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Halloween



In other regions such as Japan and Germany, Halloween has become popular in the context of American pop culture. Some Christians do not appreciate the resultant de-emphasis of the more spiritual aspects of All Hallows Eve and Reformation Day, respectively, or of regional festivals occurring around the same time (such as St Martin's Day). Business has a natural tendency to capitalize on the holiday season's more commercial aspects, such as the sale of decorations and costumes.

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Religious perspectives

In North America, Christian attitudes towards Halloween are quite diverse. The fact that All Saints Day and Halloween occur on two consecutive days has left some Christians uncertain of how they should treat this holiday. In the Anglican Church, some dioceses have chosen to emphasize the Christian traditions of All Saints Day,[44][45] while some Protestants celebrate the holiday as Reformation Day, a day of remembrance and prayers for unity.[46] Celtic Christians may have Samhain services that focus on the cultural aspects of the holiday, in the belief that many ancient Celtic customs are "compatible with the new Christian religion. Christianity embraced the Celtic notions of family, community, the bond among all people, and respect for the dead. Throughout the centuries, pagan and Christian beliefs intertwine in a gallimaufry (hodgepodge) of celebrations from October 31 through November 5, all of which appear both to challenge the ascendancy of the dark and to revel in its mystery."[47]

Many Christians ascribe no negative significance to Halloween, treating it as a purely secular holiday devoted to celebrating “imaginary spooks” and handing out candy. Halloween celebrations are common among Roman Catholic parochial schools throughout North America and in Ireland. In fact, the Roman Catholic Church sees Halloween as having a Christian connection.[48] Father Gabriele Amorth, a Vatican-appointed exorcist in Rome, has said, "[I]f English and American children like to dress up as witches and devils on one night of the year that is not a problem. If it is just a game, there is no harm in that."[49] Most Christians hold the view that the tradition is far from being "satanic" in origin or practice and that it holds no threat to the spiritual lives of children: being taught about death and mortality, and the ways of the Celtic ancestors actually being a valuable life lesson and a part of many of their parishioners' heritage.[47] Other Christians, primarily of the Evangelical and Fundamentalist variety, are concerned about Halloween, and reject the holiday because they believe it trivializes (and celebrates) “the occult” and what they perceive as evil.[50] A response among some fundamentalists in recent years has been the use of Hell houses or themed pamphlets (such as those of Jack T. Chick) which attempt to make use of Halloween as an opportunity for evangelism.[51] Some consider Halloween to be completely incompatible with the Christian faith[52] due to its origin as a Pagan "festival of the dead." In more recent years, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has organised a "Saint Fest" on the holiday.[51]

Some Wiccans feel that the tradition is offensive to "real witches" for promoting stereotypical caricatures of "wicked witches".[53] However, other Neopagans, perhaps most of them, see it as a harmless holiday in which some of the old traditions are celebrated by the mainstream culture, albeit in a different manner.

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Fiction

Ray Bradbury's The Halloween Tree features the holiday prominently. Halloween is frequently mentioned as an important date in the Harry Potter book series by J.K. Rowling, whose central themes are wizardry and magic. In Alan Moore's graphic novel Watchmen, several pivotal events occur on Halloween night, including the death of the original 'Nite-Owl'. Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the character of the Headless Horseman are often linked to the holiday in the public mindset due to later adaptations (though Halloween is not actually mentioned in the original work).

Films in which Halloween plays a significant role include adaptations of the above works, plus the Halloween film series, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Halloween That Almost Wasn't, Monster House, Donnie Darko, Hellboy, and Hocus Pocus.

Numerous Halloween television specials have been broadcast, notably It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and the annual Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" episodes.

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Books

  • Diane C. Arkins, Halloween: Romantic Art and Customs of Yesteryear, Pelican Publishing Company (2000). 96 pages. ISBN 1-56554-712-8
  • Diane C. Arkins, Halloween Merrymaking: An Illustrated Celebration Of Fun, Food, And Frolics From Halloweens Past, Pelican Publishing Company (2004). 112 pages. ISBN 1-58980-113-X
  • Lesley Bannatyne, Halloween: An American Holiday, An American History, Facts on File (1990, Pelican Publishing Company, 1998). 180 pages. ISBN 1-56554-346-7
  • Lesley Bannatyne, A Halloween Reader. Stories, Poems and Plays from Halloweens Past, Pelican Publishing Company (2004). 272 pages. ISBN 1-58980-176-8
  • Phyllis Galembo, Dressed for Thrills: 100 Years of Halloween Costumes and Masquerade, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (2002). 128 pages. ISBN 0-8109-3291-1
  • Lint Hatcher, The Magic Eightball Test: A Christian Defense of Halloween and All Things Spooky, Lulu.com (2006). ISBN 978-1847287564
  • Ronald Hutton, Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain, Oxford Paperbacks (2001). 560 pages. ISBN 0-19-285448-8
  • Jean Markale, The Pagan Mysteries of Halloween: Celebrating the Dark Half of the Year (translation of Halloween, histoire et traditions), Inner Traditions (2001). 160 pages. ISBN 0-89281-900-6
  • Lisa Morton, The Halloween Encyclopedia, McFarland & Company (2003). 240 pages. ISBN 0-7864-1524-X
  • Nicholas Rogers, Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, Oxford University Press (2002). 198 pages. ISBN 0-19-514691-3
  • Jack Santino (ed.), Halloween and Other Festivals of Death and Life, University of Tennessee Press (1994). 280 pages. ISBN 0-87049-813-4
  • David J. Skal, Death Makes A Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween, Bloomsbury USA (2003). 224 pages. ISBN 1-58234-305-5
  • Ben Truwe, The Halloween Catalog Collection. Portland, Oregon: Talky Tina Press (2003). ISBN 0-9703448-5-6.

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See also

Holidays Portal

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References

  1. ^ Anthony Aveni, "Halloween: Dead Time," The Book of the Year: A Brief History of Our Seasonal Holidays (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 119-133.
  2. ^ Nicholas Rogers, "Samhain and the Celtic Origins of Halloween," Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 11-21.
  3. ^ Hutton, Ronald (1996) Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford, Oxford University Press ISBN 0192880454
  4. ^ a b Danaher, Kevin (1972) The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs Dublin, Mercier. ISBN 1-85635-093-2 pp.190–232
  5. ^ Campbell, John Gregorson (1900, 1902, 2005) The Gaelic Otherworld. Edited by Ronald Black. Edinburgh, Birlinn Ltd. ISBN 1-84158-207-7 pp.559-62
  6. ^ Arnold, Bettina (2001-10-31). Halloween Customs in the Celtic World. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Retrieved on 2007-10-16.
  7. ^ Simpson, John; Weiner, Edmund (1989). Oxford English Dictionary, second, London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-861186-2. 
  8. ^ History of the Jack O'Lantern, Pumpkin Nook
  9. ^ Skal, David J. (2002). Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween. New York: Bloomsbury, 34. ISBN 1-58234-230-X.
  10. ^ Nicholas Rogers, "Halloween Goes to Hollywood," Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 103-124.
  11. ^ Hal Siemer, Spooky Halloween: A Celebration of the Dark, QuestMagazine.com.
  12. ^ What is the origin of Halloween colors?. AllAboutPopularIssues.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
  13. ^ Nicholas Rogers, "Coming Over: Halloween in North America," Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 49-77.
  14. ^ "Halloween outfits 'create fear'", BBC News, 2006-09-18. Retrieved on 2006-10-31. 
  15. ^ Nicholas Rogers, "Festive Rites: Halloween in the British Isles," Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 22-48.
  16. ^ Grannis, Kathy; Scott Krugman (20 September 2006). As Halloween Shifts to Seasonal Celebration, Retailers Not Spooked by Surge in Spending (HTML). National Retail Federation. Retrieved on 31 October 2006.
  17. ^ Beauchemin, Genevieve; CTV.ca News Staff. "UNICEF to end Halloween 'orange box' program", CTV, 2006-05-31. Retrieved on 2006-10-29. 
  18. ^ Nicholas Rogers, "Razor in the Apple: Struggle for Safe and Sane Halloween, c. 1920-1990," Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), 78-102.
  19. ^ Urban Legends Reference Pages: Pins and Needles in Halloween Candy
  20. ^ BBC Religion & Ethics—Hallowe'en. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-03-14.
  21. ^ Hutton, Ronald (1996). Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. New York: Oxford Paperbacks. ISBN 0-19-285448-8. 
  22. ^ Rogers, Nicholas (2002). Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. New York: Oxford University Press, 411. ISBN 0-19-514691-3. 
  23. ^ Halloween 2007
  24. ^ Culinary Confusion | Ireland Travel Guide
  25. ^ Celtic Attic: Celts facts and fiction - Feasts and Celebrations
  26. ^ Pumpkins have been banned from a Halloween festival in favour of a more Scottish-style celebration accessed 27-10-2007
  27. ^ "Mischief Night causes havoc across county", BBC, 2002-11-05. Retrieved on 2006-09-14. 
  28. ^ Heald, Claire. "Boo! Is Halloween too scary?", BBC News Magazine, 2006-10-31. Retrieved on 2006-12-28. 
  29. ^ One of the earliest references to trick or treating in Britain comes from a House of Lords debate in 1986, when it was described as a recently imported custom: the substance of the debate was the concern that youths were using trick or treating to obtain money from old people and others, or threatening nasty tricks. Coughlan, Sean. "The Japanese knotweed of festivals", BBC News Magazine, 2007-10-31. Retrieved on 2007-10-31. 
  30. ^ "Fines for Halloween troublemakers", BBC News, 2006-11-28. Retrieved on 2006-12-28. 
  31. ^ Rogers, p. 49.
  32. ^ Anderson, Richard (2000). Antique Halloween Postcards and E-cards (HTML). shaktiweb.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-14.
  33. ^ Dawn Kroma; Lou Kroma (n.d.). Beistle: An American Halloween Giant (HTML). Spookshows.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-14.
  34. ^ Ledenbach, Mark B. (n.d.). A Brief History of Halloween Collectibles (HTML). halloweencollector.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-14.
  35. ^ Skal, David J. (2002). Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween. New York: Bloomsbury, 34. ISBN 1-58234-230-X. 
  36. ^ Mikkelson, Barbara and David P.. "Halloween Loot.", 2006-10-29. Retrieved on 2006-10-29. 
  37. ^ 2006 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey. Washington, DC: The National Retail Federation.
  38. ^ Trick-or-treaters can expect Mom or Dad’s favorites in their bags this year. National Confectioners Association (2005). Retrieved on 2006-09-14.
  39. ^ Fun Facts: Halloween. National Confectioners Association (2005). Retrieved on 2006-09-14.
  40. ^ "Halloween revelers erupt in Madison", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2002-11-4. Retrieved on 2007-12-18. 
  41. ^ Historic tricks for Halloween at Northern Star; accessed October 31, 2007.
  42. ^ Halloween fever hits Australia at Daily Telegraph; accessed October 31, 2007.
  43. ^ Halloween hits Australia at Daily Telegraph; accessed October 31, 2007.
  44. ^ Bishop challenges supermarkets to lighten up Halloween (HTML). www.manchester.anglican.org (n.d.). Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
  45. ^ Halloween and All Saints Day (HTML). newadvent.org (n.d.). Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
  46. ^ Reformation Day: What, Why, and Resources for Worship (HTML). The General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church (2005-10-21). Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
  47. ^ a b Feast of Samhain/Celtic New Year/Celebration of All Celtic Saints November 1 (HTML). All Saints Parish (n.d.). Retrieved on 2006-11-22.
  48. ^ Halloween’s Christian Roots AmericanCatholic.org. Retrieved on October 24, 2007.
  49. ^ Gyles Brandreth, "The Devil is gaining ground" The Sunday Telegraph (London), March 11, 2000.
  50. ^ Halloween: Satan's New Year (2006) by Billye Dymally, Halloween: Counterfeit Holy Day (2005) by Kele Gershom, and Halloween: What's a Christian to Do? (1998) by Steve Russo. An opposing viewpoint is found in The Magic Eightball Test: A Christian Defense of Halloween and All Things Spooky (2006) by Lint Hatcher.
  51. ^ a b Salem ‘Saint Fest’ restores Christian message to Halloween (HTML). www.rcab.org (n.d.). Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
  52. ^ “Trick?” or “Treat?”—Unmasking Halloween (HTML). The Restored Church of God (n.d.). Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
  53. ^ Reece, Kevin. "School District Bans Halloween", KOMO News, 2004-10-24. Retrieved on 2006-09-14. 

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