October 31 is the important Wiccan and Neo-Pagan religious holiday of Samhain, coinciding with the lighthearted secular North American celebration of Halloween. November 1 is the Roman Catholic and Anglican holiday of All Saints Day and November 2 is the Roman Catholic and Anglican holiday of the Feast of All Souls (celebrated as the Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead in Mexico and with variants in some other Latin American and Filipino traditions). Within the Methodist Church, All Saints Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of November (which for 2024 falls on November 3). For Lutherans, the Sunday on or before October 31 (which for 2024 was October 27) is celebrated as Reformation Day.
Samhain
Pronounced SOW-in, Samhain in Gaelic means “Summer’s End” and is a major holiday in both Wicca and in Neo-Pagan religions. It should be noted that some debate regarding when Samhain should be celebrated exists. Some traditions celebrate the holiday on November 1 and others – notably many Wiccans observe the holiday on November 7. Regardless of date, the holiday carries the same significance in marking the end of summer and the final harvest of the year. In most traditions, the Sabbat of Samhain is celebrated for three successive evenings.
Within Wicca and most neo-Pagan traditions, Samhain marks the end of the calendar, and is thus the New Year’s celebration. For this reason, Samhain is a time for renewal as well as for giving thanks for the harvest as winter approaches. Traditionally, Samhain is the last chance for harvesting any remaining crops or picking any remaining produce from one’s garden. Samhain is also a time for remembering things past, especially those who have died. It is therefore a holiday for honoring the dead (both human and animal) and particularly for calling to mind loved ones who have passed away.
One common tradition is to visit cemeteries on or just before Samhain eve to clean headstones as well as to make gravestone rubbings. It is common to hold a cemetery dinner on Samhain's eve. As Patti Wigington explains, this has none of the morbid feeling of night time cemetery visits held by other religions:
In a lot of communities, a huge part of visiting a cemetery involves a meal. It’s not morbid at all — in fact, it’s a joyful celebration that includes family members who have crossed over. You can pack up a picnic supper, and visit your family at the cemetery while you eat. Wigington (2021)
It is also common to eat food as well as bring a plate for the deceased (although, as Wigington warns, many cemeteries prohibit leaving even flowers, let alone offerings). Where possible, Wiccans and neo-Pagans bring favorite meals of their loved one who have died.
Samhain traditions vary regarding the nature of cemetery visits. For many, gathering at the graves of one's loved ones is a time of lively -- and even loud -- celebration. This can include telling stories about those who have passed away or singing their favorite songs,
Quite an opposite Samhain tradition is the practice known as the "Silent Supper" (or "Dumb Supper"). Here people are just as likely to gather in a home or -- if outdoors -- in a grove as they are in a graveyard. A table is draped in a tablecloth with chairs draped in the same color cloth. The table too is set with candles of that color. The color is either all white or all black (depending on one's own tradition). The table is set with plates, including a plate at the head of the table left for deceased loved ones. The photograph below, from the Original Botanica article "Performing Samhain Ritualss for Halloween" (Oct 2, 2023) , shows a Samhain table set for the Silent Supper.
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| Samhain Table set for Silent Supper |
Whatever the location, people take part in the meal in total silence. Each person brings a dish to share to a grove As Grand Archdruid in the Ancient Order of Druids in America Dana O'Driscoll explains:
In silence, then, participants prepare two plates–a larger plate for themselves and a smaller plate for their ancestors. The silence descends upon the table and deepens as each druid communes in silence with the ancestors of the land, of their blood, of their tradition, and of their craft. The air feels heavy with the presence of so many spirits. As the meal concludes, participants take a candle and walk out in the dark to leave their ancestor offering outdoors and light the path for their ancestors to return across the veil. (O'Driscoll, 2022)
It is important to note that for Wiccans, Druids. and for most neo-Pagan worshippers, this is not a form of ancestor or spirit worship but rather an honoring of the Cycle of Life and Death.
Samhain is also a time to honor animals – particularly pets and other animals among whom we share our lives – since animals are seen as providing us with sustenance in the form of food and clothing. Because of this, Samhain is a time to honor those pets who have died over the last year. In some traditions, animals are seen as protecting us from spirits that would harm us and other things that inhabit the darkness.
Relatedly, some who celebrate Samhain also believe that this is the time of year when the veil is thinnest between this world and the Otherworld (the realm of spirits and the home of the dead). Consequently, for worshippers who hold to this belief, Samhain provides an opportunity for communicating with the spirit realm and the dead.
Within both Wicca and Neo-Paganism, Samhain is often marked by worship at an altar (or at times in the house at the kitchen room table) with offerings of the harvest.
Wiccan altars differ from neo-Pagan altars. Wiccan altars deal more with the seasonal change and remembering ancestors during this dark point in the Cycle of Life and Death. Wiccan altars, such as the one below featured on the UK's Religion Media Centre's Samhain website feature incense, black candles (for the transformation and rebirth). white candles (for peace and innocence as well as mourning for the passing of the sun), seasonal herbs such as rosemary and mugwort, pumpkins and other late harvest bounty. It is often common as well to include photographs or other remembrance devices for one's ancestors who have passed away.
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| Wiccan Samhain Altar |
By contrast, some (certainly not all) neo-Pagan worshipers regard Samhain not only as a time to recall the dead but when the spirits of one's ancestors actually cross over briefly into the realm of the living.
The neo-Pagan altar shown below from Autumn Willow at Flying the Hedge.com provides a number for each typical altar item.
Willow explains these as
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| Neo-Pagan Samhain Altar |
Willow explains these as
- White candles and lanterns symbolizing the death of the Sun. The white candles are a sign of mourning for the loss of the Sun. The lanterns are, for some, meant as a source of light to guide the spirits that cross over to visit their ancestors during the holiday.
- Feathers representing the "Otherworld" or spirit realm. Feathers are also seen as a way to lift one's prayers.
- Crystals amplifying protection, magic and psychic abilities.
- Antlers and animal skulls representing the change of season (deer lose their antlers in winter) and the time of death (skulls can be particular to the worshippers connection to a specific animal, in this photo, a fox).
- Pumpkins and squash representing the final harvest of the season.
Many people present their altar offerings in a horn of plenty (called a cornucopia, and now closely associated with the US secular holiday of Thanksgiving), and customarily include home-baked dark bread as well as nuts, berries, fruits and vegetables.
Among the Samhain foods with the longest traditions is that of "soul cakes." Since pre-Christian times, people in the England, Scotland and Ireland have left muffin-like soul cakes accompanied by a glass of wine or milk for the souls of those who had recently passed away. The Celtic pagan tradition predates by centuries the adoption of "soul cakes" left on the eve of the Feast of All Souls, the Christianized version of Samhain (see below). One recipe for soul cakes can be found at
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/8607/soul-cakes.aspx
Often people include a a Wiccan Star or a statue of the Goddess. Candles are lit on the altar in many traditions, and are often accompanied by photographs of loved ones who have passed on to the other side. Prayers honoring the day are said either before or after a festive meal is eaten featuring the offerings and often accompanied by cider or mulled wine and wild game.
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| Soul Cakes |
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/8607/soul-cakes.aspx
Often people include a a Wiccan Star or a statue of the Goddess. Candles are lit on the altar in many traditions, and are often accompanied by photographs of loved ones who have passed on to the other side. Prayers honoring the day are said either before or after a festive meal is eaten featuring the offerings and often accompanied by cider or mulled wine and wild game.
All Saints Day
Roman Catholicism
All Saints Day is one of the 14 worldwide holy days of obligation of the Roman Catholic Church. As with all holy days of obligation, All Saints Day begins with a vigil on the night preceding it.
A special Roman Catholic mass is conducted for All Saints Day to remember the saints and martyrs of the Church, both those known and unknown. In many congregations, rituals include the use a crown and a sheaf of wheat. Many congregational services also make use of images of the saints and of the Manus Dei (the Hand of God with rays of light extending from it).
Another name in English for the holy day is All Hallowmas Halloween is actually the name of the date of the vigil on the night before All Saints Day.. By the mid 1500’s as vernacular languages began to replace Latin in religious usage, the holiday was called All Hallowmas (the word Hallow – from to hallow -- meant Saint at the time). The vigil on the night before All Hallowmas was called All Hallows Even (shortened by the 1600’s to Hallowe’en).
All Saints Day is one of the oldest holy days of obligation in Christianity. As early as 407, St. John Chrysostom first assigned a date for All Saints Day; that date, however, was not November 1, but rather the first Sunday following Pentecost. This remains the date for Eastern Orthodox Christians where the holiday is officially known as the Sunday of All Saints. The original holiday was dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and those martyred for the Church. (as by the early 5th Century there were so many martyred saints that they could no longer readily each have their own day on the Church calendar).
As described below, Pope Gregory III (731-741) moved the date of All Saints Day within the Roman Catholic Church to its current date of November 1, making it a pilgrimage date within Italy, and in 835 Pope Gregory IV extended All Saints Day to apply worldwide.
Protestantism
The role of saints became questioned among Protestants following the Reformation in the early 1500’s. The debate of the role of saints led to divisions in the traditions of how Protestants continued to observe All Saints Day.
Some Protestant movements continued (and still continue) directly to observe All Saints Day. In the Anglican Church, All Saints Day is observed on or immediately following October 31. The Anglican and Episcopalian Churches
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| Swedish cemetery on Alla Helgons Dag |
In the Swedish Lutheran Church Sweden , the Saturday of Alla Helgons Dag became a national civic holiday only in 1952 and is used by people to visit the graves of family members who have passed away and to decorate their gravesites.
In both the Anglican and Swedish Lutheran Church
All Saints Day is one of the three main holidays (along with Easter and Christmas) of the United Methodist Church
Other Protestant denominations including the Presbyterians, Unitarian and a minority among some Baptist congregations also have some service recognizing All Saints Day.
Feast of All Souls and the Día de los Muertos
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| Saint Odilo of Cluny |
November 2 in Roman Catholicism is the Feast of All Souls. Its official name is "The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed" and it commemorates those among the faithful who have passed away. The holiday dates to 998 when the holiday St. Odilo of Cluny Europe , eventually transforming from a prayer for those in Purgatory to a commemoration of those among the faithful who had died. With Roman Catholicism as a whole, the Feast of All Souls is considered a minor religious observance, not on the same order as that of All Saints Day.
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| Mictecacihuatl |
By contrast, in several Roman Catholic national traditions, the Feast of All Souls has taken on a much greater significance than elsewhere. This is especially the case in Mexico Mexico Mexico
In Mexico , the Día de los Muertos is major holiday on which people go to graveyards to visit the graves of their dead relatives. It should be noted that this holiday shares little if any of the North American uneasiness with death or with graveyards. Instead, the Mexican version of the holiday celebrates the unity between life and death and recognizes a strong sense of belief in the afterlife. The Día de los Muertos is a very festive time with people bringing photos and favorite foods of their deceased loved ones to the gravesites. Commonly people bring to the cemetery skulls made of sugar or marzipan with the name of the deceased one on the forehead. Other special foods include candied pumpkins and the sweet soft bun decorated with pretend bones called pan de muerto (bread of the day). Throughout Mexico
Many traditions for the Día de los Muertos are regional in nature. These involve wearing skull masks, erecting skelton sculptures, having mariachi bands play while dressed as skeletons, having weddings of skeleton marionettes or of people dress as skeletons, wearing special clothing with regional ties to the holiday and holding dances or parades.
In 2008, the UNESCO officially inscribed Día de los Muertos celebrations as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Holidays similar to the Mexican Día de los Muertos are celebrated in the elsewhere in Latin America . In Guatemala, the holiday is called Día de los Difuntos (which also means Day of the Dead) and is celebrated by visiting graves, flying kites and eating a special salad called fiambre made up of up to 50 different ingredients and only eaten once a year during the holiday. Bolivia ’s indigenous people celebrate Dia de los Natitas (Day of the Skulls) in which indigenous peoples bring to Church the actual (not sugar) skulls of their dead which many traditionally keep in their homes. Similar practices (without the actual skulls) are conducted among the Quechua-speaking community in Ecuador on All Souls Day. All Souls Day is also widely celebrated in Brazil where it is also called Finados, and people visit the graves of relatives. Outside of Latin America, Day of the Dead celebrations are practiced widely in the Philippines where it is called Todos los Santos (All Saints Day) in Spanish but Araw ng mga Patay ("Day of the Dead") in Tagalog and celebrated as a two-day family with visits to the graveyard and parties for the extended family.
All Souls Day is an official public civic holiday for public employees in Angola , Belgium , Bolivia , Brazil , Ecuador , El Salvador , Haiti , Mexico and Uruguay . It is also an official holiday in the US territory of Guam
Reformation Day
Many Protestant denominations celebrate Reformation Day on the first Sunday on or following October 31. Reformation Day is a public civic holiday in the nation of Slovenia as well as in the five predominantly Lutheran German Länder (states) of Brandenburg , Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.
Martin Luther began the Reformation by nailing his 95 Theses on the door of Wittenberg Church
For these denominations, Reformation Day was also a way of repurposing All Saints Day. These denominations are either opposed to the concept of All Saints Day, some because of its association with the Roman Catholic Church or because of their refutation of the concept of sainthood (or both). In many Protestant denominations, some of the features of All Saints Day are combined with those of All Souls Day as worshipers remember those among the faithful or among one’s local congregation who have passed away.
The first recorded Reformation Day was decreed by law in 1569 in the officially Lutheran former German Duchy of Pomerania on what had been Saint Martin ’s Day (November 11), because it bore the name of Lutheranism’s founder, Martin Luther. The practice of observing Reformation Day was taken up by several other officially Lutheran States but without consistency as to practice or even date. Some uniformity took hold on the 100th anniversary of the Reformation in 1617. In that year, Reformation Day was observed on October 31 and November 1 among all of the Lutheran nations throughout what is now Germany (Germany as a single nation did not exist until 1871). Among Lutheran churches today, the observances are mixed. For many Lutheran churches, the observance of Reformation Sunday is on the Sunday on or before October 1, with a separate holiday of All Saints Day on the Sunday on or following November 1. Lutherans, it should be pointed out, do not generally believe in saints in the same way as do Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox or Anglicans. For Lutherans, therefore, All Saints Day is a lesser holiday used to remember saints both dead and living and to honor Jesus Christ.
Some Evangelical and Pentecostal Christian movements have begun to use Reformation Day as a way to repurpose the secular holiday of Halloween. For many Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians, Halloween is an offensive holiday. As the Evangelical Director of the Children’s Ministry International, Brad Winsted asks,
“For so many Halloween presents a dilemma, what do you do with a holiday with roots in the occult?” http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/onlinediscipleship/halloween/reformation_day.aspx Minister Winsted’s answer is to repurpose Halloween as Reformation Day.
“For so many Halloween presents a dilemma, what do you do with a holiday with roots in the occult?” http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/onlinediscipleship/halloween/reformation_day.aspx Minister Winsted’s answer is to repurpose Halloween as Reformation Day.
Halloween, Oíche Shamhna and All Saints Eve
The secular version of All Hallows Eve or Halloween is an especially popular holiday in the English-speaking world. The secular holiday has its roots in the religious holidays of Samhain and is called Oíche Shamhna (Samhain Night) in Ireland US
During Colonial times, North America was largely opposed to Halloween celebrations. Celebrations of All Saints Day were banned and any suspected ties to witchcraft were highly condemned (although not all as dramatically as the Salem Witch Trials). There is no formal record of Halloween having been practiced anywhere until the mid-19th Century. Thus, Halloween was not commonly celebrated in the United States Canada
The Commercialization of Halloween
By the beginning of the 20th Century, Halloween had devolved to an evening in which teenagers played pranks including property damage and assaults, a tradition grown from the English practice of Mischief Night (still practiced in some US cities as Devil’s Night on the night of October 30). Countering movements tried to commercialize Halloween as a night of safer entertainment in which children dressed up with the first commercially produced hand-made Halloween costumes appearing in the first decade of the 20th Century. In 1912, the Boy Scouts of America became involved in ensuring the safety with a “Sane Halloween” campaign that was largely successful. It was from here that the custom of trick-or-treating from door to door had its roots in the United States and Canada . Halloween celebrants were encouraged to turn the celebration into what was called “Beggar’s Night” to request a treat in return for not carrying out a trick (e.g., property damage). This trick-or-treating grew considerably more widespread during the Depression. By the mid-1930’s, manufacturers began to sell mass-produced Halloween costumes and decorations.
Halloween in Hard Times: The Great Depression and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Halloween served both as a stress relief for adults during the Depression as well as a source of sweets (given by those better off) for poorer children who would not otherwise be able to afford them.
This pattern was notably present during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the pandemic, Halloween spending has increased. Phil Rist, Executive VP of Prosper Insights explained the reason for this: “Although fewer are celebrating this year, the ones who are aren’t shying away from Halloween-related purchases, spending $11 more on average, primarily on decorations and candy.” https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/consumers-anticipate-new-ways-celebrate-halloween-despite-covid-19
In fact, the US National Retail Federation (NRF) found that in 2020 only 58% of Americans plan to celebrate, a massive drop from the highpoint in 2017 and 2018 with over 70% indicating they will celebrate the holiday (the figure was 72% in 2017, the highest percentage ever recorded). In both 2017 and 2018, sales of Halloween-related products and candy were over $9.0 billion (easily exceeding the previous record of 2016's $8.4 billion). The trend for high Halloween spending remains entrenched now with three years -- 2016, 2017 and 2018 --exceeding the previous record high of $7.98 billion in 2012. In 2018, sales fell mildly for only the third time since 2005 with sales of Halloween-related products and candy have been on an upward trajectory. In 2020, by contrast overall spending fell by a billion dollars to $8.05 billion.
All of this reversed in 2021 where a combination of vaccination rates, relaxed restrictions and general pandemic fatigue resulted in a marked increase in Halloween spending in all categories. Sales of costumes (for humans and pets) jumped from $62 per person in 2020 to $92 per person in 2021, a remarkable 49% jump.
By 2023, Halloween total spending hit an all-time high of $12.2 billion. Estimates for 2024 anticipate spending of $11.6 billion (second only to 2023).
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| Halloween total sales 2005-2024 Source: NRF Data Center |
For 2023 and 2024, as the NRF data show, sales remain at record highs in every category except greeting cards (which had reached a record 0.7 billion in 2021 but remained stable for both 2023 and 2024 at $0.5 billion.
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As with previous years, spending is greatest on costumes with anticipated sales of $3.8 billion. One newly growing trend -- emerging noticeably in 2018 -- is an increase in the sale of costumes for pets, with 20% of Americans buying costumes for their pets. This is an jump of 16% in sales of pet costumes over 2017. Prosper Insights Vice President Phil Rist indicated that this trend is strongest among pet owners between the ages of 25-34: "Out of the 31.3 million Americans planning to dress their pets in costumes, millennials (25-34) are most likely to dress up their pets, the highest we have seen in the history of our survey." https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/halloween-spending-reach-9-billionUpdating the pet costume trend, NRF reports pet costume sales for 2024 are expected to reach $0.7 billion.
Religious-Based Objections to Secular Halloween
Despite its overall popularity as a holiday, some Evangelical and Pentecostal Protestant groups are strongly opposed to Halloween as a holiday. For example, the Evangelical Christian preacher Pat Robertson said on the September 27 episode of his 700 Club television show that, “Halloween is Satan’s night, it’s the night for the devil.” To see the video of this please click on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaFiQfta6SM
Similarly, some Muslims also find Halloween offensive. Abu Muhammed Yusuf on the Islam 21C website devotes a page to Islam and Halloween in which it advises avoiding Halloween participation: “Virtually all Halloween traditions are based either in ancient pagan culture, or in Christianity. From an Islamic point of view, they all are forms of idolatry (shirk). As Muslims, our celebrations should be ones that honor and uphold our faith and beliefs. How can we worship only Allah, the Creator, if we participate in activities that are based in pagan rituals, divination, and the spirit world?” https://www.islam21c.com/theology/to-trick-or-treat-or-not/ As the blog “Stand Up 4 Islam” puts it, “If there’s a festival that must be so obviously un-Islamic, it’s got to be Halloween.” http://standup4islam.wordpress.com/
Some Evangelical and Pentecostal Christians have tried to strike a balance. For example, the website The Hem of His Garment Bible Study at http://www.hem-of-his-garment-bible-study.org/Christian-Halloween-alternatives.html suggests several "Christian Halloween alternatives" or, failing that it advises that "If your kids are just determined to go door to door on October 31st, do something a bit different.
*Dress up as Bible Heroes
*Politely refuse any candy offered to you.
*Instead, give out candy wrapped in the witnessing stickers to every home that you visit."
The Influence of Samhain on All Saints Day and Halloween
It is not accidental that Samhain coincides with Halloween. This is because the secular celebration of Halloween actually has its root in the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain. That said, it should be noted that within Wicca and many Neo-Pagan traditions, Samhain is a serious holiday and should not be lumped together in the same lighthearted attitude given toward Halloween.
It is also not coincidental that the Roman Catholic Church set the holidays of All Saints Day and All Souls Day on Samhain. At some point during the papacy of Pope Gregory III (731-741), All Saints Day was moved from the first Sunday after Pentecost to November 1. It should be noted that in the Eastern Orthodox Churches, All Saints Day continues to be celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost.
Even the setting of the earlier date of the first Sunday after Pentecost had ties to pagan observances as this coincided with the Roman pagan holiday of Lemuria. Practices related to Lemuria were still widely celebrated even after Christianity became Rome ’s state religion and paganism was officially suppressed. Before the conversion of Rome to Christianity, the ancient Romans believed that Lemures (also call Larvae) were vampire-like ghosts who haunted those relatives who were still alive. To protect against the Lemures, the male head of the household had to rise in the midnight and, after ritually washing their hands, throw black beans outside for the Lemures to collect. The head of the household then entreated the spirits to keep from harming his family. It is from Lemuria, in part, that the tradition of vampires and the spirits of the dead walking the earth derive.
By declaring the observance of All Saints Day Eve roughly at the time of Lemuria, the early Church was able to Christianize the pagan practice. This absorption of the pagan practices into All Saints Day Eve effectively worked in gradually eliminating Lemuria from memory altogether.
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| Pomona |
That said, practices tied to yet another pagan holiday – Pomona Day—remained strongly in place on and around October 31. In an historical irony, the pre-Christian celebration of Pomona Day was itself a direct influence of the Celtic Samhain. During Rome ’s 1st Century BCE Roman of the Celtic lands of northwest France , Britain and Ireland , Roman troops became acquainted with the Celtic observances of Samhain. As these soldiers returned back home, they took with them many of the rites of Samhain.
To Romanize Samhain, the Pagan Roman authorities merged these Celtic Samhain rites with the veneration of the Roman Pagan harvest goddess Pomona . Pomona ’s harvest symbol was the cornucopia or horn of plenty and her worship included the sharing of apples and nuts (from which arguably the tradition of giving of treats derived).
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| Pope Gregory III |
One argument as to why Gregory III moved All Saints Day from the first Sunday after Pentecost to November 1 may have been to absorb the vestiges of Pomona Day into the holiday just as the Church had absorbed those rites earlier associated with Lemuria into the holiday. In other words, by moving the date, Pope Gregory III effectively made the Italian Pomona Day pagan rites a part of Church-sanctioned practices. All Saints Day, however, was practiced only in Rome itself where the All Saints Chapel in Saint Peter’s served as a pilgrimage destination. As a result, while the Pomona Day rites became Christianized in Italy, the Pagan and druidic practices continued to have a hold on the former Celtic lands, especially in Ireland, Brittany and Scotland and people still continued to celebrate Samhain even though they were officially Roman Catholic. In 835, Pope Gregory IV extended the All Saints Day to include all Christians wherever they were and extended the Day to honor all saints (not just Saint John the Baptists and the early Church martyrs). In extending All Hallowmas beyond Rome , the Church was able to syncretize the continuing Samhain practices in the traditionally Celtic lands, making them part of the Church’s acceptable practices just as it had done for the Pomona Day practices in Italy .
In moving All Saints Day to November 1, Pope Gregory III dedicated a chapel in Saint Peter’s in Rome . Pope Gregory III ostensibly moved the date to November 1 to benefit from the harvest in Rome as a means to accommodate pilgrims who would come to Rome to observe All Saints Day. It seems at least arguable that (just as with the earlier dating of the holiday to coincide with Lemuria), Pope Gregory III may also have chosen to move All Saints Day to November 1 to make sacred the continuing pagan practices.
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| Pope Gregory IV |
It is interesting to note how persistent the Samhain rites have remained. In a case of history repeating itself almost exactly, the pre-Christian Roman hierarchy had syncretized Samhain to their Pagan religious practices centuries before Popes Gregory III would syncretized the Roman Pagan rites of Pomona Day that were themselves syncretized from Samhain.
Pope Gregory IV would then do the same for the continuing practices inGreat Britain , Ireland and Brittany . Lutherans and other Protestants would then do the same by repurposing as Reformation Day the Roman Catholic All Saints Day which itself was a repurposed Pomona Day which was itself a repurposed of the original Samhain. In the holiday of Halloween, the holiday has been repurposed once more to reflect a more secular society’s approach to the same rites. That said, the practices in the United States and Canada continue to incorporate the original Samhain imagery of harvest (pumpkins, apple bobbing, sharing treats with others), the souls of the dead walking the earth (haunted houses, ghosts, and later vampires and zombies), and witchcraft practices (use of familiars such as black cats).
Pope Gregory IV would then do the same for the continuing practices in
As with all of these messages, these observations represent my own understanding of these holidays, and are not meant to take a position on religious practice in any way. I welcome all feedback for corrections or to say that you appreciated this summary.
Want to read more?
Quoted sources have live links within the post. Beyond that:
On Wiccan and Neo-Pagan Samhain holiday
BBC Religions, Samhain: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/holydays/samhain.shtml
O'Driscoll, Dana (Oct. 39, 2022), "A Druid’s Silent Supper: A Samhain Ritual of Ancestor Connection," Druid's Garden Blog, https://thedruidsgarden.com/2022/10/30/a-druids-dumb-supper-a-samhain-ritual-of-ancestor-connection/
Original Botanica (Oct 2, 2023)Performing Samhain Ritualss for Halloween"
Wigington, Patti (Oct. 9, 2018). "Halloweenery: Samhain vs the Secular," Outside the Box, https://www.pattiwigington.com/halloweenery-samhain-vs-the-secular/
Wigington, Patti (Oct. 12, 2021). "Plan a Cemetery Visit for Samhain," Outside the Box, https://www.pattiwigington.com/plan-a-cemetery-visit-for-samhain/
On Roman Catholic All Saints Day and All Souls Day
On Protestant Practices of All Saints Day and Reformation Day
Ashford, Bruce Riley (Oct. 31, 2020), "A Baptist Reflection on Reformation Day", FirstThings.com, https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2020/10/a-baptist-reflection-on-reformation-day
"Reformation Day," (nd), The Holiday Zone, http://www.theholidayzone.com/reformation/
Winsted, Brad (Oct. 14, 2014). "Reformation Day - Redeeming October 31," Christian Broadcasting Network, http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/onlinediscipleship/halloween/reformation_day.aspx
Walker, Kristi (Oct, 23, 2024), "What Is Reformation Day and Why Do Christians Celebrate It Today?" Bible Study Tools, https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/when-is-reformation-day-and-what-does-it-remind-christians-of-today.html
On Day of the Dead
On Halloween as a Secular Holiday (including sales figures)
NRF's 2024 Halloween Spending Survey:
https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/halloween-spending-reach-9-billion
http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1430
https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/halloween-spending-reach-record-91-billion
https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/record-number-of-americans-buy-halloween-costumes
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-halloween-day-britain/from-trick-to-treat-after-years-of-antipathy-britain-embraces-halloween-idUKKBN1CZ1TL
Clip Art Sources
The Samhain greeting is from
http://www.squidoo.com/samhain_halloween
The Samhain altar is from http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/samhainoctober31/ig/Samhain-Altar-Gallery/
The image of soul cakes is at http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/8607/soul-cakes.aspx
The image for All Saints Day comes from
http://www.topnews.in/pope-celebrates-all-saints-day-282531
The site about.com provides a wide assortment of holiday images for free. the Happy Halloween clip art is at http://0.tqn.com/d/desktoppub/1/0/l/h/3/01GhostCard2-Publisher2010.PNG
while the cornucopia at the same site is at
http://desktoppub.about.com/library/holidays/pdh001.gif
The picture of trick or treaters comes from the Hem of His Garment Bible Study page suggesting Christian Halloween alternatives at http://www.hem-of-his-garment-bible-study.org/Christian-Halloween-alternatives.html
The charts for Halloween sales is from the Market Watch at https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-what-americans-arent-afraid-of-this-halloween-spending-money-on-the-holiday-11634753121
Pet costume photo is from extremehalloween.com at http://www.extremehalloween.com/pet.htm
The photo of a Swedish cemetery on All Souls Day is taken from http://jinge.se/dagens-bild/de-hadangangnas-dag-dagens-bild.htm
Thw image of Pomona is from the Wilson Almanac blog at http://wilsonsalmanac.blogspot.com/2005/09/month-of-september.html
The image of Pope Gregory III is from the history site Mindserpent.com at
http://www.mindserpent.com/American_History/introduction/intro_010.html
The image of Pope Gregory IV is from the Gregory IV page of the Cultural Catholic website at http://www.culturalcatholic.com/PopeGregoryVII.htm
The image of St. Odilo of Cluny is from the Saints SPQN website at http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-odilo-of-cluny/
The statue of Mictecacihuatl is taken from http://media.photobucket.com/image/mictecacihuatl/fatalignorance/Spanish%203/mictecacihuatl.jpg?o=1
The guitar-playing skeleton is from the free clip art collection Picture This at http://leehansen.blogspot.com/2008/10/day-of-dead-skeleton-musician.html
http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1430
https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/halloween-spending-reach-record-91-billion
https://nrf.com/media/press-releases/record-number-of-americans-buy-halloween-costumes
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-halloween-day-britain/from-trick-to-treat-after-years-of-antipathy-britain-embraces-halloween-idUKKBN1CZ1TL
On Opposition to Halloween Celebrations
The Pat Robertson episode http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaFiQfta6SM
Desai, Mufti Ibrahim "Is Halloween permissible to celebrate," https://islamqa.org/hanafi/askimam/124493/is-halloween-permissible-to-celebrate/
"Halloween and Islam (October 29, 2021), Stand Up 4 Islam,
http://standup4islam.wordpress.com/2011/10/29/halloween-and-islam/
Yusuf, Abu Muhammed, (Oct. 31, 2019), "To Trick or Treat, Or Not?" Islam 21C, https://www.islam21c.com/theology/to-trick-or-treat-or-not/
On the Intertwined History of Samhain, Pomona
Clip Art Sources
The Samhain greeting is from
http://www.squidoo.com/samhain_halloween
The Samhain altar is from http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/samhainoctober31/ig/Samhain-Altar-Gallery/
The image of soul cakes is at http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/8607/soul-cakes.aspx
The image for All Saints Day comes from
http://www.topnews.in/pope-celebrates-all-saints-day-282531
The site about.com provides a wide assortment of holiday images for free. the Happy Halloween clip art is at http://0.tqn.com/d/desktoppub/1/0/l/h/3/01GhostCard2-Publisher2010.PNG
while the cornucopia at the same site is at
http://desktoppub.about.com/library/holidays/pdh001.gif
The picture of trick or treaters comes from the Hem of His Garment Bible Study page suggesting Christian Halloween alternatives at http://www.hem-of-his-garment-bible-study.org/Christian-Halloween-alternatives.html
The charts for Halloween sales is from the Market Watch at https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-what-americans-arent-afraid-of-this-halloween-spending-money-on-the-holiday-11634753121
Pet costume photo is from extremehalloween.com at http://www.extremehalloween.com/pet.htm
The photo of a Swedish cemetery on All Souls Day is taken from http://jinge.se/dagens-bild/de-hadangangnas-dag-dagens-bild.htm
Thw image of Pomona is from the Wilson Almanac blog at http://wilsonsalmanac.blogspot.com/2005/09/month-of-september.html
The image of Pope Gregory III is from the history site Mindserpent.com at
http://www.mindserpent.com/American_History/introduction/intro_010.html
The image of Pope Gregory IV is from the Gregory IV page of the Cultural Catholic website at http://www.culturalcatholic.com/PopeGregoryVII.htm
The image of St. Odilo of Cluny is from the Saints SPQN website at http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-odilo-of-cluny/
The statue of Mictecacihuatl is taken from http://media.photobucket.com/image/mictecacihuatl/fatalignorance/Spanish%203/mictecacihuatl.jpg?o=1
The guitar-playing skeleton is from the free clip art collection Picture This at http://leehansen.blogspot.com/2008/10/day-of-dead-skeleton-musician.html
