Is It Anti-Pagan to Celebrate Halloween?
Is It Anti-Pagan to Celebrate Halloween?
By Patti Wigington, About.com
""
Does celebrating Halloween somehow lessen your Samhain Sabbat? Only if you let it.
Image © Getty Images
Question: Is It Anti-Pagan to Celebrate Halloween?
A reader asks, "I was curious if it was anti-Pagan to celebrate Halloween? I'm sort of worried it might seem disrespectful to go out collecting candy while I'm supposed to be honoring the spirits of my dead ancestors. How do Halloween and Samhain relate if at all to one another?"
Answer:
This is actually an excellent question - and the short answer is, "You can celebrate Halloween if you want to!" Not only that, you can celebrate Samhain as well.
Much like Yule and Christmas, Samhain and Halloween are two different ways of observing the same time of year. Think of Samhain as the spiritual version1, and Halloween as the secular. There's no reason at all why you can't celebrate both if you choose. In our family, we do a huge Halloween party with friends and family. I also do a Samhain ritual with my coven. There's never been a conflict.
How do Samhain and Halloween relate to one another? Well, the "trick or treat" Halloween2 evolved from the British tradition of All Soul's Day. Poor people went begging, and the middle-class wives handed out special treats known as Soul Cakes3. By the nineteenth century, this tradition had followed British and Irish immigrants to America, and by then, begging for goodies wasn't just the domain of the poor, it was a kids' activity. Following the Great Depression and World War II, the notion of giving away candy really took off, and so today's candy-deluged Halloween celebration was born.
I do realize there is a small portion of the Pagan community that finds the whole Halloween thing off-putting, and I've heard the occasional complaint that Halloween trivializes Samhain. However, my opinion is that there's no reason you can't observe the solemnity of Samhain in addition to the fun of Halloween. I've been Pagan for over two decades, and just don't feel that a gaggle of kids collecting candy and dressed like the Jonas Brothers has any bearing whatsoever on my religious obligations or needs. My ancestors know that I honor them and respect them, and they don't seem to be troubled by my love of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
Often, too, the question comes up of whether or not celebrating a mundane event -- like Thanksgiving or Fourth of July or Halloween -- somehow lessens the value our spiritual celebrations. Honestly, eating a turkey or lighting fireworks or snarfing down candy only diminishes your spiritual holidays if you allow it to. There are plenty of Pagans who ask, "Should I celebrate this with my family4, when it's not part of my Pagan belief system?" It's a question that each individual has to answer for themselves, but as long as your tradition doesn't have a specific mandate against it, I'd say go ahead and celebrate however you like.
©2009 About.com, Inc., a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.
Links in this article:
1. http://paganwiccan. about.com/ od/samhainoctobe r31/a/About_ Samhain.htm
2. http://paganwiccan. about.com/ od/samhainoctobe r31/p/TrickOrTre ating.htm
3. http://paganwiccan. about.com/ od/samhaincookin g/ht/Soul_ cake.htm
4. http://paganwiccan. about.com/ od/holidaysandce lebrations/ f/ThanksgivingQs .htm
5. http://paganwiccan. about.com/ od/samhainoctobe r31/f/
By Patti Wigington, About.com
""
Does celebrating Halloween somehow lessen your Samhain Sabbat? Only if you let it.
Image © Getty Images
Question: Is It Anti-Pagan to Celebrate Halloween?
A reader asks, "I was curious if it was anti-Pagan to celebrate Halloween? I'm sort of worried it might seem disrespectful to go out collecting candy while I'm supposed to be honoring the spirits of my dead ancestors. How do Halloween and Samhain relate if at all to one another?"
Answer:
This is actually an excellent question - and the short answer is, "You can celebrate Halloween if you want to!" Not only that, you can celebrate Samhain as well.
Much like Yule and Christmas, Samhain and Halloween are two different ways of observing the same time of year. Think of Samhain as the spiritual version1, and Halloween as the secular. There's no reason at all why you can't celebrate both if you choose. In our family, we do a huge Halloween party with friends and family. I also do a Samhain ritual with my coven. There's never been a conflict.
How do Samhain and Halloween relate to one another? Well, the "trick or treat" Halloween2 evolved from the British tradition of All Soul's Day. Poor people went begging, and the middle-class wives handed out special treats known as Soul Cakes3. By the nineteenth century, this tradition had followed British and Irish immigrants to America, and by then, begging for goodies wasn't just the domain of the poor, it was a kids' activity. Following the Great Depression and World War II, the notion of giving away candy really took off, and so today's candy-deluged Halloween celebration was born.
I do realize there is a small portion of the Pagan community that finds the whole Halloween thing off-putting, and I've heard the occasional complaint that Halloween trivializes Samhain. However, my opinion is that there's no reason you can't observe the solemnity of Samhain in addition to the fun of Halloween. I've been Pagan for over two decades, and just don't feel that a gaggle of kids collecting candy and dressed like the Jonas Brothers has any bearing whatsoever on my religious obligations or needs. My ancestors know that I honor them and respect them, and they don't seem to be troubled by my love of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.
Often, too, the question comes up of whether or not celebrating a mundane event -- like Thanksgiving or Fourth of July or Halloween -- somehow lessens the value our spiritual celebrations. Honestly, eating a turkey or lighting fireworks or snarfing down candy only diminishes your spiritual holidays if you allow it to. There are plenty of Pagans who ask, "Should I celebrate this with my family4, when it's not part of my Pagan belief system?" It's a question that each individual has to answer for themselves, but as long as your tradition doesn't have a specific mandate against it, I'd say go ahead and celebrate however you like.
©2009 About.com, Inc., a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.
Links in this article:
1. http://paganwiccan. about.com/ od/samhainoctobe r31/a/About_ Samhain.htm
2. http://paganwiccan. about.com/ od/samhainoctobe r31/p/TrickOrTre ating.htm
3. http://paganwiccan. about.com/ od/samhaincookin g/ht/Soul_ cake.htm
4. http://paganwiccan. about.com/ od/holidaysandce lebrations/ f/ThanksgivingQs .htm
5. http://paganwiccan. about.com/ od/samhainoctobe r31/f/
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by jaymacfee on -
Well said! And I agree completely. Going to a company Christmas party does not take away from my celebration of Yule. Nor does any other secular celebration. If we are going to take offense at others celebrating, whether it is for their form of religion or simply secular, we become little more than outsiders in our community. And bad tempered ones at that.
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Permalink Reply by Araelus the Stormwolf on -
Well done masterfully handled and precise, why not do both, I certainly intend to try.
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Permalink Reply by solomon jacobson on -
well antipagan, i don't what to say , so go for it and have fun-not interested- thou
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Permalink Reply by Gwenhwyfar Aine on -
While I am not Christian in any way except I enjoy studying the Torah and the New Testiment, I myself love Christmas. It's probably horribly blasphemous and everything, but it gives me wonderfully fond memories of my childhood. I love deocrating and singing Christmas Carols. I do feel I celebrate Yule a little less than Christmas, but that's all due to it being inscribed into my culture at an early age. I feel it does take away my appreciate for Yule even more. Even though I realize that Christmas stole many traditions from Yule and...er, that one Roman holiday, can't remember the name of it...I can't get over my obsession with Christmas. I don't celebrate it as Jesus's birth...I celebrate it as relatives and friends being stuck inside, having good times, eatting great food, singing songs, the beginning of winter...we haven't quite gotten sick of it yet, so we welcome the snow. Does that make any since to anyone? So basically I spend the whole week celebrating a sort of combination of the two. lol
As for Samhain, there's nothing wrong with free candy, but it's always been a mixture of a very spiritual holiday, where we honor the dead, our ancestors, and celebrate the late harvest, but I also feel as the veil is thin, you never know what crosses over, so there's nothing wrong with dressing up, sharing horror stories, scaring the crap out of each other, lol. It's the beginning of the dark half of the year. There is def nothing quieting about it. lol
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Permalink Reply by Azraelwitch on -
I want candy... :) Big smile and Cackles!!!!
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Permalink Reply by lady luna on -
Blessings Lady Luna P.S. I am one of the people that have celebrated both for years.
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Permalink Reply by Crystal Wolfclaw on -
XD I still take my kid trick or treating I even dress up :D some people gave my boyfriend and me candy cause we dressed up too XD
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Permalink Reply by StarFire on -
I love to celebrate both! I take my kids out Trick-or-Treating & we have a "grown-up" party afterwards. I always sneak away & take time for myself & to celebrate Samhain as well. When others start to look for me my hubby gets them back into the party so that I can have that time to myself. I LOVE IT. This is my favorite time of year!
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Faith on -
Don't know why this - or the Yule/Xmas thing 4 that matter - is such a dilemma. Halloween IS Samhain. All the traditions & activities, including trick or treating, are Pagan in origin. The only difference is how it is viewed from a spiritual standpoint, the religious slant put on the meaning of the holiday. Dress up, go trick or treating, dance to "monster Mash", howl at the moon! It's fun & totally appropriate. Then when all that's done, hold your Samhain rite honoring the dead. Same with Yule. Most of us have family obligations with regard to that one. So we do them, all the while substituting names & faces privately while attending family Christian rites, knowing that the red & gold balls on the tree were once apples & pears & laughing to ourselves over others' beliefs that Santa is somehow Christian. Then we go & celebrate the way WE want to, putting our whole hearts into our Yule rites. The Lord & Lady know our hearts & souls better than we do. They know our intentions & we know our place on the path. Who cares how we appear to others? Since when has that ever really been a concern to those of us who dare to walk this path anyway?
Bright Blessings!
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Permalink Reply by Dalmatinka - la magia è nell'ari on -
It's because these Christian assholes now take it all more as a business - in the old testament Jesus' real birthday is on January 7th. I know this because I got family and friends that are Serbian Orthodox and they all celebrate real xmas on Jan 7th. Then Christians give Pagans a hard time!! I mean wtf seriously. I even have a Orthodox Priest in the family and I don't give anyone a hard time about there beliefs unless I think there got there info all wrong. (well I hope I don't)
Blessings and I hope everyone has a good Samhain and Halloween .. this is my favourite time of year.
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Permalink Reply by Jade on -
I couldn't agree more!! As many have said, halloween is samhain. Well except for the fact that halloween is soooo commercialized..lol. I think you should go out, eat some candy corn and have a good time.
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Permalink Reply by Sir. Raibeart M. Paris on -
I am compelled to drop a line, and say that the plans I keep fae Samhainn are simple. Our Grove gathers to go around to the abandoned (unmaintained) cemetaries in the county, we spend the day cleaning them up and making them look better. Then in the evening we gather in the grove to honour the Ancestors.
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