Hallowe'en

“It’s just a harmless bit of fun!”
“It’s the second largest holiday in the USA. It’s just commercial nonsense! And we Brits have just followed suit.”
“Halloween trick or treat is just a very, very acceptable veneer for something far more sinister.”
“It’s more to do with anti-social behaviour by mobs of teens who use it as an excuse for mindless vandalism and scaring the elderly and vulnerable.”

Opinions on Hallowe’en vary greatly, so Kernowyouth decided to investigate what all the fuss was about. After all, the sales of Hallowe’en masks, costumes and nic-nacs is big business in Cornwall, TV schedules are full of spooky programmes and horror movies, the Devon & Cornwall Police have announced they are putting more officers on duty that night, and a number of churches have dreamed up alternative activities for their young people.

A guide to “Witchcraft” produced in 2000 by Geddes & Grosset, the book publishing arm of Children’s Leisure Products Limited states, “Hallowe’en, celebrated on 31 October, occurs on the eve of All Soul’s Day and is the equivalent of the Celtic festival of Samhain, associated with fire and death. Hallowe’en is the festival most associated with witchcraft, it being an occasion when ghosts and demons are said to walk the earth, and allegedly it was the occasion of one of the major sabbats. (A sabbat allegedly was a celebratory gathering of witches involving feasting, drinking, wild naked dancing and abandoned sexual activity reminiscent of old pagan rites.)”

However, Hallowe’en is more than just a bit of trivial fun for children. There are four groups of people who take it seriously in our modern society. They are the Neo-pagans who seek to revive the ancient Druid festivals, those who practise witchcraft, those who are into Satanism, and, in direct contrast to the previous three, the Christian church.

Druids

Many of the rituals and traditions that we associate with Hallowe’en can be traced back to the Celts, and their priestly class, the Druids. The Celts engaged in occult arts, nature worship and had more than 400 deities. The sun god Belenus was worshipped at the beginning of the summer festival called Beltine on May 1st. Samhain was the start of the winter festival when the lord of death or lord of the dead was worshipped on October 31st when the Celts began their new year on November 1st. Human sacrifices were a common feature of both festivals.

The Druids believed in re-incarnation as they thought that on October 31st, the lord of death gathered the souls of the evil dead who had been condemned to enter the bodies of animals. He then decided what animal form they should take. They also believed that the punishment of the evil dead could be lightened by sacrifices, prayers and gifts to the lord of death.

The Celts believed that Samhain was a day when the barriers between the spirit world and the living world were taken down.  Bonfires were lit to frighten away evil spirits and to help the sun burn through the winter. Food was put out for the ghosts or souls of the good dead that were released. People donned grotesque masks and danced around the fires. Some say the masks were for fooling the ghosts so that they would think the people were one of them. Some say the masks were for a ritual where people pretended to be chased by evil spirits.

Being the close of the year divination was also practiced. Shape and reactions of human sacrifices were used for divining the future. Predictions were based on the shape of certain body organs. Often innocent people were sacrificed in an attempt to appease the gods. This is the scenario for Robin Hardy’s 1973 film ‘The Wicker Man’ shown again this week on Channel Four. And while many modern Druids would draw back from the human sacrifice of the policeman portrayed in the film, they would acknowledge Hallowe’en as an important festival when they would perform their rituals.

Witches

Hallowe’en is also important for those who practice the craft of wicca. Most witches consider this to be the main holiday of the year. The various beliefs are often unformalised, and few wicca paths have an organised theology. Dr David Burnett in his book ‘Dawning of the Pagan Moon’ has summarised their common beliefs as: the Earth goddess; polytheism; the transpersonal nature of the human psyche. Kernowyouth has already explored the nature of wicca elsewhere on the site. Suffice it to say here that many witches see this as an important night in casting spells, when spiritual forces are at work and many rituals are performed. Many covens hold a Hallowe’en sabbat with feasting and dancing to celebrate the change of the season.

The Hallowe’en custom of pumpkin lanterns, according to some, has associations with witchcraft. Some accounts speak of skulls lighted by a candle to light the way to coven meetings. However, the pumpkin is a modern American addition. In Britain, particularly in the Celtic fringes, turnips were used. There are also folk tales of an Irish ‘Jack-o-lantern’ created when the devil threw a burning coal at Jack who was eating a turnip at the time. The devil was angry because Jack had tricked him into promising not to come after his soul.

Satanists

Hallowe’en is also important to Satanists. It is a celebration of death and Satan for them. Satanists consider this the day they can invoke Satan’s help, often with animal or even human sacrifices. There are several cases of ritual killing currently under investigation in both the UK and Germany. It is also not unusual for Christian churches and for cemeteries to be vandalised on Hallowe’en, although this may be due more to mindless vandalism by teenagers hyped up by a cocktail of alcohol, drugs and the desire to re-enact scenes from some of their favourite horror movies.

Satanism is thought to represent 4% of the neo-pagan movement. It is a church that worships the devil. Hallowe’en is a great focus of the year, the night when doors into the spirit world are wide open. On that night many practices and rituals, which according to Druids and witches are long-abandoned and forgotten, are honoured and observed in satanic circles.

David Stillwell, an ex-witch and coven member, said in an interview recorded in 1990, “Hallowe’en is the highest satanic festival of the year, and it’s the night when all the forces of darkness enpower Satanists and witches for the coming year. It is really a high satanic festival and yet the majority of people just accept it as being trick or treat, apple-dunking and party time. But that’s what going on underneath it.”

The Christian Church

The fourth group for whom Hallowe’en is important is the Christian church. The church deliberately set certain sacred times to coincide with pagan special days in order to try and overcome the influence of the pagan festivals. Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople AD398-404, tells us that as early as the fourth century, the Eastern church celebrated a festival in honour of all saints. In 609 or 610 Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Roman Pantheon to the Virgin Mary and all of the martyrs on May 13th. In 835 Pope Gregory IV moved this feast to November 1st. In the Middle Ages this attempt to oppose the paganism of Samhain grew into November 1st being All Saint’s Day when the saints and especially the martyrs were remembered, and November 2nd being All Soul’s Day which was to pray for the dead and to help them escape purgatory. Since the Reformation the Protestant Church has dropped the 2nd.

However, with the growth of paganism in Britain at the end of the 20th century the church has again found its voice to express its concern over the nature and practices of Hallowe’en. Many churches now provide Hallelujah parties for their children, a range of events for their young people and nights of prayer and praise for the whole congregation. Many parents voicing concerns have led schools to play down Hallowe’en in the classroom. More and more Christians are becoming aware of the spiritual warfare that their faith is in engaged in and are once more seeking to promote alternatives to the traditional and commercial activities of Hallowe’en.

Many parents express concerns about the safety of their children on the streets after dark. Others feel the nightmares which follow the masks, costumes and party games are to be avoided. Many community leaders express their concern at groups of teenagers terrorising their neighbourhoods throwing eggs, flour and abuse at any they meet. Those who work with the elderly talk of many traumatised by an evening of strangers rattling their doors. The ‘fun’ of Hallowe’en thirty years ago has vanished as the fabric of British society has deteriorated.

David Porter in his book “Hallowe’en: Treat or Trick?” says we have a lot to learn from the story of the witch at Endor recorded in 1 Samuel 28. “The story reflects the thrust of the whole Bible. Death is a one-way barrier. The Hallowe’en fantasies of the departed returning to eat food set out for them, of spirits roaming the world in an annual night of freedom, to be placated by ritual observances, have little to do with the biblical picture of the supernatural.”

He concludes: “If we are to retain the Bible at all, there is no possibility of Christians joining in the rites of any group that honour Hallowe’en as a sacred night. In fact, it is hard to see, when the Bible is so explicit about the central supernatural focuses of Hallowe’en, how a Christian can with integrity even join in the commercialised, trivialised versions of Hallowe’en traditions; while we duck for apples, serious divination is being attempted by practising pagans; while we light pumpkin candles, some are lighting fires for very different reasons.”

Check out the Bible for yourself:

Deuteronomy 18 v10-12  -  Witchcraft is an abomination to God
Exodus 22 v18  -  Witches were to face capital punishment in the Old Testament
Leviticus 19 v31  -  We are not to seek the help of a medium
Leviticus 20 v 6  -  God is against those who seek after mediums
1 Chronicles 10 v13-14  -  Punishment for those who seek after mediums
Jeremiah 29 v 8-9  -  Do not listen to diviners
Isaiah 47 v9, 12-15  -  Charms, incantations and spells are forbidden
Acts 19 v19  -  We are to destroy articles used for sorcery
2 Corinthians 6 v14  -  We are to separate from, not tolerate paganism
2 Timothy 1 v7  -  We are to have a spirit of love, not fear
Galatians 5 v20  -  Witchcraft is a work of the flesh

Sources used in this article:

Hallowe’en: Treat or Trick by David Porter (1993 Monarch Publications)
Dawning of the Pagan Moon by David Burnett (1991 Monarch Publications)
Witchcraft (2000 Geddes & Grosset)
Doorways into Danger Video (1990)
Is Hallowe’en a witches brew? (1982 Christianity Today)

Article written by Phil Hadley. October 2003.

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