No Virginia, Halloween is Not Evil

Around this time last year, I spent a lot of time at Yahoo! Answers, answering all kind of questions. In addition to the ever-popular “What should I be for Halloween?”, someone asked the question “Is Halloween evil?” No way could I ignore a question like that!! Since my answer was quite long (I did give it some thought. I even provided Wikipedia links!) I figured someone might find it interesting here too. So I’m republishing it this year for your reading pleasure.

Remember always, your mileage may vary! 😉

No Virginia, Halloween is not Evil

Halloween is not evil.

Since the dawn of time, humans have always celebrated holidays to mark special days, and the passing of seasons. Originally known as the Celtic holiday Samhain, Halloween was originally known as a special day that celebrated the end of the harvest.

Before Christianity came into being, women were understood to produce life, and it is believed that humans, also known as pagans, worshipped a Mother Nature/Goddess. It is also believed that these nature lovers were mostly peaceful folk.

When Jesus “the Christ” (means “the Anointed”) lived, his power for love, forgiveness, and healing changed people, and the world forever. Long after His death, his devoted followers passionately spread his teachings throughout the world.

Pre-Christian practices were then named evil, in order to discourage followers. Before Christianity expanded, Friday the 13th and black cats were considered very lucky. After Christianity was established, pagan beliefs were then said to be evil, or the work of the devil.

Pre-Christian holidays such as Samhain were too popular to destroy, so they were “baptized” with a new Christian name and story. Samhain became “Halloween”, which is celebrated every October 31st. As Samhain (now Halloween) was the day believed to hold the veil between the living and the dead, to be safe, November 1st became “All Saint’s Day”.

Unfortunately, some of Christianity’s strongest champions employed ruthless methods to convert non-Christians into believers. In addition to physical methods such as torture, pro-Christianity propaganda was also employed.

After a few hundred years, no one even remembers why the name changed. But whatever you want to call Halloween, kids (and bands!) love it as a day to dress up in costumes, and try on another persona. So no, Halloween is not evil.

But in my humble opinion, Mother Nature should have fired her publicist!

Source(s):
Wikipedia: Venus of Willendorf
Women in Prehistory
Wikipedia: Venus Figurines
Wikipedia: Halloween
Wikipedia: Spanish Inquisition
Wikipedia: All Saints Day

Leave a Reply