On one late October afternoon I was thrust into a very interesting conversation with a middle schooler. You see, Halloween was only a few days away so it was brought to my attention that, “Christians should not celebrate Halloween.” I was of course taken aback by the thought of such subject matter taking place in a public school, by a teacher. Then, after swallowing my shallow rage, I thought about the question. So, should Christians celebrate Halloween? For that matter, should anyone identifying as one of the big three (Christian, Jew, Muslim) participate in any of these annual traditions and celebrations that we now take for granted? If not, then why not? Is it the pagan thing? Maybe so, but I would argue that our society has a certain fondness for all things pagan.
So, what the heck is a pagan anyway? The actual word, “pagan”, is defined as a person who is not of the Christian, Muslim or Jewish faith (monotheists). Or, it’s a person who is thought of as not having any religion at all. Another term is heathen. Early Christians called citizens of the Roman Empire pagan because these rural people practiced polytheism (the worship or belief in multiple gods or deities). Pagan was and still is, for some reason, a pejorative term. One can reasonably assume that any nation calling itself a, “Christian Nation” would take great pains to separate itself from polytheistic traditions or symbols. One would assume incorrectly…
The last day of October, which we call “Halloween”, is the modern vernacular for Samhain, pronounced SOW-in. Samhain is believed to mean summers end and was originally celebrated by pre-Christian pagan Celts over three days to recognize the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. It was also the end of the harvest period, so Samhain was the time of the year to bless that year’s crops. Samhain was when the pre-Christian Celtic people celebrated the end of the waxing half of the year (spring and summer) and prepared for the waning half (autumn and winter) of the upcoming new year. It is believed that Samhain is that one time of the year when the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest; therefore, spirits and supernatural beings roam the earth. People dressed in costumes in order to ward off these spirits or to disguise themselves in order to not be recognized. A Jack-o’-lantern was carved and placed by the front door in order to ward off evil spirits. Trick or Treating comes from the tradition of mumming or guising which was practiced in Britain, Ireland and Scotland since the Middle Ages (5th-15th century). It involved going door to door singing songs or performing some other skill in exchange for food or a drink and is totally pagan in origin. Since the early 20th century, children simply say, “Trick or Treat” while dressed as their favorite Disney or Marvel action character. Admit it, Halloween is fun.
It should be noted that Halloween is actually a contraction of All Hallows’ Eve. This day is the eve, or the day before the Christian festival of All Hallows’ Day or All Saints’ Day, which is November 1st. It was not always commemorated on that day, because Pope Gregory III (731-741) moved the date to November 1st from its original date of May 13th which was the pagan Feast of Lemures in which the bad and restless spirits were appeased. So, the Church/Pope Gregory III moved the feast of All Saints to November 1st. This conveniently coincided with the already existing pagan Celtic holiday of Samhain which already had a similar theme. The point of all of this is to recognize that some of the traditions that we value today are absolutely pagan in origin. I am of the opinion that we in the good ol’ USA should not be afraid or ashamed to recognize that fact.
Did you know that the Puritans banned Christmas in 1659? Why would they do that? Yeah, they were uptight about all holidays, because they considered all days to be holy, and only the Sabbath was sanctioned in Scripture so Christmas was strictly verboten. Also, not only did they recognize the pagan origins of Christmas, they saw that the date of December 25th was an attempt by the Christian church to seize control of the already existing pagan festival of Saturnalia which honored the god Saturn. Here’s a fun fact…The 7th day of the week is named after the planet Saturn which is named after the Roman god of agriculture. See? Even our days of the week are pagan in origin, but I digress… The Christmas tree has its roots in German pagan tradition. From the ancient Egyptians to the ancient Romans (all pagan), people decorated their homes with trees that stayed green all year in order to remind themselves, during the shortest time of the year that green plants will begin to get well and grow again. The Druids, Celts and the Vikings all decorated their temples with evergreen boughs. Gift giving is thought to symbolize the gifts that the three Magi gave to baby Jesus. One cannot forget that the tradition of gift giving was an important part of the Saturnalia (pagan) celebration. What other pagan traditions do we still celebrate? The yule log, displaying holly and mistletoe and caroling all have pagan origins. By the way, the tradition of decorating eggs in the spring is super ancient. The egg is a pagan symbol of fertility and rebirth. Think about that the next time you are enjoying the spectacle of children Easter egg hunting at your local church…or the White House.
Let’s switch gears, because I’m on a roll. Have you ever had a look at our National monuments? We live in the D.C. area, so we’re all very familiar with iconic images like the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol building, the Washington Monument…etc. The Lincoln Memorial is literally called a temple and is modeled after the Parthenon. What is the Parthenon? Well, the Parthenon was a religious Greek temple associated with the goddess Athena. It was built by the ancient Greeks in order to give thanks to their gods. There is a full scale replica in the Bible belt southern city of Nashville, TN. The Washington Monument is an obelisk. In ancient Egypt, obelisks symbolized the sun god Ra and were created thousands of years before Jesus. The architect of the Supreme Court building was inspired by Roman temples. The Jefferson Memorial was modeled after the Roman Pantheon, which in the 1st century was dedicated to all of the gods. Have you seen the statue of George Washington as Zeus of Olympia? It features a shirtless Washington and Greek god carvings of Apollo and Hercules on the side. It used to be at the Capitol, but is now at the National Museum of American History. Check it out and then have a look at a statue of Baphomet. “As Above, So Below.” Interesting, huh? Have you seen the fresco painting in the Capitol building dome? It’s called the Apotheosis of Washington. In it, George Washington is exalted, or deified, and becomes a god (lower-case). He sits with several gods such as Neptune, Mercury, Minerva, Vulcan and Ceres.
The Statue of Liberty is based on the Roman goddess Libertas, who is the embodiment of liberty. In fact, I read that Columbia is also based on Libertas. Our capital is the District of Columbia. The name is from Christopher Columbus, but the image is Libertas.
I’ll end it here and simply say that in the United States we celebrate traditions and honor symbols that are pagan in origin. The United States is a country built upon the foundation of religious freedom. From our holidays to our monuments, we honor and celebrate the traditions of old and we recognize those Earth-based traditions of our ancestors in our own unique way.
So, when someone says “Merry Christmas” to you during the winter solstice, simply smile and greet them with an ancient, “Happy Yule”.
Dewey Stewart
