Even though Halloween has already passed, I still have some thoughts regarding the spooky day.
While scrolling on TikTok, I saw a video of a Christian girl implying that Halloween is a demonic holiday and that real Christians should not celebrate it. As a religious studies major, I couldn’t help but chuckle at her sentiment.
While some Christians like her claim it is a “demonic” holiday, Halloween actually has deep Christian roots and cultural significance, especially when it comes to honoring the spirits of loved ones and saints who have passed on.
Furthermore, what even is a real Christian? There are so many different denominations within this religion, and all of them have slightly different rituals, beliefs and ways of being.
It’s impossible to declare a real approach to the religion, though members of each denomination are under the impression that their way is the right way. Nonetheless, Halloween’s history is a bit complex and can be traced back to ancient Celtic culture and Christianity.
The most commonly believed origin of Halloween amongst history and religious studies scholars is that of Samhain. For the Celts, Samhain was a celebration of the New Year and the end of the harvest. This celebration took place at sunset on Oct. 31.
The Celts also believed in an afterlife called The Land of Summer, and on Oct. 31, it was said that the boundary that separated the world of the living and dead would be weakened. Therefore, spirits and other entities would be able to cross over into the land of the living. This is where Halloween gets its spooky and ghostly aesthetic from.
As Christianity began to spread across Europe through missionaries in the Middle Ages, non-Christians in the Celtic region were encouraged to convert. Instead of aggressively attempting to eradicate the practices of the Celts, Christian missionaries decided to spread their faith through syncretism.
They believed that conversion would be more effective if they played into the local customs of the Celts, and they were right. Elements of Celtic religion and culture were kept and are now under the guise of Christianity.
For example, ancient pagan gods were replaced with Catholic saints. In addition, during the 8th century, Pope Gregory III moved the celebration of martyrs to November 1st; this day was called All Saints Day. Furthermore, All Souls Day was established on November 2nd so that both days could coincide with Samhain.
Far from encouraging darkness, Halloween invites us to embrace and celebrate life, death and community spirit. The spooky symbols are simply a fun, whimsical way of facing our fears and mysteries of the unknown. Halloween beautifully explores the circle of life and helps us find beauty in each phase of life by honoring those who came before us and celebrating with joy and reflection.
Amyri Jones is a 22-year-old digital advertising and religious studies senior from Baton Rouge, LA.
