Halloween isn't Pagan At All; Melting Pot American Holiday

Yeah yeah, I've heard it all before; the claims that Halloween is based on old Celtic traditions, it's about worshiping the devil, and so forth.  The problem is, that simply isn't true.  A study of the actual history shows that much of what you've likely been told about this day isn't accurate.  Now, I don't care if someone decides to celebrate the day or not, or participate in activities, but I do care when people piously claim that their not doing so is because they are better, more Christian, or whatever, than those who do participate.  That's virtue signaling, and it isn't accurate or even very Christian.  For those who claim to warn others of the supposed dangers, I'd suggest they learn the real facts first.

The ancient Celts in Ireland and Britain did celebrate on October 31, a very minor day, but they also celebrated on the last day of most months of the year.  That particular one wasn't all that special. and that celebration isn't why Halloween is on that date.  The truth is, the celebration of All Saints Day was moved by Pope Gregory III, to coincide with the dedication of a chapel at St. Peter's, in Rome.  So, November 1 became All Saints Day not to coincide with any Celtic holidat at all, but for a completely different reason.  A later Pope, Gregory I, commanded that all observe the day, so the practice spread to Ireland. Later, some began to speculate on what happened to those who were not in heaven, and started to bang pots and pans to show those people weren't forgotten, and to hopefully discourage them from causing trouble.  A bit superstitious, perhaps, but hardly pagan.  The Bible certainly speaks of spiritual matters, and even mentions one case of someone perhaps speaking from beyond the grave.  Some debate this, but the truth is, we really don't know for certain.

The costumes come from France, where people began to dress up after the Black Death, as a reinder of mortality.  That happened on All Saints, however, not All Hallows Eve.  In America, when the different cultures became intermingled, so did the different practices, and costumes became associated with Halloween, instead.

The candy is likely from practices to celebrate Guy Fawkes, when revelers would wear masks and demand refreshments, on November 5, which in America ended up on Halloween because no one cared about Guy Fawkes, but demanding treats from neighbors, while all costumes, is a lot of fun for the kids.  So, the time shifted to Halloween, with the costumes and the fears of spirits, and the candy all combining in a purely American way, to create a fun holiday for kids to pretend, to get some treats, and to just be kids.  Adults enjoy the games, too, quite often, with costume parties and the like.

Ah, you say, but what about witches and jack-o-lanterns?  Well, some old harvest festivals included turnip lamps, so in true American fashion, those were borrowed, and pumpkins are far more fun to carve, and larger, so they were the American choice.  Witches were tossed in by the greeting card industry, in an attempt to sell creepy cards for Halloween.  Not really much of a thing, but they tried.

Surprise: Halloween's Not a Pagan Festival After All

In fact, we have very little real historical information about Celtic traditions at all.  Modern self-proclaimed witches might claim that they celebrate Samhain, we have no data on what actually happened during such celebrations, and those who used such claims to sell books were speculating, and that isn't a good reason to go along and agree with them.  How often do we see books sold today, based on claims of this or that, supposedly some issue of "faith", that are nothing but speculation to make a buck?  The books on claimed parallels between ancient mythology and Christianity are no more accurate than those offering dire predictions based on "blood moons".  So, please, use some common sense, folks. 

Guess what? Halloween is more Christian than Pagan

How Trick-or-Treating Became a Halloween Tradition

There is no reason whatsoever, other than personal choice, to not have fun on this holiday.  You can use it to remember that there are dangerous consequences for the unsaved, unrepentant sinners, to just have fun, or whatever, but you don't need to worry that it's some sort of devil worship.  Even if there are some similarities to older practices, none of those were about devil worship, by any means.  That's nothing but nonsense, made up to scare people, and draw them in to church activities.  Now, I have nothing against churches offering safe alternatives, because there are some concerns about safety, and in some places, those might be better choices, but that's not the same as having those because the day is somehow "evil".  So, let your kids have fun.  Carve a jack-o-lantern (we did last night), pick out costumes (parents should have some final say in choices for those, of course), take the kids trick or treating (and be sure to inspect the candy), have a party if you want, decorate, watch a scary movie, and relax.  It's a natural thing to think about the dead at this time of year, with the season changing, leaves falling, and the world seeming to go into a more "dead" state.   Recognizing that death is a part of life isn't wrong, and is part of the whole cycle.  In Spring, we celebrate life, and resurrection.  So, in Fall (Autumn if you prefer), we can remember the other part of that.