Have you ever wondered why children dress up in strange costumes on Halloween? Or why pumpkins are carved into grinning faces, candles placed inside them, and little ones go from door to door asking for treats?
These customs are so familiar that we seldom stop to consider where they came from.
As Catholic families, especially as we approach the beautiful feasts of All Saints and All Souls, it is interesting to look back at some of the traditions that have become associated with October 31st.
Their history may surprise you!
From the Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs by Fr. Francis X. Weiser, 1952
HALLOWEEN DRUIDIC ELEMENT
Unlike the familiar observance of All Souls, Halloween traditions have never been connected with Christian religious celebrations of any kind.
Although the name is taken from a great Christian feast (Allhallows’ Eve), it has nothing in common with the Feast of All Saints, and is, instead, a tradition of pre-Christian times that has retained its original character in form and meaning.
Halloween customs are traced back to the ancient Druids. This is attested to by the fact that they are still observed only in those sections of Europe where the population is wholly or partly of Celtic stock.
In ancient times, around November 1 the burning of fires marked the beginning of winter. Such Halloween fires are kindled in many places even now, especially in Wales and Scotland.
Another, and more important, tradition is the Druidic belief that during the night of November 1 demons, witches, and evil spirits roamed the earth in wild and furious gambols of joy to greet the arrival of “their season”—the long nights and early dark of the winter months. They had their fun with the poor mortals that night, frightening, harming them, and playing all kinds of mean tricks.
The only way, it seemed, for scared humans to escape the persecution of the demons was to offer them things they liked, especially dainty food and sweets. Or, in order to escape the fury of these horrible creatures, a human could disguise himself as one of them and join in their roaming. In this way they would take him for one of their own and he would not be bothered.
That is what people did in ancient times, and it is in this very form the custom has come down to us, practically unaltered, as our familiar Halloween celebration: the horrible masks of demons and witches, the disguise in strange and unusual gowns, the ghost figures, the frightening gestures and words, the roaming through the streets at night, the pranks played, and finally the threatening demand of a “trick or treat.”
The pumpkin “ghosts” or jack-o’-lanterns with a burning candle inside may well be a combination of the demon element and the Halloween fire. These pumpkins are found all over central Europe at Halloween, in France, southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Slavic countries. So is the custom of masquerading and “trick or treat” rhymes, at least in the rural sections where ancient traditions are still observed.
ROMAN ELEMENT
In those countries that once belonged to the Roman Empire there is the custom of eating or giving away fruit, especially apples, on Halloween. It spread to neighboring countries: to Ireland and Scotland from Britain, and to the Slavic countries from Austria.
It is probably based upon a celebration of the Roman goddess Pomona, to whom gardens and orchards were dedicated. Since the annual Feast of Pomona was held on November 1, the relics of that observance became part of our Halloween celebration, for instance the familiar tradition of “ducking” for apples.”
A Catholic Thought for All Hallows’ Eve
With all the customs and traditions surrounding Halloween, it is worth remembering that October 31st is also the eve of the beautiful Feast of All Saints.
What a lovely opportunity for Catholic families to turn their thoughts toward the great company of saints in Heaven!
There are many simple ways to make this evening meaningful for children. Dressing up as favorite saints, enjoying a little All Saints’ Eve party, baking special treats, or gathering around the fire to listen to inspiring stories of the saints can all become treasured family traditions.
A particularly sweet custom would be to have each child draw the name of a saint on Halloween evening. On All Saints’ Day, each could learn something about that saint’s life, share it with the family, and ask for that saint’s intercession throughout the coming year.
The family might also gather to pray the Litany of the Saints, prepare a little home altar with pictures of favorite saints, or remember departed loved ones in prayer as All Souls’ Day approaches.
None of these things need to be elaborate. Sometimes the simplest traditions are the ones that leave the deepest impressions.
And perhaps that is something worth considering…how these familiar days on the calendar can become opportunities to quietly plant the seeds of faith in the hearts of children, giving them beautiful memories and traditions to carry into their own homes someday.
A dwelling that is neglected, cold, deserted, silent, dark, and without the serenity and bright warmth of family living, is not a home. And yet, an intimate home is so beautiful if it radiates!
May yours be like this, dear sons and daughters, in the image and likeness of the home of Nazareth! There was never a home more intimate but at the same time more cordial, more lovable, more peaceful in poverty, or more radiant; why does it not live on even now and illumine all Christian society by its radiation?
To the degree in which it is forgotten, you see, to that degree the world grows dark and cold. -Pope Pius XII
Painting by Eugenio Zampighi, 1880
We’ve heard the term before….Domestic Monastery. I understand the sentiment and I think it is a lovely term that is loaded with possibilities within the home. Personally, my home couldn’t be mistaken for a monastery at any given time…
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