Spooky Season is well underway! It is the magical time of year when the sweltering heat of the summer is on its way out making way for the cool, crisp days of autumn when the trees undergo drastic transformations to don their shades of crimson, orange, and saffron. This time of year is used to celebrate the harvest, mark the transition of the seasons, and prepare for the long, dark nights of winter. All these elements are honored during the ancient celebration of Samhain (pronounced saw-wen) (World Encyclopedia) and All Hallow's Eve (History). You know it better as Halloween.
Today, Halloween is supposed to be a holiday for gaiety and fun. However, there have been posts on social media the last few years made by people who claim to be Christians denouncing the holiday as evil, demonic, linked to witchcraft, and rooted in pagan traditions. It goes without saying they are wrong once again and have been wrong about Samhain for around 300 years now (World Encyclopedia). The misconception originated in the 18th century when Charles Vallancey attempted to write about Samhain without a clear understanding of Celtic language or customs (World Encyclopedia).
Generally speaking, Christians are all too quick to condemn Halloween at least in part because they claim it has origins as a pagan celebration. What they do not realize---or perhaps more accurately do not want to realize---is their most sacred holiday, Christmas, and the traditions associated with it are pagan as well.
Christmas traditions and celebrations have their roots in several ancient festivals: Saturnalia, Juvenalia, and Yule. Beginning around 300 BC, Saturnalia was a week-long Roman party that took place around the winter solstice. During this time, slaves were temporarily seen as equals, gifts were exchanged with family, feasts with music and dancing occured, and friends were given special candles (Loudoun Museum). Around the same time of the year, the Romans also celebrated children during Juvenalia and Mithra, god of "the unconquerable sun," whose birthday happened to be recognized on December 25 (History). The Germanic peoples of Northern Europe also had a celebration during the winter solstice called Yulefest or Yuletide (Loudoun Museum). To celebrate the passage of the worst of winter, the men would cut huge logs and bring them home. Once the log was ablaze, the family would feast each day until the log burned out. Other Christmas traditions like the Christmas tree, decorating with holly, kissing under the mistletoe, hanging wreaths, ringing bells, and even elves can be traced back to Yule celebrations (Loudoun Museum).
The fact is the world is older than the religion of Christianity, so it stands to reason there were older cultures and customs as well. Christians exploited and appropriated many traditions from ancient civilizations to create and push their narrative in a rebranding campaign that would make any marketing executive proud. So, the next time you're in line at Starbucks with your red holiday cup and you want to bitch about witches, the devil, etc., just remember you are participating in paganism when you celebrate Christmas.
Season's greetings, y'all!
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