Halloween and Superstition
I often find myself unconsciously touching wood or crossing my fingers. It is a habit, I know it does not work, I do not believe in gods hidden in trees or hexes that need to be broken. I trust God to answer my prayers but these things are light-hearted, too trivial to merit prayer. I was worried therefore to find that some people, who claim to be Christian, are superstitious. A friend, whose husband is Chinese, lost her father a couple of weeks ago. She then received a letter from a Chinese lady from her church rescinding an invitation to her daughter’s wedding. The explanation was that because my friend had been in contact with death, she was deemed to bring bad luck for six months. My friend was not as worried about missing the wedding as missing the fact that these people still upheld an ancient ethnic belief without realising it contradicted Christian teaching.
It is a bit the same with Halloween, which was yesterday. It is seen by many as just a bit of fun for the children. They do not look at the original meaning of the day upon which it was superimposed. In the same way as Christmas hijacked the existing non-Christian Saturnalia, it replaced an old somewhat sinister festival. Ancient Celts celebrated the end of the light half of the year and the start of the dark half, they took stock of and rejoiced in what they had stored for winter with feasting and revels.
They thought the border between this world and the “Otherworld” was at its thinnest at this time of year, so spirits were able to cross over. Whilst welcoming and honouring those of their ancestors they guarded against evil ones by wearing scary masks and making pumpkins into Jack-o-lanterns. This behaviour so worried popes in the 8th and 9th centuries that they moved All Saints Day from Spring to Autumn in the hope of replacing paganism with a Christian event. This had little effect other than to change the name form Samhain (Summer End) to Halloween (All Hallows Eve).
The festivities continued and, with help from some Gothic novels and Hollywood films, developed into what we know today. The practice of trick-or-treat, which now generates so much angst among householder, especially the elderly, was a fun way for children to receive unaccustomed sweetmeats (especially toffee apples). The practice of asking for money rather than candy was started in the 1950s for a good cause. A Presbyterian minister’s wife from Philadelphia sought to raise funds for UNICEF. Unfortunately, the practice became more like “demanding money with menaces” and the children became less safe on the streets among disguised strangers and UNICEF withdrew some years ago.
The Devil is always looking for any chink in the Christian armour. There are no such things as witches flying on broomsticks but there are people who misguidedly worship the Enemy and give him a foothold. We should not be participating in or recognising anything of their culture, we who worship the one True God.
