The other day a friend communicated to me her dislike of Halloween, largely on the basis that she found it to be pointless, ‘too American’ and over-commercialised in much the same way Christmas is becoming.
These are all interesting points, and got me thinking about the traditional origins of the festival and its significance for us today.
All Hallows’ Eve is believed to be of ancient Celtic origin, and much like the evolution of Saturnalia into Christmas, became incorporated into the Christian liturgical calendar. With the arrival of the ‘new religion,’ came the concept of taking traditional festivals that were key components in the lives of the population and re-assigning their focus and back story to align with Christian dogma. Typically this would involve keeping the feast in or around the same day, and attributing significant events from the biblical canon to the day in question.
You still find the church practising this in some quarters, with replacement theology/supersessionsim that attempts to supplant Israel with the Church in God’s plan for the nations.
The word ‘Halloween’ simply means ‘sacred evening,’ and in many cultures is a time to remember the dead. It is also commonly seen as the night when the veil between the spiritual and physical planes is at its thinnest, and where beings from the unseen realm can cross over into the latter unhindered.
It is interesting that many people consider it ‘too American,’ and I think what they generally mean is that the focus has shifted to bilking people for money in the highest traditions of rampant capitalism. The commercialisation of Halloween is exploited most effectively by the big business American money-making machine, hence the turn of phrase.
In large swathes of the United States however, the celebration of Halloween is actually resisted. This dates back to many of the earliest settlers fleeing religious persecution in Europe to practise puritanism and other divergent forms of walking out the ‘Christian’ life. Such believers led a very ascetic lifestyle and were opposed to the celebrations. This was even seen in England between 1640 and the restoration of 1660, during which time the celebration of Christmas itself was banned.
Evangelicalism today is particularly opposed to the concept of Halloween on both sides of the Atlantic, due to perceptions of diabolical associations and theological disagreement over the practise of praying for the dead.
Another Halloween practise we often see branded as something negative that has crept over from the United States, is that of ‘trick or treat.’ In fact, the origins date back to the medieval mummers and guisers performing their plays from house to house. Once again the negative association seems rooted in our disdain for present commercial exploitation, rather than the traditional idea itself.
I’m not particularly fond of 'trick or treat,' and don’t participate in it. I do however consider it a shame that people feel the need to write-off Halloween and allow it to be stolen from them.
Were there not a market for it, naturally big business would leave it alone.
In the same way there are people who want to eat junk food and ready meals, there are willing consumers for the soulless, effortless pre-packaged Halloween products that adorn supermarket shelves. Yet ever more popular movements such as farmers markets, permaculture, freecycling and grow-your-own have responded with alternatives to consumerism. Big business exists to serve itself, but the important word in the term ‘free market economy’ is ‘free.’ We have a choice.
There are books aplenty on consumerism, and how advertisers take common human desires and seek to associate them with their clients’ products. Subconsciously we are subtly informed that if we buy this car we are successful and worthwhile, if we use that skin cream we will look like an airbrushed supermodel, and that the latest techno gizmo or smartphone is pure happiness in a box that we can’t live without.
So if you buy as much plastic, gaudily packaged ghost tat as possible, you will have the spookiest, scariest, best Halloween ever, right?
Anyone who has ever fallen foul of the laughable idea of ‘Retail Therapy,’ will know that the only emotions associated with assimilating such messages are excitement and anticipation at the prospect and then disappointment and regret at the reality.
For myself then, Halloween is a time of reflection. Yesterday I took a walk to my local store and purchased a pumpkin. The title image for this post shows the results: salted roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie, and a jack-o-lantern that I carved.
Jack-o-lanterns amuse me because they are similar to the gargoyles and chimeras found adorning many an ancient church building. The idea is twofold. Firstly they were designed to dramatically remind the largely illiterate population of what awaited the backslider from the faith. Secondly (and in keeping with the jack-o-lantern tradition) they were thought to scare away evil spirits.
If creating an image of something you wish to keep at bay and displaying it somewhere prominent is an effective practice, I may consider making a life-size effigy of a door-to-door salesman and putting it up outside the house all year round…
As I made my seasonal goodies, I reflected on my own mortality and the thread that connects me to and will one day draw me into that unseen dimension. Halloween represents for me a gateway that marks the end of harvest season and a commencement of the ‘death’ associated with winter. I love to be out walking amongst the autumn colours, rustling through leaves, lighting lanterns and hearing a good ghost story or two.
Let me leave you with a fun little video I knocked up the other week, about the spooks and spectres in my own hometown of Faversham. Pluckley in Kent is well known as England’s most haunted village, but less people realise that Faversham is its most haunted town. It in fact has more recorded ghosts than any other, which is perhaps unsurprising given its age and prominent place in our turbulent history. I have had a number of encounters with this realm throughout my life, and the tales I mention in the video are part of the surroundings I grew up in.
However you celebrate Halloween (if you choose to), I hope you will have a safe and enjoyable time. Whether bobbing for apples, going to fancy-dress parties, or just taking a moment to sit in awe at the possibilities that await us all in the great beyond, may it be a season of wonder and excitement.
These are all interesting points, and got me thinking about the traditional origins of the festival and its significance for us today.
All Hallows’ Eve is believed to be of ancient Celtic origin, and much like the evolution of Saturnalia into Christmas, became incorporated into the Christian liturgical calendar. With the arrival of the ‘new religion,’ came the concept of taking traditional festivals that were key components in the lives of the population and re-assigning their focus and back story to align with Christian dogma. Typically this would involve keeping the feast in or around the same day, and attributing significant events from the biblical canon to the day in question.
You still find the church practising this in some quarters, with replacement theology/supersessionsim that attempts to supplant Israel with the Church in God’s plan for the nations.
The word ‘Halloween’ simply means ‘sacred evening,’ and in many cultures is a time to remember the dead. It is also commonly seen as the night when the veil between the spiritual and physical planes is at its thinnest, and where beings from the unseen realm can cross over into the latter unhindered.
It is interesting that many people consider it ‘too American,’ and I think what they generally mean is that the focus has shifted to bilking people for money in the highest traditions of rampant capitalism. The commercialisation of Halloween is exploited most effectively by the big business American money-making machine, hence the turn of phrase.
In large swathes of the United States however, the celebration of Halloween is actually resisted. This dates back to many of the earliest settlers fleeing religious persecution in Europe to practise puritanism and other divergent forms of walking out the ‘Christian’ life. Such believers led a very ascetic lifestyle and were opposed to the celebrations. This was even seen in England between 1640 and the restoration of 1660, during which time the celebration of Christmas itself was banned.
Evangelicalism today is particularly opposed to the concept of Halloween on both sides of the Atlantic, due to perceptions of diabolical associations and theological disagreement over the practise of praying for the dead.
Another Halloween practise we often see branded as something negative that has crept over from the United States, is that of ‘trick or treat.’ In fact, the origins date back to the medieval mummers and guisers performing their plays from house to house. Once again the negative association seems rooted in our disdain for present commercial exploitation, rather than the traditional idea itself.
I’m not particularly fond of 'trick or treat,' and don’t participate in it. I do however consider it a shame that people feel the need to write-off Halloween and allow it to be stolen from them.
Were there not a market for it, naturally big business would leave it alone.
In the same way there are people who want to eat junk food and ready meals, there are willing consumers for the soulless, effortless pre-packaged Halloween products that adorn supermarket shelves. Yet ever more popular movements such as farmers markets, permaculture, freecycling and grow-your-own have responded with alternatives to consumerism. Big business exists to serve itself, but the important word in the term ‘free market economy’ is ‘free.’ We have a choice.
There are books aplenty on consumerism, and how advertisers take common human desires and seek to associate them with their clients’ products. Subconsciously we are subtly informed that if we buy this car we are successful and worthwhile, if we use that skin cream we will look like an airbrushed supermodel, and that the latest techno gizmo or smartphone is pure happiness in a box that we can’t live without.
So if you buy as much plastic, gaudily packaged ghost tat as possible, you will have the spookiest, scariest, best Halloween ever, right?
Anyone who has ever fallen foul of the laughable idea of ‘Retail Therapy,’ will know that the only emotions associated with assimilating such messages are excitement and anticipation at the prospect and then disappointment and regret at the reality.
For myself then, Halloween is a time of reflection. Yesterday I took a walk to my local store and purchased a pumpkin. The title image for this post shows the results: salted roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie, and a jack-o-lantern that I carved.
Jack-o-lanterns amuse me because they are similar to the gargoyles and chimeras found adorning many an ancient church building. The idea is twofold. Firstly they were designed to dramatically remind the largely illiterate population of what awaited the backslider from the faith. Secondly (and in keeping with the jack-o-lantern tradition) they were thought to scare away evil spirits.
If creating an image of something you wish to keep at bay and displaying it somewhere prominent is an effective practice, I may consider making a life-size effigy of a door-to-door salesman and putting it up outside the house all year round…
As I made my seasonal goodies, I reflected on my own mortality and the thread that connects me to and will one day draw me into that unseen dimension. Halloween represents for me a gateway that marks the end of harvest season and a commencement of the ‘death’ associated with winter. I love to be out walking amongst the autumn colours, rustling through leaves, lighting lanterns and hearing a good ghost story or two.
Let me leave you with a fun little video I knocked up the other week, about the spooks and spectres in my own hometown of Faversham. Pluckley in Kent is well known as England’s most haunted village, but less people realise that Faversham is its most haunted town. It in fact has more recorded ghosts than any other, which is perhaps unsurprising given its age and prominent place in our turbulent history. I have had a number of encounters with this realm throughout my life, and the tales I mention in the video are part of the surroundings I grew up in.
However you celebrate Halloween (if you choose to), I hope you will have a safe and enjoyable time. Whether bobbing for apples, going to fancy-dress parties, or just taking a moment to sit in awe at the possibilities that await us all in the great beyond, may it be a season of wonder and excitement.
