John Whitehead's Commentary
Halloween and the Search for Spirituality
What's the most popular holiday in the United States? At one time, the immediate reply would have been, "Christmas, of course!" However, with our changing cultural climate, the runner-up for the most popular holiday--Halloween--comes more to mind these days. And it shows in money spent. For example, while U.S. retailers' reports for different holiday merchandise indicated that Christmas goods bring in the biggest bucks, Halloween items remain big business, too.
It comes as no surprise that Christmas is so popular. After all, it's a holiday that brings friends and families together. Ostensibly about the birth of Christ, the day has become so commercialized, however, that it has lost much of its religious significance.
Although Halloween's red-letter date is in stark contrast to Christmas, it is no less religious in origin. Today's holiday, a shadow of its beginnings 2,000 years ago, originated in the Druid festival of the New Year called Samhain, honoring the Celtic "Lord of Death." The Druids were a far-reaching priesthood that ruled over people called the Celts in ancient Ireland and Great Britain. The Druids, through magic, employed every form of fortune telling and claimed to be able to change into animals and other shapes.
Originally, Halloween was not only a festival of the dead but of fire and the power of darkness. The Druids ordered all people to light bonfires, for instance, on the hillsides. And as they sat around the fires, it was believed they could converse with dead friends and relatives.
Halloween was given an air of respectability in the ninth century when the church established All Saints Day (or All Hallow's Day) on November 1. This was supposedly a time to remember and honor the saints who had died. Thus, October 31 became All Hallows Eve--or Hallowe'en.
But just as Christmas is currently celebrated by many as a religious day, so is Halloween. October 31 is considered to be the High (Black) Sabbath of various witches' covens and is celebrated as such. It is believed that Satan's power is most powerful on this night.
As these traditions have trickled into mainstream culture, it should come as no surprise that people purchase hideous masks and decorate their doorsteps with images of vampires and ghosts. And vandalism and other non-prosecuted crimes abound in communities across the land. Even the workplace throws off the restraints of professional decorum and allows employees to "dress up" for the occasion.
There are several reasons for Halloween's popularity. One, of course, is money. The other is the mass marketing of the custom of America's public schools. Administrators and teachers often don costumes, and chaotic parties often follow, where the educational value of the activity comes into serious question. While room mothers bake cupcakes shaped like ghosts, goblins and demons and cardboard characters breathe fiery venom, the once-trusted teacher becomes the wicked witch--all set before a captive, if not confused, audience of unknowing children. In most so-called celebrations, there is usually no note sent home in advance for students who may desire to opt-out of this "celebration." Year in and year out, unknowing parents and their children are being processed to participate in and claim this nationally accepted holiday.
Fast-forward six weeks to December where the "Winter Holidays" are now celebrated in this same public building. Tour the hallways and you will find few, if any, traditional or religious symbols of Christmas. Afraid to express themselves, or ignorant of the legality of religion in the schools, many of these same teachers are not as anxious to celebrate now as they were on Halloween. Gone is the nostalgic ritual of sustaining the cultural traditions of centuries past. If a student or employee is courageous enough to decorate a tree, neutral instructors will recommend a reindeer or a multicultural symbol of another major world religion. The chaos that now transcends the classroom is one of great care to balance out the equal treatment of "holidays." Gone, too, are the favorite Yuletide carols at the school program or company party, and the once-festive occasion now rings hollow with the eerie emptiness of real substance.
The American public as a whole has been led to believe it cannot even mention the word "Christmas" in the public forum. But when it comes to Halloween, the irony is found in the orange and black cutouts of symbolized evil that ceremoniously go up on October 1.
Yet the marketing of Halloween is merely the tip of the iceberg. There is another reason for its popularity. The celebrating of Halloween speaks unequivocally about spirituality--something Christmas seldom does anymore. And as we stand at the cusp of the Third Millennium, there is an obvious thirst for spirituality in American culture. This is expressed in pop culture through films and books.
The need for some sort of spiritual transcendence is also evident in other cultural venues as well. Just look at the two current presidential candidates, both of whom claim to be born-again (and one chose an orthodox Jew as his running mate).
There is something comforting in knowing there is something beyond us. It not only gives us meaning but a sense of importance--especially if through magical means we can somehow manipulate and celebrate the spiritual world.
But there may be a warning in all of this. If there are forces of darkness operating in a spiritual context, do we really want to be dabbling in it?
It comes as no surprise that Christmas is so popular. After all, it's a holiday that brings friends and families together. Ostensibly about the birth of Christ, the day has become so commercialized, however, that it has lost much of its religious significance.
Although Halloween's red-letter date is in stark contrast to Christmas, it is no less religious in origin. Today's holiday, a shadow of its beginnings 2,000 years ago, originated in the Druid festival of the New Year called Samhain, honoring the Celtic "Lord of Death." The Druids were a far-reaching priesthood that ruled over people called the Celts in ancient Ireland and Great Britain. The Druids, through magic, employed every form of fortune telling and claimed to be able to change into animals and other shapes.
Originally, Halloween was not only a festival of the dead but of fire and the power of darkness. The Druids ordered all people to light bonfires, for instance, on the hillsides. And as they sat around the fires, it was believed they could converse with dead friends and relatives.
Halloween was given an air of respectability in the ninth century when the church established All Saints Day (or All Hallow's Day) on November 1. This was supposedly a time to remember and honor the saints who had died. Thus, October 31 became All Hallows Eve--or Hallowe'en.
But just as Christmas is currently celebrated by many as a religious day, so is Halloween. October 31 is considered to be the High (Black) Sabbath of various witches' covens and is celebrated as such. It is believed that Satan's power is most powerful on this night.
As these traditions have trickled into mainstream culture, it should come as no surprise that people purchase hideous masks and decorate their doorsteps with images of vampires and ghosts. And vandalism and other non-prosecuted crimes abound in communities across the land. Even the workplace throws off the restraints of professional decorum and allows employees to "dress up" for the occasion.
There are several reasons for Halloween's popularity. One, of course, is money. The other is the mass marketing of the custom of America's public schools. Administrators and teachers often don costumes, and chaotic parties often follow, where the educational value of the activity comes into serious question. While room mothers bake cupcakes shaped like ghosts, goblins and demons and cardboard characters breathe fiery venom, the once-trusted teacher becomes the wicked witch--all set before a captive, if not confused, audience of unknowing children. In most so-called celebrations, there is usually no note sent home in advance for students who may desire to opt-out of this "celebration." Year in and year out, unknowing parents and their children are being processed to participate in and claim this nationally accepted holiday.
Fast-forward six weeks to December where the "Winter Holidays" are now celebrated in this same public building. Tour the hallways and you will find few, if any, traditional or religious symbols of Christmas. Afraid to express themselves, or ignorant of the legality of religion in the schools, many of these same teachers are not as anxious to celebrate now as they were on Halloween. Gone is the nostalgic ritual of sustaining the cultural traditions of centuries past. If a student or employee is courageous enough to decorate a tree, neutral instructors will recommend a reindeer or a multicultural symbol of another major world religion. The chaos that now transcends the classroom is one of great care to balance out the equal treatment of "holidays." Gone, too, are the favorite Yuletide carols at the school program or company party, and the once-festive occasion now rings hollow with the eerie emptiness of real substance.
The American public as a whole has been led to believe it cannot even mention the word "Christmas" in the public forum. But when it comes to Halloween, the irony is found in the orange and black cutouts of symbolized evil that ceremoniously go up on October 1.
Yet the marketing of Halloween is merely the tip of the iceberg. There is another reason for its popularity. The celebrating of Halloween speaks unequivocally about spirituality--something Christmas seldom does anymore. And as we stand at the cusp of the Third Millennium, there is an obvious thirst for spirituality in American culture. This is expressed in pop culture through films and books.
The need for some sort of spiritual transcendence is also evident in other cultural venues as well. Just look at the two current presidential candidates, both of whom claim to be born-again (and one chose an orthodox Jew as his running mate).
There is something comforting in knowing there is something beyond us. It not only gives us meaning but a sense of importance--especially if through magical means we can somehow manipulate and celebrate the spiritual world.
But there may be a warning in all of this. If there are forces of darkness operating in a spiritual context, do we really want to be dabbling in it?
ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.
Publication Guidelines / Reprint Permission
John W. Whitehead’s weekly commentaries are available for publication to newspapers and web publications at no charge. Please contact staff@rutherford.org to obtain reprint permission.
