Halloween and the Church - Report Example

Halloween and the Church 2009 Outline: A) Introduction B) Celebrating Halloween: what does it reveal about the Americans? C) Halloween and the ChurchD) Conclusion. Foreword: the present report deals with one of the paradoxes of American society which is considered the society of believers who at the same time enjoy the feast officially blamed by the Church. We try to analyze how this paradox, as well all how celebrating Halloween reflects the peculiarities of the American culture. We will also analyse the relationship between the Church and this holiday that is of pagan origin but is connected with All Saint’s Day that the believers celebrate. A) Introduction One of the popular American practices that may be considered strange and even to a certain extent paradoxical is the feast of Halloween. I think so because, on the one hand, Americans are very pious, and they are the nation of believers, but on the other hand Halloween, notwithstanding the fact that the official Church condemns it, is really widely spread in the society. However, it would be incorrect to state that the Americans are the only nation incorporating both pagan and Christian traditions into their culture. But let us dwell upon the phenomenon of Halloween and try to speculate upon how it reflects the peculiarities of American mind and culture on the whole. B) Celebrating Halloween: what does it reveal about the Americans? Halloween originated among the ancient Celts who had their special feast in honor of Samhain (which was not the name for the Celtic “Death God” as some people erroneously state), that means it was brought to America from Europe, but as it was later almost fully prohibited in England, France etc., Americans became the ones who truly breathed new life into it. The Celts believed that the night the transfer from autumn to winter happens (and November was considered the beginning of winter), the souls and ghosts of the dead visit the Earth, and therefore, on Halloween people preferred not to stay alone, made fire and were on their guard in order to make sure the evil spirits could not have them over the barrel. So that is where modern carnival comes from: in order to protect oneself from the evil spirits, one has to dress up and pose as these spirits. This is rather bizarre, as the Church, normally respected by the Americans, considers that when imitating evil spirits, people take over demonic disposition and destroy their appearance that was given to them by God. Such behavior contradicts Christian foundations; however the Americans never cease being true believers. Also there are usually acts of “petty vandalism” which the Church also does not approve of – children break glasses, burn trees, etc. Though in the 1920s the scouts called to introduce the practice of “trick or treat” instead, sometimes people still like to commit something they would not usually do in their normal life. Respectable businessmen are likely to turn over garbage bins, stewardesses (mainly on domestic flights) dress up like a witches or fairies, teachers have no less fun than their students. It is really an unusual tradition – to wear a mask and play a role quite opposite to what one is in the society. Both children and grown-ups enjoy themselves and have fun meeting November in the costumes of witches and vampires, throwing eggs, taking part in the “best costume” competitions, and eating pumpkin dishes. It reveals the Americans being in need of throwing away from time to time their “normal” social roles and taking up something quite uncommon. Americans particularly care about their children and are usually good parents. The paradox is, though some scientists think it can traumatize the child’s mind, demoralize the children and even demonize them, American people treat Halloween as a means to please their kids. Also, more and more Americans like to perform wedding ceremonies on this day, especially with some characteristic “Halloween trick effects” (for example, the bride and bridegroom are married by Dracula from out of his coffin). It is rather unusual for people who, first, truly believe in God, and second, are rather concerned about seriousness of ceremonies, especially wedding. As a rule, people in the USA prefer to get married in church, but in this case no church can be employed, as people cannot have a priest dressed up like a vampire or a wizard. Again, it can reveal the people’s need to sometimes step aside from traditions. C) Halloween and the Church The holiday with pagan roots, Halloween, is celebrated on October 31, on the All Saints Day’s Eve. According to the Church, this is the day of witches, vampires, werewolves, maniacs, murderers, demons and other evil forces. The Church therefore things that by wearing Halloween costumes and masks, few people think that in fact they take over the images of Satanic forces and, to a certain extent, the pagan perception of the world. By looking like witches and other non-human creatures people show disrespect to their own human image that was created by God. Daniel Rendelman claims that «we can reason excuses for Bible believers to celebrate Halloween but the argument does no good”. (Rendelman) The Church considers Halloween a satanic holiday – even the “trick and treat” tradition can be compared to the ritual of sacrifice to the dark forces. The Church also is trying to prove that Halloween causes in children anxiety, neuroses, psychical deviations, aggression, etc. D. Rendelman quotes the Bible when proving that Halloween should not be celebrated by the believers: “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil,” 1 Thesalonians 5:21-22”. (cited from: Rendelman) Because the holiday of Halloween is of Celtic origin, and the Celts believe that the new life was born from the death and worshipped the demon Samkhain (Saman) that was the Lord of Death, the Church condemns the holiday and claims it is of evil character. It says that by wearing the costumes of the evil forces (the dead), people abide to the Satan who is the embodiment of the dark and the evil. “Halloween practices, from dressing in costumes to bobbing for apples, were once part of pagan worship. These actions are repeated today by people who are unaware or simply don’t care about their true meaning. Time may have passed but their origins and true purpose remains the same”. (Rendelman) Other traditions of Halloween, such as various prophesies, magic rituals, fortune-telling, divination and others, are also, according to the Church, of Anti-Christian nature. Celebrating Halloween, the Church claims, often results in people’s interest towards the Satanism and occultism. However, there are opinions that Halloween and the Church holiday of All Saints that is celebrated on November 1 are closely interconnected. Kenneth C. Davis in his article asks a question if Halloween is “a day of innocent merriment or a celebration of sinister forces” and claims that the proof of both positions can be found in the course of history”. (Davis 2005) Let us see what is the proof of this connection between Halloween and the Christian holiday of All Saints that follows this controversial pagan holiday: “Christians, in an effort to counter pagan rituals to death and evil spirits, created an alternative tradition – All Hallow’s Day on Nov. 1”. (Riley 2007) Therefore, there is an opinion that the Catholic Church has transformed an ancient holiday into the one that honors the saints and martyrs for Christianity. (How did a Pagan Holiday become a Christian Celebration, 2005) D) Conclusion There is no other feast that would be as dear to each American’s heart as Halloween is. To my mind, it is based upon the national tendency to enjoy trick effects and shows. It should also be mentioned that celebrating Halloween is a part of American death-denying culture pointed out by Mitford, as it teaches – as practically all pagan religions and feasts do – that people should not be afraid of death, and that humorous attitude to it is possible. Many elements of Halloween show that the Americans are in need to change their social roles from time to time, they are tired of posing as respectable citizens and like to be – at least once in a year – somebody else. The Church condemns Halloween and considers it a satanic feast, but millions of people who have fun at Halloween night think that they do not worship evil spirits, but overpower them. Because many a century ago the American people learned to overcome fear with the help of laughter. References 1. “How did a Pagan Holiday become a Christian Celebration”, The Good News, A Magazine of Understanding, September/October 2005. Retrieved from: 2. Davis, Kenneth C. “Dont know much about Halloween”, USA Weekend Magazine, October 23, 2005. Retrieved from: 3. Rendelman, Daniel. Finding the truth about Halloween. Retrieved from: http://www.emetministries.com/Halloween_Issues.htm 4. Riley, Jennifer. “Halloween:The Unpopular Christian Story”, The Christian Post, October 31st, 2007. Retrieved from: http://www.christianpost.com/article/20071031/halloween-the-unpopular-christian-story/index.html Read More