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November 01, 2009 - From All Hallows Eve To Halloween

by Father Edward L. Beck, C.P.

As many dress up in ghoulish costumes this week and roam neighborhoods for trick or treat, we tend to forget where this holiday came from. It actually dates back to the Irish Celts who in the fall celebrated the season of life meeting the season of death. They believed spirits could rise from their graves and walk among the living. And they would ritualize this with fires and costume. In the 8th century Pope Gregory III wanted to counter some of this pagan ritual and he decreed ALL HALLOWS DAY to celebrate goodness and the holy. This became ALL SAINTS DAY, which we celebrate on November 1st. But in the mid 19th century when the Potato famine brought the Irish here, they brought the remnants of the old Celtic Ritual and thus ALL HALLOWS EVE was born, which became HALLOWEEN, the day before ALL SAINTS DAY. So, it’s kind of like now we celebrate the macabre and the mischievous on the day before we celebrate the good and the holy. But sometimes maybe we go a bit too far with the mischievous. One Halloween costume that some say has gone too far is called the ILLEGAL ALIEN COSTUME. Have you seen it? It’s an orange prisoner jumpsuit, an alien’s mask and a green card. Many have taken offense at it, saying that it cruelly mocks the more than 12 million undocumented immigrants in this country. Target and Walgreens have now removed it from their online stores. But a spokeswoman for Halloween Costume World says, “It’s just for fun. We sell pregnant nuns and all sorts of things.” Well, yes, you do. But maybe your shouldn’t. And I’m not a prude or anything when it comes to such matters, but since Halloween has become more a children’s holiday, do we really want to teach them to mock millions of members of our community or women and men who have given their lives in service? Can’t we have good clean fun in other ways?

Like take Eli the Chihuahua dressed up as Pope Benedict the 16th. Now some took offense at that too. But, me, not so much. Maybe because it’s just a cute dog. But most of us tend to know offensive when we see it. And maybe this All Hallows Eve is a time to have some fun with the ghoulish and the foolish, but also to remember it’s only a precursor to the more important day that follows, ALL SAINTS DAY, when we celebrate goodness and heroism. Unfortunately though, for many, that day is what’s really ALIEN. Father Edward L. Beck, C.P.

To watch Father Beck give the above Reflection, click here.