Halloween: Is It Celtic? Pagan? Christian? Yes!

Halloween has both pagan and Christian roots, but what is the holiday really about?

Halloween is a fun and delightful holiday, especially for children. It’s also one of the most controversial holidays of the year. I’ve heard many debates over my lifetime about whether we should celebrate Halloween or not. Arguments range from the simple—and reasonable—question “What are we even celebrating on Halloween?” to the position that it is a pagan superstition whose time has passed.

The most vehement anti-Halloween argument I’ve heard is the belief that the holiday celebrates the forces of darkness. Some Christians—not all—have a particular discomfort with Halloween. Hopefully, this week’s post will dispel that discomfort. After all, while Halloween has roots in the pagan Celtic festival of Samhain, All Hallows’ Eve itself started off as a Christian holy day.

How All Hallows’ Evening Came to Be

In the fifth century A.D., the Irish Celts embraced Christianity. Yes, I know. During the course of history, there have been numerous “conversions” that happened at sword point or because the king (or Emperor) said so. But this wasn’t one of them. The Irish were receptive to St. Patrick’s message. I’m not claiming this was an overnight conversion. It wasn’t. But it wasn’t forced either. Christianity was simply a good fit.

There were many theological elements to Christianity that were similar to beliefs the Celts (Irish and otherwise) already held. For example, the Christian paschal mystery of life, death, and resurrection resonated with the Celtic belief in the never-ending cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Also, although I enjoy the story of St. Patrick using a shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity, I doubt the explanation was necessary. The Irish would have understood the idea of three gods in one Person. After all, one of their main deities was the Morrigan, who was a triple goddess (three deities in one).

Easing the transition of the Irish from their old religion to the new was the Catholic Church’s practice, at the time, of allowing a weaving of elements from the former religion into Christianity. So, the Irish switched, and all was well. Until it wasn’t.

The Irish kept celebrating Samhain, a pagan festival. They liked it. The Catholic Church didn’t. There were too many beliefs and activities associated with it, such as a focus on ghosts and faeries as well as the playing of divination games, that made the Church highly uneasy.

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To steer the Irish away from Samhain, in the eighth century, Pope Gregory III moved the Catholic holy day of All Saints (known then as All Hallows) from May 13^th to November 1^st (the date of Samhain). But Celtic days don’t begin in the morning. They begin the night before at sunset. The celebration of Samhain always began on October 31^st. So, the Irish Christians solemnly went to mass on November 1^st for the feast of All Saints. They also kept celebrating Samhain the night before.

Trying again, the Pope declared a vigil for All Hallows. A vigil, in Catholic practice, is held the night before a major feast day. It is supposed to be a time to prepare for the holy day through prayer and reflection. The new vigil declared for October 31^st was named All Hallows’ Evening. The Celts took this onboard but kept many elements from Samhain as a part of it.

Gregory apparently thought the third time would be the charm, so he created another new holy day. He declared November 2^nd All Souls’ Day, a time for remembering all those who have passed on, especially during the past year. Well, this fit in perfectly with Samhain’s celebration of the return of the ancestors from the Otherworld. Thus, the Church ended up with a triduum of feasts honoring those who have died. The one that kicked it off, All Hallows’ Evening, soon became known as All Hallows’ Eve’n and, eventually, Hallowe’en.

     The October 31^st vigil has moved now from a religious holiday to a secular one, but there is no denying its Christian past.

Celtic and Pagan?

From the history I gave above, it may seem that All Hallows’ Eve is Irish in origin. However, the celebration is intimately tied to Samhain. The fire festival of Samhain was a major religious and communal feast day across Celtic cultures. I will go into more detail about this ancient festival below. First, though, I want to address the condemnation of it as “pagan.”

The word "pagan" has a pejorative connotation that implies an association with the forces of darkness. This connotation is inaccurate and unjust.

Here is my bias. I don’t like the word “pagan” for two reasons. It is used as a generic term, and secondly, it has pejorative connotations. Although it often is used as a label for religions other than the “mainstream” world religions of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, I’ve heard Christians refer to certain Hindu practices as paganism. I’ve also known people who have called the religion I was baptized and confirmed in—Roman Catholicism—pagan. Brief historical note: all Christians prior to the Reformation were Catholic.

But my main issue is not the broad, frequently loose, usage of the label. My objection is the dismissive or pejorative way. Pagan religions are viewed, especially by Christians, as focused on or even celebrating the forces of darkness. That may be true of some pagan religions. It is not true of all of them.

Nevertheless, this is the argument many Christians use against Halloween. It draws its inspiration from a pagan celebration and, therefore, must be a bad or wicked thing. The symbols and themes commonly associated with Halloween, such as witches, monsters, ghosts, and death, seem to support that notion. I understand why people might ask, “Just what are we celebrating?”

That question has become especially germane in recent decades in the United States. Halloween has shifted from a fun holiday featuring children dressed as ghosts, skeletons, and fairy princesses to a night focused on fear, grossness, horror, and chainsaw murderers. I decried this disturbing trend in my post, No More Gore! Return Halloween to Its Celtic Roots.

Samhain was a pagan festival, but it was not a celebration of malign forces and dark deeds. It was a community-focused holy day informed by a beautiful, hopeful spirituality. Also, it was a time for fun! But to see the wonderful symbolism and themes Samhain contributes to Halloween, you first have to understand what the fire festival was about. So, let’s explore!

The Misunderstood and Misappropriated Festival of Samhain

As I said above, the Celtic holy festival of Samhain was not a celebration of dark deeds and malign forces. So, why do people think it was? First, because it was pagan. Enough said about that already. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, because there are groups today who have misappropriated Samhain for their own purposes, twisting it into something it never was.

So, what was Samhain for the Celts? It was one of the four fire festivals that celebrated the beginning of a new season. All four of them were important, but Samhain was one of the most significant days of the year. It was complex and represented several things. Here is the breakdown.

Halloween is considered an autumn holiday, But Samhain, in which Halloween has its roots, marked the start of winter.

--The Beginning of Winter. This may surprise you. In contemporary Western culture, we think of Halloween as an autumn holiday. It also seems to have some connection to the harvest (scarecrows, pumpkins, gourds, corn, crows). But on the Celtic calendar, Samhain is the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter.

--The Beginning of the Dark Half of the Year. The Celtic year was divided into two halves: the light and the dark. Samhain began the dark. This had nothing to do with forces of goodness or wickedness. It had to do with the hours of sunlight in a day. In the summer, the days are long and sunshine rules. By the end of autumn and into winter, the days get shorter. There are fewer hours of sunlight and more hours of darkness.

This is entirely what the light and dark halves are about: sunlight or the lack of it. The majority of ancient Celts were farmers, and none of them had electric lights. So, the waning of sunshine had a significant impact on their lives. I dare say it impacts us today too. Think about it and see if you agree.

--A New Year. Just as Celtic days began at sunset (when the darkness sets in), the Celtic year began with the dark half. That might seem gloomy or even a little creepy, but it’s not. Our days begin in light and move towards darkness. The ancient Celts moved from darkness to light. To me, that’s an attitude of hope.

--The Return of the Ancestors. The ancient Celts believed in life after death. Souls of those who passed on lived in the Otherworld. This world and the Otherworld were separated by a veil. At Samhain, that veil became thin, making it possible to cross from one side to the other. Each year, at Samhain, Celts got ready to welcome back their departed loved ones, especially those who had died during that year. They set a place at the table and set out food for them. This was an integral and joyful part of Samhain.

--The Invasion. Unfortunately, beloved relatives weren’t the only ones who could—and did—cross through the veil. Potentially vengeful ghosts and mischievous faeries inundated this world on Samhain too. This invasion of the supernatural and ways to evade or appease them is re-enacted each year by trick-or-treaters. For more about this invasion and the supernatural beings roaming about on Samhain, read my post, "Characters and Decorations for a Celtic Folklore Halloween."

The thinning of the veil at Samhain enabled ghosts and faeries to flood into the human world.

--The Highly Magical In-between. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that the Celts considered in-betweens (e.g, doorways, crossroads, midnight, twilight) intensely magical. Samhain is a major in-between. It is an ending and a beginning in three different ways, as outlined above. No wonder the druids believed it was a perfect time for a little divining to see what the future held for the community. But they weren’t the only ones trying to get a magical preview. One of the main entertainments for Celts on Samhain was engaging in a little fortune-telling. This is one of the reasons crystal balls, tarot cards, and gypsies have become associated with Halloween.

Speaking of Endings

Although All Hallow’s Eve has gone through some transformations over the centuries, it is rooted in ancient Celtic beliefs, awareness of human mortality, and the Christian belief in life after death. While it has transformed to a degree over the century, its themes and symbolism have endured and still resonate. The holiday continues to be celebrated in the Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, as well as places influenced by the diaspora, such as Australia, Canada, and the U.S.

What do you think? Is Halloween a pagan relic that should be abolished? Or is there a value in celebrating it?

Have a safe and Celtic Halloween!

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All artwork for this post (except for the Ukranian flag and the GIF) by Christine Dorman via Bing Image Creator.

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