THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 26, 1996 TAG: 9610250074
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Issues of Faith
SOURCE: Betsy Wright
LENGTH: 105 lines
SINCE the doctor has taken a very-pregnant-me off my feet for the last few weeks of my term, I've enjoyed giving my family their weekly to-do lists. But this week's list doesn't contain the usual tasks and chores. It's all fun and games.
Sometime this afternoon, while I put finishing touches on my toddler's Halloween costume, my husband, Bernie, and teen-ager Caroline will take Jordannah to Henley's Farm in Pungo. There, they will enjoy a hayride out to the pumpkin patch where they'll stop long enough to select one perfect fat orange fellow.
When they get back home, we'll carve the pumpkin into a friendly jack-o'-lantern and set it out on our front porch. We'll then dress Jordannah in her little black-and-white striped prisoner's outfit, the joke being that her real-life warden daddy will run after her with handcuffs. From home they'll travel to a Kempsville church to join friends for an old-fashioned Halloween party.
On Sunday night, we'll take Jordannah to another friend's church Halloween party and then on Halloween night, Caroline will take her to the church down the street for games and some safe trick-or-treating.
By now, some readers are appalled. They are appalled that (a) I - a Christian - would celebrate Halloween, and (b) that I know of at least three Christian churches that are having Halloween parties. For these people, Halloween is the devil's holiday and Christians should have no part of it.
Why do some Christians protest participation in Halloween? Mainly, they point to the fact that many observances connected with the holiday are thought to have originated among the Druids, an ancient Celtic religious order of Britain, Ireland and France.
The Druids believed that on Halloween - considered then to be the last night of the year - that the lord of the dead, Saman or Samhain, called forth hosts of evil spirits to haunt the living. The priests lit great fires around the countryside that night to ward off these evil spirits. Some Druids burned animals, and possibly even humans, as sacrifices.
Other Celtic religious orders of the era adopted some of the Druid themes, but put a more positive spin on the holiday. For some, it was a holiday celebrating the memory of those who'd died in the previous year, something much like Veteran's Day. For others it was regarded much as New Year's Eve, and thought to be a time for considering the portents of the future.
When the Romans conquered Britain in 43 B.C., the Romans decided they liked some of the features of Halloween and added them to a harvest festival they held on Nov. 1 to honor Pomona, goddess of the fruits of the trees.
When Rome, Britain, France and Ireland became Christianized many years later, Christian leaders tried to purge the culture of the pagan traditions. The people would not hear of it, and so the church took a different route.
The church decided to incorporate some of the positive features of the pagan holidays and merge them into Christian holidays. Halloween became the Christian feast of Hallowmas or All Saints' Day. Both the Celtic aspect of remembering the dead and the Roman aspect of celebrating the harvest became important themes of this new Christian holiday.
So, with all that pagan influence, shouldn't Christians reject Halloween? Well, if we reject Halloween because of pagan influences then we'd better reconsider Christmas and Easter. Both were pagan holidays long before they were Christianized.
Throw out that Christmas tree, holly and mistletoe this year. These items were prominent features of the Celtic holiday celebrating the winter solstice. And while we're at it, we better change the date of Jesus's birth. Until the pagan influence, Jesus' birth wasn't celebrated at all. It was only after fourth century Christians incorporated the pagan customs that Jesus' birthday was set as Dec. 25 and became a hot item among the general public.
Then, there's Easter. The very name of that holiday is taken from Eastre, the Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, to whom was dedicated a month falling around April on the Roman calendar. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox. This is where we get such Easter traditions as the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and colored Easter eggs, representing the sunlight of spring.
My point is this. If Christians think their religion has grown in a vacuum for the last 2,000 years, totally insulated from the many cultures it has inhabited, they are fooling themselves greatly.
In my opinion, the church should retain its traditional wisdom. When it sees there is a cultural thing that the people refuse to give up, then it should take hold of that cultural thing and Christianize it. This is a matter of bringing positive Christian values to something cultural, rather than trying to purge something from the culture, making it a tempting taboo for society.
If we don't do this, then we leave that cultural thing up to the masses to influence, thus opening the door for all sorts of perversions.
For the majority of Americans, Halloween is neither a pagan holiday nor a Christian holiday. It is a secular holiday. The church can choose to ignore it or fight it, but I say it should take charge of it.
The church should recognize that Halloween is a fun time when folks, young and old, get to play dress-up, carve pumpkins and collect lots of candy and goodies. Many Americans watch classic horror flicks on television and decorate their homes with cute little ghosts and goblins. As when riding a roller coaster, Halloween is a time when it's fun to be frightened.
Recognizing this, the church can have controlled Halloween celebrations of its own. Make them wholesome and fun. Encourage folks to dress like a Bible character. Don't dwell on the more sinister aspects of the holiday, but don't get bent out of shape if some kid comes to the party dressed as Casper or Wendy the Witch.
So, what do you think? Let me know this week. MEMO: Every other week, Betsy Mathews Wright publishes responses to her
opinion column. Send responses to Issues of Faith, The Virginian-Pilot,
150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510; call (804) 446-2273; FAX
(804) 436-2798; or send computer message via bmw(AT)infi.net. Deadline
is Tuesday prior to publication. Must include name, city and phone
number. by CNB