On campus yesterday I passed signs inviting me to take
advantage of the Duke Stores’ holiday offer of 31% off their products. (Recall that it was the 31st of
October.) I then crossed paths with M., a native of
Pakistan, who is a graduate student and also mother to a preschooler. After greeting one another, she asked me, “What
is Halloween?” Apparently the church
preschool where her son attends each weekday morning had conducted a Halloween
parade. Not wanting to disappoint her 2 ½
year old son, she had spent the better part of a day shopping for a costume and
participating in the parade.
(Japan is getting into the act too.)
How would you answer the question in a succinct and
meaningful way given that, in this case, she had little historical or socio-religious
framework to comprehend the complexities of the occasion? Halloween has, after all, a very convoluted history
in which we will not take time to sort out presently. Instead, I choose to challenge the notion[1]
that Halloween may be considered a “holiday”.
According to Merriam-Webster’s
online dictionary a holiday is:
1. a holy day, set aside for special
religious observance
2. a day on which one is exempt from
work; a day marked by a general suspension of work in commemoration of an event
3. chiefly British, vacation, often used in the phrase on
holiday(s)
4. a period of exemption or relief, e.g.
citizens or corporations enjoying a tax holiday.
One may argue, therefore, that Halloween is not a holiday
since it does not meet even one of the above definitions. Interestingly, rather than enjoying a tax
break on October 31 it was estimated that Americans would spend $7.4 billion[2]
on the accoutrements and snacks related to “celebrating” this non-holiday! Think how many children in our global
community might have been rescued from child slavery had that been applied to
such an endeavor!
Long ago when a pagan festival dominated the superstition of
Northern Europeans the [Roman] Church attempted to divert culture from these unworthy
practices by Christianizing the occasion.
The result is what we know as “All Saints Day”, generally celebrated
between October 31 and November 2. Did
the Church succeed? Does “Day of the
Dead” represent more accurately the faith of the Church?
Still aiming to divest the celebration from any religious undercurrents
America has sought - successfully one would argue - to secularize the
event. Why the population did not trash
the whole thing during the 1800s and instead bought into a further
popularization of Halloween – has anyone chronicled? In recent years some local church groups, agreeing
that the celebration remained unworthy (or worse, evil) of participation by
Christians, have sought to once again distract modern culture with
alternatives, e.g. “trunk or treat” parties, Fall festivals on church property,
handing out Gospel tracts and nutritious snacks to “trick or treaters”, costume
parties to commemorate the “saints” of old.
Have they succeeded?
My October 31 conversations included a longer one with a student
from India, herself a Christ-follower only since 2005. I asked whether she would be attending a
Halloween party hosted by the assistant director of her program. She answered with, “Certainly!” Yes, she did
feel a kind of obligation, but “she is so kind to us.” No, she wasn’t going in a costume; her
present sleepless appearance might qualify for the occasion. (She didn’t know anything about Halloween
either.)
Perhaps, once again, writing this or questioning, What is the meaning? and Why do we do this? seem unproductive or frowned
upon when, after all, it is utterly harmless and such good fun. And good for the economy we will add.
P.S. I think of reflecting again on two [very different] resources
for considering how together we followers of Jesus may serve to offer truth,
beauty, and good with modern society: Culture
Making by Andy Crouch and Living More
with Less by Doris Longacre.
[1] “Halloween,
a holiday originating from ancient pagan customs, has turned into a celebration…”
http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween
[2] http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/how-much-do-we-spend-halloween-its-scary-n238181
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