Halloween: One Day for Darkness
I think I’ve figured out why I like Halloween.
The thrill of cold weather tickling down my spine makes me shiver.
Ghosts and ghoulies and other creatures stalk the night, and shrieking is allowed.
My costume lets me role play good or evil, romance or horror, present reality (President masks scare me big time), seminal events of the past, or the future I would like to see. Just imagine.
Halloween is All Souls Day, when Catholics pray for us all - saved or not. The day after Halloween is All Saints Day, a holy day of obligation when Catholics pray for those who’ve been sainted. The name “Halloween” itself comes from “All Hollows Eve” – the day before the holiness. I always knew I was supposed to be a saint, but I was never sure I’d make it. So I’m glad we have this chance to pray for everyone who doesn’t make it into Heaven on the first try.
Photo by Sophie Nimmannit. Some rights reserved.
The Religious Right gets it wrong. They think the day is about worshiping the devil, when it’s really about acknowledging our fear of same. Not every spirit is sanctified, just like not every public figure is a saint. Saints, would-be saints, and public figures have a dark side. Refusing to acknowledge the dark side is a congenital problem for some. Halloween is the day set aside for us to examine the darkness. I am glad that for the rest of the year restless spirits leave us in peace. I don’t want to know every politician’s peccadillo or the reason why some souls cannot sleep.
Despite the darkness, there is an innocence about Halloween. The shivers and trembles are superficial. Masks of evil walk the world, but they can be placated with candy – unlike the real horrors we see unfold on the nightly news. Halloween is a traditional feast at the end of harvest. Autumn is half through and the hard winter is ahead. But for now we have food, we have warmth, and we have jack-o-lanterns to light the way home.
October 29th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Interesting point-of-view. Halloween is about worshipping the evil spirits. There is only good and evil. And both exist at the same time.
October 30th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Halloween is about exorcism, not worship. Exorcism seeks to drive out, worship seeks to bring close. Halloween frees us from the evil spirits by saying “Ooooh, you scary thing, take the treat and run.” There are rituals to call evil closer, but Halloween is not one of them.
October 30th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
I love the story. Keep writing.
October 30th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
According to Wikipedia, “The Festival of Halloween is a celebration of the end of the fertile period of the Celtic Goddess Eiseria. It is said that when Eiseria reaches the end of her fertile cycle the worlds of the dead and the living interlap. This happens on October 31. Masks are worn to show respect for the Goddess Eiseria who, like most Celtic deities, does not wish to be seen with human eyes. The day also preceeds All saints day, which was at first the celebration of the start of a new cycle of fertility for the celtic Goddess Eiseria. Couples incapable of producing children thus tried their luck on All saints day.”
I love looking for the origins of current practices and this one does not disappoint. It seems that the early version of Halloween has nothing to do with devil worship or worship of evil spirits at all. As with most celebrations, however, this one is what you make of it.
November 1st, 2007 at 1:28 pm
[…] Halloween: One Day for Darkness […]
November 2nd, 2007 at 11:22 pm
This is an interesting story. Holloween should be a time to release your inner demons and get on with making this a better world. Keep writing!
November 10th, 2007 at 4:08 am
OK - so it’s been 10 days and I’m just now reading the Halloween piece. But my pumpkin is still on the porch waiting to be cooked in to the makings for Thanksgiving pumpkin pie. I loved the writing about taking a time to face evil (even that which is hidden behind a mask) and de-demonize it by “taking the candy & running”. Keep writing!
December 21st, 2007 at 6:01 am
very interesting. i’m adding in RSS Reader
January 10th, 2008 at 9:12 am
about marion jones…
I Googled for something completely different, but found your page…and have to say thanks. nice read….