Nowadays, many people don’t celebrate Halloween because they claim it to be “satanic.” But is it really? What is the true, modern-day meaning of Halloween, and was it ever evil in the first place?
Origins of Halloween
Halloween originally began as an ancient Celctic holiday called Samhain, a spiritual, religious, and pagan celebration. Samhain was celebrated to greet the harvest season and “to usher in ‘the dark half of the year’” (History.com). Those celebrating Samhain believed that the partition separating the physical and spiritual worlds would partially dissolve, allowing relations between humans & spirits. They also believed that those who died the previous year would come back and roam the earth on Samhain. In order to ward off any negative energies, they wore costumes and lit bonfires to scare these energies away. Ironically, some left their doors open in order to welcome in the spirits of passed family members. The day after Samhain (celebrated on October 31st), November 1st, is All Saint’s Day. All Saint’s Day celebrates all saints, both recognized by churches and not, who have gone to heaven. Based on the origins of Samhain, it seems that it is not demonic, as it is not welcoming demons, but shunning them instead.
The Occult
Although Halloween is deeply rooted in paganism, many believe it is also relative to the occult. Occult is defined as being able to see or sense the hidden forces and the supernatural. Words like occult and paganism are also often used to describe any religion that does not align with the beliefs of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. Since it is believed that on Samhain spirits visit, it is technically occult, since spirits are the hidden supernatural (although I am unsure if part of Samhain was physically seeing these supposed spirits) and it does not align with many beliefs of Judaism, Christianity, or Islam, but this does not make it demonic. As covered in the Origins of Halloween, evil spirits such as demons and Satan, were warded off. Juxtaposed to this belief of demonic Halloween, one of the earliest accounts of saints was written shortly after Samhain, in November of 411, listing the deaths of martyrs. According to UC Press, this means that Halloween is technically celebrating a festival created to honor martyrs.
Modern Day
As any tradition naturally does, Samhain eventually developed into Halloween as we know it. Currently, many people try to communicate with spirits by using things like Ouija boards or spirit boxes, which could be considered occult. These modern traditions could have originated from the supposed blurred split between the physical and metaphysical, but that is just a conclusion that I have come to. Now that we have all of this background knowledge, what is the current day meaning of Halloween? The average American certainly isn’t dressing up as Alvin from Alvin & The Chipmunks to scare away an evil spirit. Though Halloween has been around for centuries upon centuries, it has become just a fun holiday for everyone. If you were to ask someone “What does Halloween look like for the average American?” they would say that it’s just dressing up in fun costumes and trick or treating.
So is it demonic or not?
Based on the information I have collected while researching, I do not believe that Halloween is demonic. Occult, pagan, maybe, but even the origins of Halloween are against the evil metaphysical, the antithesis of demonic. Although you and I might not consider Halloween demonic, it is important to remember that everyone has their own beliefs and opinions and they are entitled to that. This also goes for those who believe that Halloween is demonic. Some may celebrate that, but not everyone. In general, you should allow people to believe whatever they’d like as long as you aren’t harming anyone. In the words of famous (albeit fictional) journalist Rory Gilmore, “So, what’s the verdict?” My verdict is that it’s up to you!
Bibliography
Definition of PAGANISM. (n.d.). Merriam-webster.com. Retrieved October 12, 2024, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paganism
Halloween: Origins and current traditions. (n.d.). Mit.edu. Retrieved October 12, 2024, from https://iso.mit.edu/americanisms/halloween-origins-and-current-traditions/
Spooky history of Samhain. (2014, October 28). Wake Forest University Press. https://wfupress.wfu.edu/arts-and-culture/spooky-history-of-samhain/
The deep history lurking behind Halloween. (n.d.). University of California Press. Retrieved October 12, 2024, from https://www.ucpress.edu/blog-posts/60478-the-deep-history-lurking-behind-halloween
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. (2023). All Saints’ Day. In Encyclopedia Britannica.
Vaughan, D. (2022). Why do we celebrate Halloween? In Encyclopedia Britannica.
White, E. D. (2024). occult. In Encyclopedia Britannica.
Zapata, C. (2018, April 6). Samhain. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/samhain
