I have always been captivated and intrigued by Halloween. As as child it was a liberating and exhilarating experience to gallivant around the neighborhood with my peers (unsupervised) and gather candy from the houses that were handing out the delicious treats and egg the ones who decided to keep their porch lights off. Even as the treats became less important and depositing shaving cream all over random cars became the thing to do it was still exhilarating. Now, and can't even imagine how my mother even stomached the idea of me out on Halloween with my mischievous friends conjuring up trouble.
It wasn't until i was an adult that i uncovered the true origin of Halloween. Once understood, i think it has become more interesting than ever. Halloween is only popular in the US because of the Catholic heritage of the last great wave of immigrants, of which i am apart or at least raised in the traditions of those immigrants. Our Founding Fathers had little tolerance of anything related to the papacy. The Puritans, who were fervently anti-Catholic certainly did not contribute to the propagation of the holiday on these shores. It was the Irish, Spanish, Italian and Eastern European immigrants who continued to celebrate Halloween once in the US.
After-all, the night before all hallows has a deep connection with human existence going back to iron age humans in the British isles. The Celts called it Sawain. They believed it was the time of year when the barrier betwixt the living and the dead was thin enough that strange shit was going to go down. They understood that life was not guarranteed. They may not be around to see the spring time. Fall was a do-or-die situation for many of our primitive relatives. The lack of food and harsh weather claimed the lives of many, even during good winters. The Catholic church capitalized on this pagan autumnal celebration by issuing a decree that Nov 1st would be All Saints Day, and hereby a Catholic Holiday - a HDO (holy day of obligation). Their intention was most likely to create a syncretism. A combination of a pagan tradition with a new overtones of Catholic piety rather than establish a day to honor the saints. In any case, it seems that the pagan and Catholic elements of the season endure for every one's enjoyment. Happy Halloween!
