What is it that is right and what is it that is wrong with Halloween?
My preference is to focus on what is right about it; make what is right with Halloween the main focus, and let anything else simply be dropped off.
One of the things that I think is right on is that it brings our attention to the children. It is striking to realize that children can never have enough of their parents. Maybe the time has long passed when the child was taken by the hand from neighbor to neighbor asking for a “trick or a treat”. Maybe it’s time to encourage it. This has been a family affair and community affair that
was filled with fun and maybe too many treats for all.
True enough, families in many faith traditions routinely face questions about whether or not the holiday aligns with the principles of their faith. From a Catholic perspective, to say Halloween is to say, Hollows Eve. In other words, a celebration of the vigil of All Saints Day. Yes, there are some historical flashbacks to the Celts, the Irish, and the Scotch – harvest festivals and the dealings of
“stingy Jack”. We bring to our own culture and time, the joy of the festival and also the coming to the end of a year that longs for renewal. As the fall season arrives, thoughts of end times and death come our way. We “chase them away”, with the play of dress up and laughter thrown in the face of something scary. The celebration of All Saints Day is our faith proclamation that no
end, no sin, no death is greater than the victory of Christ.
Hence, many Catholics embrace the tradition as a harmless fun secular activity. It often occurs that the spooky and fun customs are not rejected, rather, dressing up as saints is also included. This adds to the tradition, making a clear connection with the feast of All Saints. This is a chance for celebration and feasting with families that reminds us of the saints, our ancestors, and many
stories we have of both.
There is a need to reject the occult and the demonic. That needs to happen, but not focusing on the child’s spooky way of dressing. The scary and demonic custom that reduces the festivity into one more for-profit event and a sad and tragic glorification of alcohol and the like is what needs to be rejected.
Happy Halloween – Happy Hollows Eve.
Father Francisco Gómez, S.T.