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Holiday Has-Been MAG
Halloween does not deserve to be called a holiday. “Holiday” means “holy day,” but Halloween does not fit this definition. It has deteriorated into a candy fest and a costume-celebrating commercial event, an excuse for money-hungry marketers to sell over three billion dollars worth of merchandise every year.
Halloween began as the ancient Celtic festival Samhain, pronounced sow-en and meaning “summer’s end.” Samhain marked the Celtic new year and was celebrated on October 31. It was believed that on this day the souls of the dead wandered the earth looking for bodies to possess for the coming year. The priest would light a bonfire in the middle of the village to thank the sun god for the harvest and to repel the evil spirits. The villagers would then proceed from their homes to the bonfire, dressing as monsters and being as destructive as they could in order to ward off the spirits.
In the early 600’s, Pope Boniface IV was trying to spread Christianity to pagan people. Since he could not stop them from celebrating Samhain, he put a Christian spin on it by moving All Saints Day (a.k.a. “All Hallow’s”) from November 2 to November 1. October 31 then was referred to as “All Hallow’s Eve,” which has become our “Halloween.”
Today, Halloween makes us think of costumes and candy more than its pagan and Christian roots. The typical buyer is projected by the National Retail Federation to spend almost $50 on Halloween decorations, candy, and costumes. It has degenerated into nothing more than a commercial event: just an excuse to buy stuff in-between real holidays.
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This article has 35 comments.
I enjoy the direction of this piece. All to often we find that what was once a sacred day or rite in a certain culture, is merely reduced into a commercialized smorgasboard of candy and gifts.
If there was one complaint I have about this piece, is the fact that it's scope is way too narrow. The premise that Halloween is the only Holiday to be subject to sacralige is quite undeveloped. You'll find that every Holiday, from Halloween to Easter to Christmas, now feature a mascot enticing the masses to buy and spend and buy some more. I really hope that you'll write more and divulge the deeper meaning of several more Holidays, and reveal their origins beyond the seemingly materialistic legacies they have unknowningly left behind.
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All are based on some parts of history, from the Jack O' Laterns (which was based on an Irish Folk tale) to the apple bobbing, to the trick or treating (at the end of the fall harvest everyone would go around tasting each others meals. The ones who didn't have any had a "trick" played on them) to the witchs (you've probably heard tales about this).
Halloween is a wonderful mixture of many different beliefs, religons, values, and holidays. Its a day were people can give and give back, to their neighbores, strangers, everyone. Halloween is a holiday just as much as Christmas or Easter or any other holiday. Also, if you ask children what Christmas and Easter is about most will answer "Presents!" or "Candy!" Many people have lost sight of what most Holidays were about but we shouldn't lose them completely by getting rid of them simply because they're "too commercial.
Also, if you're complaining about the price, just look at how much the average american spends on gifts, which is over $1000.