Yes, we get that it’s a pagan ritual. But at what point can the harmless modern celebration of a holiday finally put to rest any pagan roots?
For the first time in a long time, I had a good old-fashioned suburban-American Halloween. While my oldest child was off at some Mall of America event, my son and I joined a few neighbors and walked the neighborhood. The group of nine kids ran from house to house, filling their bags with treats while the parents walked and talked and wished we had warm beverages, preferably the type that includes Bailey’s or Brandy. Before last night, I had no idea how many families I know from the Heilicher Minneapolis Jewish Day School lived in the neighborhood. South Golden Valley is really crawling with our people.
And here’s another thing I learned last night about the Jewish Day School… The children were forbidden from speaking about Halloween at school. I maybe can understand not celebrating it at school (not really, but maybe), but forbidding it as a topic of discussion? This goes back to my question above, at what point can we just let the kids enjoy what Halloween has become and let go of whatever long time ago evil ritual it signified (by the way, my minimal amount of research discovered Halloween’s history focuses more on a harvest festival and less on neo-pagan sacrificing)?
I am very comfortable, despite my children dressing up as a devil and demon (the most adorable devil and demons ever by the way), that last night has not inched them any closer to the dark side, that they are not now contemplating ritualistic sacrifice, and that they will not decide the goth look should be their daily dress. They had fun, I had fun, and the people giving out candy had fun. The holiday brings people and neighborhoods together in a way really no other day of the year does. Let’s embrace and encourage that.
But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe there is something inherently evil in the holiday and its celebration. I’ll admit to not knowing specifically the Jewish views and reasons for the dissent. Fortunately, there’s a comment section below, so please leave a comment and let’s discuss.
In the meantime, I would say let the kids enjoy Halloween, talk about it in school, and even dress up at school that day if they want to. Looking back on last night, I felt the holiday to really be about community. And in today’s insulated digital world, a little community time with neighbors and friends isn’t such a bad thing.
(Image: Randy Son of Robert)
Mr. Kapel,
I’m sincerely glad that you and your children had a good time Sunday night. I would not be so churlish as to deny you that pleasure.
But for me, this is about more than pleasure. I see this as one of those occasions when each Jewish family decides for themselves how they see (and preserve) their Jewish identity in an America that is free and accepting, but also a majority-Christian country.
On the one hand, I could say to myself: “Why not? Everybody else is doing it. And there’s not real harm in it, right? I mean, it’s not Christmas, or Easter.”
Or, I could say to myself: “Why? Because everyone else is doing it?” That’s not a good enough reason for me; just about everyone else celebrates Christmas, too. “Because it’s a fun harvest festival?” But we Jews have our own fun harvest festival — Sukkot. “Because it’s fun for kids to dress up in costumes?” But we have our own Purim. “Because kids like a holiday when they get to eat more sweets?” We have Rosh Hashanah.
In the context of preserving a Jewish community being daily shrunk by assimilation and out-marriage, for me the question is: “Do we trade in our own rich heritage to be like everyone else? Or not?”
-Mike
P.S. Maybe this is looking to deeply into a trivial thing, but think for a moment about the actual acts of “trick-or-treating.” Divest these acts of all meaning for a second, and just look at what we’re actually doing. At worst, we’re supporting them in implicit extortion — if one does not “treat” a child to some candy, one is promised a “trick;” the children may not realize it, but it’s not a magic trick they’re offering — it’s a threat to “trick” the non-compliant. At best, we’re simply taking our children to strangers’ doorsteps to beg for food. And, either way, the children are — in this small way — being trained to feel entitiled to receive something for nothing.
Quite apart from pagan origins, is this really what we want to encourage in our children?
I understand both points of this argument, but I don’t believe it has to be all or nothing.
Whatever the origins of Halloween actually are, it has been watered down to a fun day of costumes, pumpkins, and candy. If a Jewish kid celebrates Halloween and then leaves Judaism, I would place the blame on his/her parents rather than the skeletons, witches, and ghosts.
As a Jewish parent, you have three choices:
1. In addition to maintaining Jewish traditions, You can expose your children to other cultures, religions, and holidays – making them much more in tune with the world around them.
2. You can insulate your children and limit their knowledge.
3. You can give up Judaism altogether.
If we stop allowing our children to dress up and eat candy on October 31st with their friends, what’s next? No turkey on Thanksgiving?
Jeff,
I do wonder whether we could just as easily make the same argument for Christmas or Easter?
Let’s say we leave out the actual religious elements.
Can we not say that Christmas, as celebrated by many Americans today, is basically just a warm, fuzzy, joyous family holiday, with presents, a festive meal, and a lot of family time?
Reindeer, Santa, and presents under a tree have nothing to do with the son of god, right? So why not let your children enjoy the egg nog, tree decorating, presents, and warm togetherness? Even most Christmas carols are rather inoffensive. “Christmas time is here by golly” and all that. So why not let your children enjoy caroling to the neighbors in reindeer sweaters with hot cocoa on a winter night, right?
And I could even say the same about Easter. What’s wrong with bunnies and chocolate eggs and Eastern egg hunts? It’s just good clean fun on a spring sunday morning, right? Certainly not much relation to the crucifiction or resurrection of a messiah, is there?
But I gotta tell you, it would certainly give me some pause to see our children running happily to the park for an Easter egg roll, on the one holiday that has historically been the main trigger of pogroms, riots, and mass murders against Jews worldwide.
JM
These are great comments, all of them, and exactly what I was hoping for when I wrote down my ideas. All good points. Every parent should make the choice that fits their beliefs, and I’ll respect that choice.
I did consider the idea of Christmas as I was writing, thinking that it is another example of a holiday where the current celebration that often is separated from it’s religious roots. But I would still say that Christmas and Easter are viewed as Christian holidays, even if their celebration doesn’t always center around Christ and his birth or rising. Halloween isn’t looked at as a religious holiday at all in modern times I don’t think, and therefore is in a different class.
In talking with someone after writing the article, I learned that it is widely reported that most American and European holidays have pagan roots. Along with Christmas and Easter being on the list, the list also includes Mother’s Day, May Day, St. Patrick’s Day and birthday celebrations. Halloween may not be any more pagan then any of the others, and if this is true, then we shouldn’t single out Halloween. Here’s one web page that explains the pagan history of these holidays. http://www.kingaero.com/simpleblog/blogs/pagan_holidays/default.aspx
Thanks for reading and thanks even more for commenting. Great discussion.