The Circle of Life Of Halloween
My response to a discussion on Penni's blog:
"Actually, we just heard an apologetics speaker talk about Halloween and how very Catholic it is. He talked about how, yes, it was originally a harvest festival for the Celtic crowd who celebrated the dead and such, but that in a move to establish somewhat of another Triduum, the Catholic Church moved All Saints Day and All Souls Day to the beginning of November, and hence we have Halloween, All Hallows Eve, before the feast of all Saints. He said, of course it is all about how you go about it. Ghouls and monsters and murderers? Maybe not. But if you think about it, ghosts and skeletons are very appropriate to celebrate the dead- it all depends on how you do it. Death is not something we as Catholics should avoid celebrating...afterall, how else can we get to Heaven? In Mexico, the day of the dead is still a roaring tradition and it is not uncommon to find celebrations at cemeteries.
However, he did say that since our Protestant brohters and sisters do not see All Saints and All Souls day in the same fashion and, in fact, do not celebrate it, then we should not get bothered that they choose to have Harvest festivals or not celebrate Halloween at all- it actually would be inappropriate to do so unless they were planning on exploring their Catholic roots.
I will say, in the spirit of irony and humor (I emphasize humor), that it is interesting how the circle of life for Halloween evolved: first Harvest festivals that celebratd the fall season with some spirits and scare by our Celtic ancestors, followed by a supplanting of the Celtic tradition with the "All Hallow's Eve" celebration by the Church in an effort to Christianize the holiday, turning then into a day of pumpkins, candy and costumes as the holiday was secularized, and therefore being rejected by Christian people wanting to distance themselves from the horror, scare, and gore of the secular celebration, and hence evolving once again into a celebration of the season with...Harvest festivals."
"Actually, we just heard an apologetics speaker talk about Halloween and how very Catholic it is. He talked about how, yes, it was originally a harvest festival for the Celtic crowd who celebrated the dead and such, but that in a move to establish somewhat of another Triduum, the Catholic Church moved All Saints Day and All Souls Day to the beginning of November, and hence we have Halloween, All Hallows Eve, before the feast of all Saints. He said, of course it is all about how you go about it. Ghouls and monsters and murderers? Maybe not. But if you think about it, ghosts and skeletons are very appropriate to celebrate the dead- it all depends on how you do it. Death is not something we as Catholics should avoid celebrating...afterall, how else can we get to Heaven? In Mexico, the day of the dead is still a roaring tradition and it is not uncommon to find celebrations at cemeteries.
However, he did say that since our Protestant brohters and sisters do not see All Saints and All Souls day in the same fashion and, in fact, do not celebrate it, then we should not get bothered that they choose to have Harvest festivals or not celebrate Halloween at all- it actually would be inappropriate to do so unless they were planning on exploring their Catholic roots.
I will say, in the spirit of irony and humor (I emphasize humor), that it is interesting how the circle of life for Halloween evolved: first Harvest festivals that celebratd the fall season with some spirits and scare by our Celtic ancestors, followed by a supplanting of the Celtic tradition with the "All Hallow's Eve" celebration by the Church in an effort to Christianize the holiday, turning then into a day of pumpkins, candy and costumes as the holiday was secularized, and therefore being rejected by Christian people wanting to distance themselves from the horror, scare, and gore of the secular celebration, and hence evolving once again into a celebration of the season with...Harvest festivals."
posted by Philothea Rose at
10:29 AM
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