It is at this time of the year that the secular society in which we live is preparing for the festival of Halloween. Throughout the whole month of October, school children are engaged in various projects connected with the attributes of this festival: they draw witches, black cats, ghosts, make jack-o’lanterns, etc. For the entire month all the stores are overflowing with similar paraphernalia. Gradually a great excitement grows among the children, an expectation of joy, which culminates on the last day of the month in school parties, costumes, evening sorties for treats. All this masquerade is presented to society as a fun-filled event, as a merry and innocent children’s holiday.
But let us examine whether this holiday is really for children and whether it is really innocent. Let us look at why the Church forcefully tells us that is absolutely impossible for Orthodox Christians to participate in this event at an level. The issue involved is simple - faithfulness to God and to our holy Orthodox faith. Halloween has its roots in paganism and continues to be a form of idolatry in which Satan, the angel of death, is worshipped. As we know, our holy Church is founded upon the blood of martyrs, who refused to offer sacrifices or worship idols, even under the penalty of cruel torture and death. For this reason the Church calls us to follow their good example, to reject worship of the forces of evil in any way whatsoever, and to always remain faithful to God and the Church.
In order to understand why we cannot participate in the pagan festival of Halloween, we must understand its spiritual danger. For this we must turn to the history of this anti-Christian holiday. The feast of Halloween began in pre-Christian times among the Celtic peoples of Great Britain, Ireland and northern France. These pagan peoples believed that physical life was born from death. Therefore, they celebrated the beginning of the new year in the fall (on the eve of October 31st and into the day of November 1st), when, as they believed, the season of cold, darkness, decay and death began. A certain deity, whom they called Samhaim, was believed by the Celts to be the Lord of Death, and it was he whom they honored at their New Year’s festival.
But let us examine whether this holiday is really for children and whether it is really innocent. Let us look at why the Church forcefully tells us that is absolutely impossible for Orthodox Christians to participate in this event at an level. The issue involved is simple - faithfulness to God and to our holy Orthodox faith. Halloween has its roots in paganism and continues to be a form of idolatry in which Satan, the angel of death, is worshipped. As we know, our holy Church is founded upon the blood of martyrs, who refused to offer sacrifices or worship idols, even under the penalty of cruel torture and death. For this reason the Church calls us to follow their good example, to reject worship of the forces of evil in any way whatsoever, and to always remain faithful to God and the Church.
In order to understand why we cannot participate in the pagan festival of Halloween, we must understand its spiritual danger. For this we must turn to the history of this anti-Christian holiday. The feast of Halloween began in pre-Christian times among the Celtic peoples of Great Britain, Ireland and northern France. These pagan peoples believed that physical life was born from death. Therefore, they celebrated the beginning of the new year in the fall (on the eve of October 31st and into the day of November 1st), when, as they believed, the season of cold, darkness, decay and death began. A certain deity, whom they called Samhaim, was believed by the Celts to be the Lord of Death, and it was he whom they honored at their New Year’s festival.