Halloween was always seen as a fun day for kids to dress up in scary costumes and go around their neighborhoods trick or treating. However, the original innocence of Halloween was killed by conservative Evangelical Christians who decided that the meaning and the imagery of Halloween was an introduction into Satan-worshipping for children and that Halloween was an invitation to worship Satan is still alive in 2020.
The origin of Halloween dates back to ancient times when the Celts held their fall festival, Samhain, when bonfires were lit and people dressed up in scary, ghost-like costumes designed to scare wandering spirits back to their graves. But over 2,000 years later, Halloween was celebrated as a day to have fun through dressing up in the costume of an alter-ego or popular monster from a movie. The wholesale image of Halloween was innocent frivolity.
In the 1980s, Halloween began to evolve into a full-blown adult celebration. Young parents might take their kids trick or treating, get a babysitter, and then go out for their party. Older teens and young adults became the prime target of advertisers and that reinforced the new image that Halloween was for adults, too.
In New Orleans, where the French Quarter provides the perfect ambience for all the mystique that surrounds Halloween, the sights on Bourbon Street range from dark sexuality to the macabre and it all seems so appropriate set against the old architecture of the French Quarter.
Halloween may have turned into a big party time for adults, but it is still an innocent day for kids to dress up, play make-believe, and have fun. Unfortunately, there are still zealot Christians denouncing Halloween as an invitation into the occult.
In the 80s, as Halloween was evolving into an adult celebration, conservative Evangelical Christians began to see a new vision of Halloween. As Christians were having their voices in politics gain credibility and extreme religious leaders, like the Rev. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, seized upon the opportunity to use Halloween as a way of instilling fear in their followers, the image of Halloween changed. Fear has always been an effective tool for gathering and satisfying a flock.
Parents pressured schools into cancelling Halloween celebrations for kids and converting evil Halloween into fall festivals. Popular heavy rock bands, like Black Sabbath, were credited with providing the soundtrack for Halloween as a Satanic holiday.
The question of whether Christians should celebrate Halloween has become less prominent, but the question is still being considered. There is actually a historical relationship between Halloween and Christianity. The origin of trick or treating dates back to medieval traditions when the poor would go to the homes of the rich (the 1%) on the day before All Saints’ Day, November 1, and offer to say prayers for food and alcohol.
The modern-day criticism of Halloween reflects negatively on the adults that randomly assigned a new evil meaning to an innocent Western culture celebration.
Recently, pop star Justin Bieber went public about with cheating on his wife and his wild, juvenile behavior. Justin has also talked about his new relationship with God. Justin’s wife, model Hailey Bieber, who is a strong Christian, was criticized after posting on Instagram that Christians should celebrate Halloween and that there is no conflict with Halloween and Christanity.
The coronavirus pandemic has shrouded Halloween in uncertainty, but there will be altered trick or treating in many neighborhoods and I can assure you that even in the midst of the pandemic, people will be out in costumes on Bourbon and Frenchmen Streets in New Orleans.
The only truly evil thing about Halloween is the actions of zealot Christians who have tried to create fear that Halloween is a Satanic celebration.
