints and loved ones and building ofrendas with pictures of deceased relatives. At home, families make decorative sugar skulls, and eat a sweet bread called pan de muerto.
In the Philippines during Pangangaluwa or Todos los Santos family members go to the graves of their loved ones to repair them, light candles, and offer up prayers. They will also go from house to house singing and praying.
Italy celebrates the holiday as Ognissanti, followed by Giorno dei Morti. The holiday is celebrated by attending Mass and enjoying time with family, and “in Sicily, it’s believed that the dead bring sweets or small gifts to well-behaved children.”
Sanctifying a Secular Society
The origins of All Hallows’ Eve are Catholic, and parents raise their children to celebrate the true meaning of the holiday. In 2018 Bishop David Konderla of Tulsa, Oklahoma released a “Memorandum On the Celebration of Halloween,” which helps to outline how Catholics should approach the holiday.
We also want to intentionally avoid those things that are contrary to our Catholic faith but have become popularized through the secular adaptation of Halloween. Turning to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we want to refrain from glamourizing or celebrating anything involving superstition, witches, witchcraft, sorcery, divinations, magic, and the occult (cf. CCC 2210-2117). We want to be good models of Christian virtue for those we serve and make clear distinctions between that which is good and that which is evil.
Various parishes offer trunk-or-treat events to help parents and children safely celebrate the holiday devoid of evil or darker themes.
Parents can also take care to sanctify the holiday by teaching their children about its history and origins and helping their children reflect on the lives of the saints by choosing a saint to study and dress up as for the holiday.
Going to daily Mass on All Hallows’ Eve and again on All Souls’ Day is another “holy” way to celebrate the holiday.
As Catholics, we can turn Hallowtide into an opportunity for evangelization and being the light in darker times.