Christians and Halloween? with Ross Harriman 

Here's a take on the subject - Nice to see some factual information for a change re Samhain!! LOL - Frazer's work - aptly commented on (most of his 'research' on Samhain has been discredited). Not sure if you're also familiar with Charles Vallency's work - he's the one who gave us "Samhain" as the totally ludicrous "Celtic Lord of Death". Completely contrary to what many would have one believe, Halloween is _not_ a holiday that has close ties to the ancient past, nor does it have some ‘pagan’ antecedent, nor is it a continuation of several ancient customs. Many people tend to associate modern Halloween with three things: The old Celtic celebration of Samhain (asserting that most of Halloween’s customs originate with ancient Samhain celebrations); Satanism (asserting that Halloween’s origins are Satanic, as evidenced by the many Satanists who use this day to promote their beliefs); and All Saints Day (asserting that the early church established the holiday to “Christianize” Samhain). Perhaps the most difficult aspect of researching these various origins, traditions, and assumed ‘truths’ about Halloween, is sifting through all the data and separating what is historical _fact_ from the myth, legend, and religious paranoia of what is historical _fiction._ It’s not an easy task. Indeed, what makes this task even more difficult, is that so many of these ill- researched ‘’facts’, suppositions, and assumptions have been repeated for so long, they have essentially become accepted as truth. One can find these asserted ‘facts’ in everything ranging from various educational websites, to entries in dictionaries and encyclopedias, and even in (some) scholarly articles. What we find after close examination and scrutiny, however, is that the accepted origin of most Halloween traditions/beliefs comes from the latter (historical fiction), rather than the former (historical fact). Contrary to what many believe, or were taught, all three holidays; Halloween, All Saint’s Day, and Samhain, developed _completely independent_ of each other. They *do* however, all share a common date and perhaps a “feeling”….but that’s really about it. Indeed, so much of Halloween “feels” Pagan that attempts to connect those things to ancient Samhain simply “feels right”. The truth is, to say Halloween’s connections to ancient Samhain are, at best, extremely tenuous, would be grossly overstating the facts. Halloween just does not have the “pagan precedent” so many people seem to desperately want it to. It might also be mentioned that until the middle of the 20th century, anthropologists typically assumed that any festival, however new it actually was and no matter where it came from, had ancient pagan roots, even if the people celebrating it gave a different story and were therefore thought to be ignorant of its origins. There was a romantization of rural cultures such that it was thought the rural folk were holders of ancient wisdom, but simultaneously ignorant that they held wisdom or that it was ancient, so they needed academics to explain it to them, based on theories that have long been discredited. And, of course, there are also without fail, those Christian denominations that seem fixated on associating the holiday with the Devil/Satan. As with the association of Halloween with Samhain, for these individuals, it somehow just “feels right”. As in the secular world, the majority of their conclusions come from material which has clearly not been researched (at times, rather painfully so) and largely based upon misguided fear and assumptions. These assumptions are repeated over and over again, year after year, until they are taken by the faithful and accepted as ‘gospel truth’. Samhain/Halloween is to some people a very spiritual and magickal time of the year; for some it’s a time of fun and candy, perhaps a way to celebrate Fall in general. Still for others, perhaps a time to contemplate their own mortality, since the modern holiday mocks death. With the beginning of the dark half of the year, it is also a time to play on a few of the basic/core fears of humankind - fear of what lurks in the dark, and fear of death. Some perhaps are not quite sure what to make of it and prefer to steer clear of it; but however you wish to celebrate it….or not - Halloween is only ‘evil’ in the minds of those who choose to make it so. As a quick aside - some additional info - Most people are not aware that Samhain itself is a _movable_ feast day; the exact date varies from year to year depending on when the autumnal equinox and winter solstice fall. In 2020, Samhain proper fell on 6/7.Nov. Samhain was associated with the ‘Seven Sisters’, the Pleiades - it is said to have occurred at the culmination of the Pleiades (when they reach the highest point in the sky). In modern times that equates to about 21.November, but in more ancient times (992-1064) to 1.November (currently 6/7 November).