Metropolitan Nicholas

QUESTION:

Dear Father,

Glory be to Jesus Christ!

How should Orthodox treat Halloween? Should we allow Halloween parties for our Sunday School and Jr. ACRY outtings? If no, why? I remember going to church Halloween parties, with no ill effects. Where and how did Halloween get started?
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ANSWER:

First, let me begin by stating that no directive has been issued by our Metropolitan Nicholas expressly prohibiting parishes/youth groups/Sunday Schools from having Halloween parties. Having said this, however, I would like to answer your question by writing some of my thoughts (and struggles) as an Orthodox Priest and a father of two sons - ages five & seven.

As an Orthodox Christian and a Priest - I struggle with the Christian principle of being "in the world, (yet) not of the world." I want my children to be able to function in the world, I do not wish to isolate them from it, yet I do not want them to become secularized and place other idols before the Lord. This is why I limit their television consumption and de-emphasize the commercialized aspect of Christmas and Easter (Pascha). A particularly troublesome time of year for me is Halloween.

Halloween is the modern day evolution of a pagan holiday known as Samhain which is celebrated on (Nov. 1). The ancient Celts, the earliest of those who celebrated it, believed Samhain was a time when the division between the worlds of the living and the dead became very thin, when hostile supernatural forces were active and ghosts and spirits were free to wander as they wished. Samhain was the supreme night of demonic jubilation. Spirits of the dead would rise out of their graves and wander the countryside, trying to return to the homes where they formerly lived. Frightened villagers tried to appease these wandering spirits by offering them gifts of fruit and nuts. This is the origin of our present day "trick-or-treat." They began the tradition of placing plates of the finest food and bits of treats that the household had to offer on their doorsteps, as gifts, to appease the hunger of the ghostly wanderers. If not placated, villagers feared that the spirits would kill their flocks or destroy their property. People would dress up in costumes of ghosts and demons to fool the evil spirits. They would carve Jack-O-Lanterns (as we presently do now) to look frightening - like a demon. Over the centuries an attempt was made by the Western Church to Christianize this pagan holiday. They replaced the Feast of Samhain with that of All Saints Day. The word Halloween is from All Hallows Eve (Eve of All Saints). Proponents of celebrating Halloween feel that it has evolved into an innocuous holiday - devoid of any religious significance - being merely an elaborate costume party. (There is some truth to this as it has become incredibly secularized - Americans spend $2.5 Billion on Halloween!)

What is troubling to me is that some today still DO celebrate Samhain - they are the followers of witchcraft - which is known today as "Wicca" They often organize on Halloween to observe satanic rituals to cast spells, to oppose churches and families, to perform sacrilegious acts and even offer blood sacrifices to Satan. Wiccans feel that their "powers" are more pronounced on Halloween. Remember razor blades in candy and the like during our own childhoods? One may merely write off witches as frauds. But make no mistake: some do have powers and the powers they have and the evil spirits they call upon come from Satan . You may recall hearing in the media about a female bus driver in Monroe, Connecticut who was convicted of statutory rape of a teenage boy - it was revealed in court that she was a "Wiccan" and forced the boy to drink blood and participate in satanic rituals. The trouble with our celebration of Halloween, even on a limited basis, is that we place ourselves in spiritual danger. We also unwittingly draw attention to Satan , and often in a favorable light. Or worse yet, we deny the very reality of Satan and his demons - lulling our children into believing the greatest lie of all - that Satan is not real.

One of the most disturbing realities I have found in religious education, be it within the parish or at Camp Nazareth, our children might be totally bored with a lesson that is being taught, until Satanism is discussed - then they are interested! This is so because we live in a world where there is much sin and evil and this indeed is an influence. Evil is so very seductive!

As a parent, I try to protect my children from sickness, danger, crime, abuse, etc. I also wish to protect them as much as possible from evil. So when Halloween comes, I DEMPHASIZE it limiting trick or treating to a very few places and FORBID costumes of a Satanic, or evil nature. I will most likely this year END their ACTIVE participation.

In short, yes I as a child went "trick or treating" and attended Halloween parties. And Yes - I did not turn into a Satan worshipper. Getting back to your original question about whether or not we should hold Halloween parties on the parish level, we should always remember what the ultimate ministry of the Church is: to proclaim Christ as the "Light of the world." There is enough evil in the world, there is enough secularism without us consciously adding to it. Indeed, we should plan appropriate activities that are of interest to our youth. There is indeed nothing wrong with having a party or some other social gathering. The ultimate criterion we should use in evaluating any parish wide activity, especially in light of our contemporary world situation, is whether it serves to bring us closer to the Church and the LIVING God who is and should be the MOST IMPORTANT PERSON in our lives.

Father Peter Paproski