It’s that time of year again when we are greeted at our local grocery store, among other places, with skeletons hanging from the ceilings, witches with big green noses and tombstones with R.I.P inscribed on them. Welcome to another festive celebration of Halloween where the average person will spend $79.82 on decorations, costumes and candy, and when total Halloween spending is expected to reach $8.0 billion (National Retail Federation).
Halloween has become one of the most popular “holidays” in this country, and if you think that it is just a time for kids, think again. Kids will spend approximately 1.1 billion on costumes this year, while adults will spend nearly 1.4 million. The statistics of Halloween spending is staggering, not to mention the number of participants, which may reach an estimated 41.1 million children between the ages of 5 to 14 across the United States (U.S. Census Bureau).
The irony and the sad fact to all this is that the majority of people taking part are not aware of Halloween’s origins or its ongoing pagan practices and festivals. Halloween is by no means merely an historical practice, but one that is very current and considered a “high” feast day. Take for example the religion of Satanism. From the Satanic Bible, Satanist Anton LaVey wrote that the two main satanic holidays are Walpurgisnacht and Halloween (Wikipedia). It goes without saying that on Halloween night, while most of the country parades around in costumes either collecting candy or throwing parties, there are very dark forces at work.
Despite the attempts to “baptize” this pagan feast day by the Christian West, converting it to the feast day of “All Saints”, the rise and popularity of Halloween seems to have been unaffected. The practice of “baptizing” pagan holidays by placing a Christian holy day on the same day is not unknown to Orthodoxy. However, the reality is that this does not eradicate the pagan practice. It is still up to each and every Christian to live their life according to the teachings of Christ, and not involve themselves in pagan practices. While this may not be easy, for the current of the world can be quite swift and strong, we have been called by our Lord to “not conform to this world, but rather be transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). In other words, we must be willing to go against the current of the times on occasion.
Some may protest and see Halloween as harmless, however, we ought to think this through and ponder some of the following thoughts, which I found on an Orthodox Church website (St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church in Michigan):
1. “The ‘cute-ification’ of the witches, demons, and other symbols of Halloween is not harmless. On the contrary, it is the NORMALIZATION of things that are EVIL. Things that are evil should not be depicted as if they were friendly or harmless. This teaches children the opposite of what they should be learning. And even if our children dress up as something harmless, they are “swimming,” as it were, in the atmosphere of the occult symbols that are everywhere at Halloween, and we are lending support to the whole thing by being part of it.”
2. “Real witches still exist, and they STILL regard “Halloween” as one of their “holy” nights. All over the United States alone, thousands of “Wiccan” and “Church of Satan” practitioners perform evil ceremonies on this night, ranging from the Wiccan neo-pagan nature worship to actual satanic rituals. On a night when such things are known to go on, it is more important than ever not to confuse our Christian identity with things that are anti-Christian. It is also a night when we should intensify our prayers to combat the forces of evil.”
3. “By taking part in the pagan Halloween, we make ourselves part of the rapid de-Christianization of the United States and Europe. Current data indicate that the number of people who “keep” Halloween is constantly growing and may at some point surpass the number of people who observe Christmas in the United States! Do we want to contribute to this trend?”
The author of this post goes on to address another often-cited statement, “We don’t want our kids to feel left out”. His response is: “Parents underestimate their children all the time. Children, and especially teenagers, are naturally idealistic and heroic. If you explain to your children why we don’t “do” Halloween, they may be a little disappointed, but in the long run, they will feel spiritual joy and a more profound sense of their own Christian identity. Also, standing up heroically like this when they are young prepares them for much bigger sacrifices they may have to make as adults to keep their integrity and their Faith.”
Finally the author addresses the questions, what should we do on “Halloween? He replies, “In the Orthodox Church, of course, the night before November 1st is not ‘All Saints’ Eve,’ for we celebrate the Feast of All Saints on the First Sunday after Pentecost. But we can have Church services such as Vespers or Paraclesis, which can be served just about any night of the Church year, especially when there is a pastoral need. AND we can plan wholesome and enjoyable non- Halloween activities for our children and youth on that night, either at Church or in our homes, so that they have a healthy substitute for trick or treating.”
I could not agree more with the comment that we often underestimate our children and I love the statement that children, especially teenagers, are naturally idealistic and heroic. What an opportunity we have to capitalize on such a time developmentally with our kids. We are often so afraid that they will feel “left out” or “made to feel so different” that we don’t even give them the opportunity to rise to the occasion to be saintly, just as the daughters of St. Sophia (Sept. 17), while very young did not acquiesce to the pagan emperor who attempted to entice them with flattery and riches to follow after his false gods. I leave you with the following words of St. Sophia to her daughters as recorded in the Great Synaxaristes of the Orthodox Church:
“I, indeed, O most desired children, gave you birth, nurtured you in spiritual matters, adorned you with knowledge of the sacred writings, and armed you with counsels and instructions in the virtues, together with the example of mine own conduct, to enable you to march out in the time of Satan’s combat.”
May we follow in such deep and profound footsteps as St. Sophia, preparing our children, through sacred writings, nurtured in spiritual matters, and instructions in the virtues.
