ArticleHalloween, which comes around again on Thursday, is a curious festival that has followed the oft-trod path from pagan origins to adoption by the church before now reverting to a completely secular event.
For pre-Christian Celts, November 1 marked the end of summer, and they believed the veil between the living and the dead was rent for a day so the spirits of the dead could visit. Masks and disguises were worn to frighten off evil spirits.
Christians had a separate day to celebrate the lives of the departed and learn from their example.
In the early 7th century Pope Boniface IV moved that feast from May to November 1 as All Hallows’ Day, while the night before became All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween), co-opting the popular Celtic festival.
So Halloween is not in the Bible. But it could come under the proscriptions in, for example, the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy not to sacrifice children in the fire to Moloch, or to practise divination or sorcery, interpret omens, engage in witchcraft, or consult the dead.
Of course Moses is instructing the Hebrews who will dwell among people who believe in these practices. Unlike the Canaanites, few people today practise human sacrifice.
Therefore many religious believers – Jews and Muslims too – dislike Halloween because of its connections with the occult. If I believed Halloween opened such connections I would share that antipathy, but scarcely anyone today accords Halloween any spiritual significance – it’s all about the lollies.
I dislike Halloween because I see it as part of the rapid Americanisation of Australian culture, and as another occasion hijacked by commercialism, like Mother’s Day. Americans collectively spent more than $US12 billion ($18 billion) on Halloween last year. I also know children for whom witches’ hats, skeletons and giant spiders cause nightmares. But mine is a purely personal position, and I do not seek to persuade anyone else.
A positive side emerges not only in the fun for so many children but the community-building aspect. One Christian told me:
“Some older folk living alone get quite lonely. At Halloween they get to see all the kids in the neighbourhood, and they love it.”
The key is the principle the Apostle Paul sets out in his letter to the Romans, discussing whether it is acceptable to eat meat sacrificed to pagan idols.
If you don’t believe the idols are real, he says, it is fine, but if you do then stay away: “If anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.”
So if for you Halloween is a bit of innocent dressing up, indulging children and maybe getting to know the neighbours, I don’t see much harm. But if you believe the souls of the departed are visiting your home, take care.
Barney Zwartz is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Public Christianity. This article first appeared in The Age.