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Some Thoughts on Halloween
Dear Reader, wherever you may be in England or elsewhere in the world,
Halloween has intrigued me for years as a Christian-rooted, European-cultured, Hungarian mother living in England with a young child. How should I approach this foreign celebration, with its grinning pumpkins, spooky decorations, and Trick-or-Treating culture, or the Halloween products flooding the shops?
A Halloween Decoration in England, Walsall. Photo by Borbala K. Edes
I love celebrating; if I could, my whole life would be one unending festival. As I grew to appreciate life in England, Halloween became, for me, a quintessentially English custom, one I tried to join to the best of my ability. It seemed like a cheerful event where people in amusing costumes stroll the streets, visit each other, set off fireworks, carve pumpkins, and where children receive sweets or coins from strangers.
Walking with my daughter through our suburban neighbourhood, we would gaze at the ghoulishly decorated houses, admire a ghost story projected in one window, and carve pumpkins ourselves, the insides of which became a delicious baked pumpkin dish. To us, it felt joyful and fun.
Halloween Stuffed Pumpkin (Only an illustration)
Then last year, I stumbled across an article painting Halloween as a sinister, satanic event. Allegedly, Satanists celebrate the success of spreading a day that celebrates dark forces, where even children dress in costumes that seem horribly gory. Another frightening “origin story” suggested Halloween pumpkins and Trick-or-Treating symbolize a druidic ritual in which druid priests went from village to village, demanding children as sacrifices to dark forces. Families who offered a child received a grinning pumpkin; the bereaved family placed it outside their home to ward off evil spirits, while those who refused faced deathly consequences. (Even reading about it feels grim.)
As a mother, or indeed any compassionate person, I thought, “God forbid I involve my children in such a frightful celebration!”
Scary Pumpkins, Halloween
So, this year, I revisited the idea of Halloween. Could it truly be as dreadful as some claim? Meanwhile, my daughter eagerly awaited Halloween, asking each day, ten days before the event, to see the decorated houses with fake graves, mummies, dead witches, boarded-up windows smeared with ‘blood’, creepy clowns, or scorpions (a symbol of death and October-November’s astrological sign). Of course, we went to see the houses… and I wondered: How can she enjoy this? Isn’t she scared? Doesn’t it make her feel uneasy? Not at all. She even cut out little paper figures and decorated her dollhouses with them.
Then I tried seeing it from her perspective. Why would she be afraid? She doesn’t associate Halloween with anything negative. She knows nothing of demons, evil, murders, or the horrid druid story; death isn’t frightening to her, even though we recently lost her grandfather. For her, Halloween is just another joyful occasion—a chance for fun outings with me, where we might craft clay pumpkins, jack-o’-lanterns, or Mexican masks.
Last year, I thought we’d simply focus on the lighter side of Halloween, full stop!
Scary Halloween Decorations in England, UK. Photo by Borbala K. Edes
But this year, I began to waver. What if Halloween truly has satanic roots, and that dreadful druid tale… I dug deeper (as far as Google allowed) and found that traditional churches generally oppose Halloween, seeing it as pagan or occult, even as some Christians partially incorporated it into All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, which focus on the dead and death.
Most reputable historical sites (like [History.com]) highlight Halloween’s Celtic origins and link it to ancient Roman commemorations of the dead. This season marked the end of grazing, the onset of winter’s darkness and chill. Celts believed that on Samhain, the boundary between the living and the dead became blurred. A moment’s reflection shows how darkness (darkness of the grave, of the unknown) might have been seen as the realm of death or even Hell, with its power seeming to strengthen as days shortened until the winter solstice. They may have thought that, by paying homage to dark forces or donning disguises, they could appease malevolent spirits and ward off misfortune.
The root of this thinking lies in darkness’s temporary dominance, which they countered by “outwitting” it. Another interpretation of Halloween’s spooky decorations, merriment, and costumes is that they aim to trivialize fear by making it comically absurd. Dressing as what frightens us and making it laughable may even be a therapeutic way to conquer fear.
Halloween in England, Walsall. Photo by Borbala K. Edes
Now, I see this Celtic tradition as allowing one to live fully in the moment in late October within nature’s cycle, facing the encroaching darkness. And yes, it is indeed pagan, as it uses pagan tools to cope with the fear of darkness. A Christian, post-Christ, doesn’t fear darkness or death as a Celt might have. For them, death holds no terror, for Jesus Christ conquered it. He descended into hell and ascended to heaven. When He returned to the Father, He said, “Do not be afraid! I am with you always, to the end of time.” Or, “Do not be afraid! I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine.”
A Christian thus is not daunted by darkness’s temporary ascendance.
This perspective aligns with the ancient Vedic, Hindu viewpoint. Around Halloween, they celebrate Diwali, the triumph of light over darkness, foreshadowing even Christmas. (For at Christmas, we celebrate the birth of the Light of the World, Jesus, almost at the winter solstice, when light increases day by day until midsummer.)
So they do not dwell on darkness but focus on Rama’s tale of victory—light’s ultimate triumph over darkness.
What, then, is “right” to do at Halloween if we wish to avoid entangling with malevolent forces?
Perhaps we could be like children, enjoying Halloween as a fun, cheerful occasion without associating it with any malice. Or, we could acknowledge its pagan roots, remain mindful, and give thanks that darkness is only temporary and that ultimately, light always prevails over darkness.
Halloween also invites us to introspect: what in our own lives frightens us? What personal fears might we caricature as a grotesque ghost or scary mask, bringing it into the light to take away its power?
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