[Grem] *****SPAM(6.1)***** Re: Fwd: FW: HALLOWEEN?!?!?!

[Emoke Greschik]

 Can Halloween be Christianized Again?
By John Horvat II <https://www.returntoorder.org/author/editor/>
https://www.returntoorder.org/2018/10/can-halloween-be-christianized-again/?pkg=rtoe0781
<https://www.returntoorder.org/2018/10/can-halloween-be-christianized-again/?pkg=rtoe0781#>
<https://www.returntoorder.org/2018/10/can-halloween-be-christianized-again/?pkg=rtoe0781#>
<https://www.returntoorder.org/2018/10/can-halloween-be-christianized-again/?pkg=rtoe0781#>
<https://www.returntoorder.org/2018/10/can-halloween-be-christianized-again/?pkg=rtoe0781#>
<https://www.returntoorder.org/2018/10/can-halloween-be-christianized-again/?pkg=rtoe0781#>
".........
..... There is no denying that *Halloween* *is rooted in the Celtic fall
festival of Samhain.  It involved many superstitions and occult ceremonies
directed toward the Druid lord of Death. *Some historians claim* the Druids
practiced human or animal sacrifice and even occult orgies* to mark special
festivals. In this case, dressing up as evil spirits and demons was part of
the celebration.
<https://www.returntoorder.org/2017/05/saint-thomas-aquinas-say-marriage/>

*The ghastly and even toxic aspects of the pagan feast **certainly stood in
need of* *being baptized.** Indeed, the Church responded to such
opportunities to overturn the idols and rid peoples of superstitions. **Many
times, missionaries would* take advantage of the habit of celebrating
special pagan feast days to* institute Christian feasts or holy days in
their stead.*

*Halloween, a Feast of Charity to the Poor*

*This is exactly what the Church did to Halloween. In the ninth century, **this
pagan festival* *was replaced by a double day celebration remembering all
the dead that are saved. All Saints Day remembers those who are uncanonized
in heaven *so that they might have their feast too. *All Souls Day
<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01315b.htm> remembers the poor souls who
are saved from the eternal fires of hell yet are suffering for a time in
purgatory.*

*On the eve of these two feasts, the bells would ring, and town criers
would remind all to pray for the poor souls. Thus, on All Hallows Eve,
later Halloween, children from poor families would go door-to-door,
receiving food and sweets in exchange for praying for the souls of the
dead. **This “souling” as it was called, gave rise to canvassing for “soul”
cakes
<https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/recipes/view.cfm?id=1378.>
which became part of the tradition.* Harmless pranks awaited the stingy
givers.

*The revelers would sing:*






*Soul! Soul! Soul-cake! Please good Missis, a soul-cake! Apple, pear, plum
or cherry, Any good thing to make us all merry. One for Peter, two for Paul
Three for Him who made us all.*

*Halloween was thus a feast that benefited the poor on earth and those who
were so much poorer in purgatory. It was a time of mirth but also great
charity.*

*The Church as Mother*

While there are times of penance and fasting in the liturgical year, there
are also times of joy. The Church as a true mother provides the faithful
with festive days of feasting and merrymaking. Thus, the Church has no
problem with merrymaking in which people dressed up in costumes to visit
their neighbors.

*In medieval Europe, it was very popular for people “to go mummering
<https://www.dictionary.com/browse/mummer>,” the practice of visiting
neighborhoods while dressed up in disguises. The revelers would sing, feast
and play tricks in return for refreshment, money or good wishes. Such
mummering was very popular on major feast days
<http://www.lordsandladies.org/middle-ages-holidays.htm>, *of which there
were many, in the Middle Ages. They did not degenerate into rowdy or bawdy
festivals like those which plague today’s de-Christianized Mardi Gras or
other such feasts.

*Protestant Prohibition and Eventual Acceptance*

*In Protestant Europe and America, Halloween was on the prohibited index *of
religious practices* in colonial times*, a list that some radical
sects extended
to Christmas
<http://mentalfloss.com/article/89733/when-americans-outlawed-christmas>*.
It was not observed until **Irish Catholic immigrants in the nineteenth
century brought the custom with them to their new homeland**. In the
twenties, a secularized version of Halloween was introduced with the
practice of trick or treating. It gradually gained traction and acceptance
by the fifties.*
[image: Can Halloween be Christianized Again?]

The modern focus of Halloween is increasingly focused on a fascination with
evil, horror, and gore.

However, the more recent celebrations have stressed its pagan origins with
its preternatural and ghoulish overtones. It has combined with slasher
<https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=slasher> and horror films
and zombie-themed parties and events to make it a festival of darkness
embracing the evil side of the spiritual world.

Thus, *Halloween has returned to its pagan origins and abandoned those
of **Christian
charity.** It no longer belongs to* *the poor* but to those engaging in
amusement and self-indulgence. *Once the feast of innocent little children,*
it now includes reveling adults. Those who celebrate do not pray for the
salvation of poor souls but harbor instead a diabolical glee over damned
souls.

*Can Halloween be Re-Christianized?*

The question remains if Halloween can be re-Christianized in today’s world.

Resourceful clergy and parents have found alternatives that capture the
imagination of children. Many of these include parties in which children
dress up as saints or religious figures as a way of celebrating All Saints
Day. These alternative events can be helpful in imparting some Catholic
culture to children. But they can only go so far.

Such celebrations cannot compete with the super-charged media promotion of
today’s neo-pagan Halloween. Children will be exposed to the ghoulish
Halloween in stores, schools or the house decorations in their
neighborhood. Like other aspects of modern culture, they cannot be ignored,
or Benedict Optioned out.

Arranging a peaceful co-existence between Catholic and pagan celebrations
of Halloween is bound to fail since it does not address the need to fight
against evil. It prepares the child for defeat later in life, since all
must eventually confront the reality of evil without the help of others.

*Re-Christianizing Halloween*

That is why the only real way to re-Christianize Halloween is to reject any
peaceful co-existence in these cultural matters. This will happen when
clergy and parents teach children to confront the world they cannot ignore
or avoid. They must delve deeply into the Faith. *Children must be
fortified by sacramental life and prayer to engage in this battle in a
manner appropriate to their age.*

*Thus, any Christianized celebration of Halloween needs to reinforce * *the
idea that there is a cultural battle going on between the forces of good
and evil. **Hell** exists*,* and its fires **must be avoided*. What better
way to demonstrate these truths than to point out the macabre
manifestations of evil that appear everywhere during Halloween.

It could also serve as an occasion to point out the victory of the saints
over the evils of their day. The eve of the Church’s two holy days might
even return to be a time to make merry and eat sweet soul cakes while
praying for the poor souls suffering in purgatory.

*A Soul Cake recipe can be found **here
<https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/recipes/view.cfm?id=1378.>*
.
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