Halloween: A Festival of Saints or Devils?
Danger can lurk among the spooky costumes and supposedly harmless decorations of Halloween. How can Catholic parents protect their children while offering them something better?
The Catholic Meaning of Halloween
The very name Halloween points us towards its Christian meaning. It comes from Hallowe’en, or All Hallows’ Eve — the evening before All Saints’ Day on 1 November. “Hallows” means holy ones or saints.
All Saints’ Day celebrates the saints in Heaven, known and unknown, and reminds us of the destiny to which every Christian is called.
Over the centuries, however, different customs and influences became associated with 31 October. Historians debate the precise origins of many Halloween traditions, with Christian observances, older customs and later popular culture all playing a part.
What is unmistakable today is that much of commercial Halloween has moved a very long way from the celebration of holiness suggested by the name.
When Darkness Becomes Entertainment
Walk through the Halloween section of many shops and the imagery is difficult to miss: witches, devils, possessed figures, corpses and increasingly gruesome representations of death and evil.
There is a danger in presenting such things repeatedly to children as harmless fun.
The horrendous can repel us, but it can also fascinate us. Evil has always possessed this strange attraction. There is therefore a bitter irony in seeing the eve of All Saints’ Day — a feast celebrating those who conquered sin through Christ — transformed into an occasion when darkness is dressed up as entertainment and handed to children with sweets.
For Catholic parents, however, merely saying “no” is unlikely to be enough.
Give Children Something Better
We will oppose what is ugly most effectively by offering our children something more beautiful.
Instead of allowing Halloween to belong entirely to witches, demons and horror, Catholic families can rediscover All Hallows’ Eve and its relationship with the saints.
Why not join with other families and hold an All Saints celebration? Children can dress as their favourite saints, hear their extraordinary stories, enjoy games and treats, and discover that holiness is anything but dull.
The Christian response should not simply be fear of what is evil. It should be delight in what is good.
Our children are surrounded by powerful images and stories competing for their imagination. Let us learn to offer them the far more attractive alternative of the true, the good and the beautiful.
