Catholicism and the History of Halloween
The celebration of Halloween began in the early Church to honor collectively all the saints who have given faithful witness to our Lord Jesus Christ and his Catholic Church. If you’re used to modern-day celebrations of Halloween, that may strike you as strange. However, the word “Halloween” derives from “All Hallows’ [i.e., “Saints” in German] Eve,” affirming that the day marks the Eve/day before/vigil for All Saints Day, similar to how the Church has long commemorated other celebrations, including Christmas Eve or the Easter Vigil. In the early days of the Church, Christians celebrated each martyr’s feast on the anniversary of his death. As the number of martyrs increased over time, though, and because the liturgical calendar can only accommodate a limited number of Christian luminaries in its 365-day cycle, the Church began honoring all martyrs on a single day. By the later A.D.300s and the early 400s, the Church began to celebrate a feast for all those who had given their life in witness to Christ and his Church. In 609 or 610, Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Virgin Mary and all martyrs, choosing May 13 to honor the martyrs. Pope Gregory III (731-741) extended the feast to include all saints, moving its celebration to November1, which explains why All Hallows’ Eve is celebrated on October 31, the day before. Later, Pope Gregory IV (827-844) made it a feast for the entire Western Church, keeping November 1 as the day of the celebration and also recognizing and respecting the same feast of Eastern Catholics, which remained earlier in the year.
Before the Church’s liturgical reforms in 1955 under Pope Pius XII, All Saints Day included both a vigil and an octave, encouraging Catholics to do penance for the faithful departed. All Saints also introduced a month dedicated to prayer for those who had died, beginning with All Souls Day on November 2, a practice which continues to the present day.
Christians prayed, fasted, visited cemeteries, and shared food in remembrance of the faithful who had had gone before them in death. This period of prayer and remembrance was also shaped by the Christian mindset of memento mori, a Latin saying which means, “remember you must die.” It serves as a reminder to the faithful to live each day in light of our own mortality.
Is Halloween Pagan?
There is no substantial evidence that Halloween has pagan origins. Some have argued that the Celtic tradition of Samhain was adopted by the Church to convert members, but this is not true.
Samhain was a festival that marked the beginning of winter in Ireland, but the historical evidence does not support the idea that it involved jack-o-lanterns, witches, ghosts, or religious ceremonies. In his book The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain, historian Ronald Hutton explains:
The medieval records furnish no evidence that 1 November was a major pan-Celtic festival, and none of religious ceremonies, even where it was observed.
In contrast, Halloween’s origins are anchored in Christian history.
In his book Escaping Through Flames: Halloween as a Christian Festival, historian Robert Davis counters the modern myths of the celebration’s pagan roots. As Joe Heschmeyer notes,
Davis points out this idea that Halloween is just a thinly papered over Christian version of a pagan holiday, it’s firmly ingrained in the popular imagination, partly because of older ethnographic scholarship. So nineteenth century to mid-twentieth century, you had scholars who would seriously make the claims you’re still hearing people make today, and as a result it’s become very difficult to question those assumptions. After all, as he points out, they’re repeated annually in serious journalism, the broadcast media, their pervasively on the internet, and even in well-intended educational literature. Rarely do people actually stop and say, well, how do we know that to be true? What’s the actual proof of this connection between so and Halloween?
Ultimately, Halloween is a feast that celebrates Christ’s triumph over sin, Satan, and death, testifying to the beatific vision that awaits the faithful departed in heaven.
Can Christians Celebrate Halloween?
Unfortunately, due to the secularization and associated distortions of the holiday, many of the faithful ask, “Can Christians celebrate Halloween?” or “Is Halloween Demonic?” The answer is no—Halloween is not demonic, and Christians can celebrate Halloween! While unhealthy interest in the demonic world, movies that glorify gore, and costumes which trivialize evil should all be avoided, Christians are encouraged to participate in Halloween. For if we believe in the communion of saints, commemorating those who have died is a beautifully rich tradition that our Lord Jesus Christ and his Church have given us–and to which we should give joyful faithful witness.
As Tom Nash notes in his related Q&A,
One obviously shouldn’t glorify the darker side of the modern celebration. But instead of turning off your porch light and not giving out any candy, why not instead provide treats and say “God bless you” to the children who knock on your door? In other words, take back the night.
And you can also make a point to praise those kids in holy costumes and make light of those dressed as bad characters, including the devil. For example, you could say, “Something tells me you’re a good kid and wouldn’t do the devil’s works.” Or, if someone is dressed as a ghost, you could say, “What’s really great is that we have good angels and saints watching over us.”
With a little creativity, you can turn Halloween into an occasion for evangelizing. After all, on what other night are you going to have all kinds of kids—and their parents—knocking on your door with smiles on their faces? Providing them candy gives you an entree into sharing the gospel with them.
Moreover, again, Halloween serves as a day of preparation for—and celebration of—the Solemnity of All Saints.
What About Trick or Treating?
Because Christians can celebrate Halloween, that includes trick-or-treating for their kids! Some historians argue that the modern-day practice of going to door to door is rooted in a Catholic tradition, an adaptation from the practice of “souling,” which began sometime in the Middle Ages. The practice involved Christians offering a cake, or soul cake, in exchange for prayers for their departed loved ones. The recipients of the cakes would go around singing songs, such as the following:
“Soul, Soul, a soul cake! I pray thee, good missus, a soul cake!
One for Peter, two for Paul,
Three for Him what made us all!
Soul Cake, soul cake, please good missus, a soul cake.
An apple, a pear, a plum, or a cherry, any good thing to make us all merry.
One for Peter, two for Paul, and three for Him who made us all!”
How Do Catholics Celebrate Halloween Today?
- Visiting Cemeteries: Many Catholics go to cemeteries to visit the grave sites of loved ones—often placing flowers on their tombs and offering prayers for the faithful departed.
- All Hallows’ Eve Vigil: Parishes typically hold vespers or vigil Masses on October 31 to prepare for and celebrate All Saints.
- Souling (or trick-or-treating): While this tradition has been secularized from the original “souling,” it’s still widely practiced by faithful Catholics and can be used to advance Christ’s Catholic kingdom.
- Dressing up as saints: In many communities, parishes, and families with children who go trick-or-treating, the faithful dress up as saints, including as heroes from the Bible. Indeed, your children can serve as ambassadors for the kingdom (Matt. 28:18-20), explaining to the owners of all the homes they visit why they’re dressed up the way they are!
Playing it Safe on Halloween
Through the secularization of Halloween, darker and truly evil things have gradually intruded into the holiday’s commemoration. Satan and his earthly collaborators seek to wrest Halloween from its Christian roots, including through the blasphemous ritual of the black Mass. So it’s important to remember that while we are called to serve the Lord in this world, we must not be of this world. Consequently, we must prudently participate in Halloween practices, again taking back the night for Christ and his Catholic Church. As St. Paul affirms in sifting what is good from what is bad,
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Phil. 4:8)
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