Editing Halloween (section)

==Christian observances==
[[File:Vigil of All Hallows, St. George's Episcopal Church (2010).jpg|thumb|The Vigil of All Hallows is being celebrated at an [[Anglicanism|Episcopal]] Christian church on Hallowe'en.]]

On Hallowe'en (All Hallows' Eve), in Poland, believers were once taught to [[Christian prayer|pray]] out loud as they walk through the forests in order that the souls of the dead might find comfort; in Spain, Christian priests in tiny villages toll their [[church bell]]s in order to remind their congregants to remember the dead on All Hallows' Eve.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bannatyne|first=Lesley Pratt|title=Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rNAXt9jLXWwC&pg=PA12|access-date=1 November 2012|date=1 August 1998|publisher=Pelican Publishing|isbn=978-1-56554-346-1|page=12|quote=Polish Catholics taught their children to pray out loud as they walked through the woods so that the souls of the dead could hear them and be comforted. Priests in tiny Spanish villages still ring their church bells to remind parishioners to honor the dead on All Hallows Eve.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171031175805/https://books.google.com/books?id=rNAXt9jLXWwC&pg=PA12|archive-date=31 October 2017}}</ref> In Ireland, and among immigrants in Canada, a custom includes the Christian practice of [[Fasting and abstinence in the Catholic Church|abstinence]], keeping All Hallows' Eve as a [[meat-free day]] and serving pancakes or [[colcannon]] instead.<ref>''Feasting and Fasting: Canada's Heritage Celebrations'' (Dorothy Duncan), Dundurn, p. 249</ref> 

The [[Christian Church]] traditionally observed Hallowe'en through a [[vigil]]. Worshippers prepared themselves for feasting on the following [[All Saints' Day]] with prayers and fasting.<ref name=BBC3>{{cite web|title=BBC – Religions – Christianity: All Hallows' Eve|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/halloween_1.shtml|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)|quote=All Hallows' Eve falls on 31st October each year, and is the day before All Hallows' Day, also known as All Saints' Day in the Christian calendar. The Church traditionally held a vigil on All Hallows' Eve when worshippers would prepare themselves with prayers and fasting prior to the feast day itself.|year=2010|access-date=1 November 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103105817/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/halloween_1.shtml|archive-date=3 November 2011}}</ref> This [[church service]] is known as the ''Vigil of All Hallows'' or the ''Vigil of All Saints'';<ref name=Harvey>{{cite web|title='All Hallows' Eve'|url=http://www.patriotpost.us/commentary/15253|work=The Patriot Post|author=Andrew James Harvey|quote="The vigil of the hallows" refers to the prayer service the evening before the celebration of All Hallows or Saints Day. Or "Halloween" for short – a fixture on the liturgical calendar of the Christian West since the seventh century.|date=31 October 2012|access-date=1 November 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421185016/http://www.patriotpost.us/commentary/15253|archive-date=21 April 2013}}</ref><ref name=CNA>{{cite web|title=Vigil of All Saints|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resource/55077/vigil-of-all-saints|agency=Catholic News Agency|quote=The Vigil is based on the monastic office of Vigils (or Matins), when the monks would arise in the middle of the night to pray.  On major feast days, they would have an extended service of readings (scriptural, patristic, and from lives of the saints) in addition to chanting the psalms.  This all would be done in the dark, of course, and was an opportunity to listen carefully to the Word of God as well as the words of the Church Fathers and great saints. The Vigil of All Saints is an adaptation of this ancient practice, using the canonical office of Compline at the end.|date=31 October 2012|access-date=1 November 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524132950/http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/saints/feast-days/vigil-of-all-saints/|archive-date=24 May 2013}}</ref> an initiative known as ''Night of Light'' seeks to further spread the ''Vigil of All Hallows'' throughout [[Christendom]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nightoflight.org/nofl2000.htm|title=Night of Light Beginnings|publisher=Cor et Lumen Christi Community|access-date=2 November 2012|quote=In its first year – 2000 AD – over 1000 people participated from several countries. This included special All Saints Vigil masses, extended periods of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and parties for children. In our second year 10,000 participated. Since these modest beginnings, the Night of Light has been adopted in many countries around the world with vast numbers involved each year from a Cathedral in India to a convent in New Zealand; from Churches in the US and Europe to Africa; in Schools, churches, homes and church halls all ages have got involved. Although it began in the Catholic Church it has been taken up by other Christians who while keeping its essentials have adapted it to suit their own traditions.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023062312/http://www.nightoflight.org/nofl2000.htm|archive-date=23 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/8114025/Heres-to-the-Soulcakers-going-about-their-mysterious-mummery.html|title=Here's to the Soulcakers going about their mysterious mummery|work=The Telegraph|access-date=6 November 2012|quote=One that has grown over the past decade is the so-called Night of Light, on All Hallows' Eve, October 31. It was invented in 2000, in leafy Chertsey, Surrey, when perhaps 1,000 people took part. Now it is a worldwide movement, popular in Africa and the United States.<br /><br />The heart of the Night of Light is an all-night vigil of prayer, but there is room for children's fun too: sweets, perhaps a bonfire and dressing up as St George or St Lucy. The minimum gesture is to put a lighted candle in the window, which is in itself too exciting for some proponents of health and safety. The inventor of the Night of Light is Damian Stayne, the founder of a year-round religious community called Cor et Lumen Christi – heart and light of Christ. This new movement is Catholic, orthodox and charismatic – emphasising the work of the Holy Spirit.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403094908/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/8114025/Heres-to-the-Soulcakers-going-about-their-mysterious-mummery.html|archive-date=3 April 2013|date=6 November 2010}}</ref> After the service, "suitable festivities and entertainments" often follow, as well as a visit to the graveyard or cemetery, where flowers and candles are often placed in preparation for [[All Saints' Day|All Hallows' Day]].<ref name=Armentrout>{{cite book|last1=Armentrout|first1=Donald S.|last2=Slocum|first2=Robert Boak|title=An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y_RpbmWNfHcC&pg=PA7|access-date=1 November 2012|year=1999|publisher=Church Publishing, Inc.|isbn=978-0-89869-211-2|page=7|quote=The ''BOS'' notes that "suitable festivities and entertainments" may precede of follow the service, and there may be a visit to a cemetery or burial place.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160730202753/https://books.google.com/books?id=y_RpbmWNfHcC|archive-date=30 July 2016}}</ref><ref name=Infeld>{{cite book|last1=Infeld|first1=Joanna|title=In-Formation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nJ5JfYtNC7QC&q=halloween+poland+visiting+cemetery&pg=PA150|access-date=1 November 2012|date=1 December 2008|publisher=D & J Holdings LLC|isbn=978-0-9760512-4-4|page=150|quote=My folks are Polish and they celebrate Halloween in a different way. It is time to remember your dead and visit the cemetery and graves of your loved ones.}}</ref> In England, Light Parties are organized by churches after worship services on Halloween with the focus on Jesus as the [[Light of the World]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Doward |first1=Jamie |title=Halloween light parties put a Christian spin on haunted celebrations |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/oct/28/halloween-light-parties-church-christian-spin |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=28 October 2017}}</ref> In Finland, because so many people visit the cemeteries on All Hallows' Eve to light [[votive candle]]s there, they "are known as ''valomeri'', or seas of light".<ref>''Teens in Finland'' (Jason Skog), Capstone, p. 61</ref>

[[File:Halloween Scripture Candy.jpg|thumb|right|Halloween Scripture Candy with [[Tract (literature)|gospel tract]]]]
Today, Christian attitudes towards Halloween are diverse. In the [[Anglican Communion|Anglican Church]], some [[diocese]]s have chosen to emphasize the Christian traditions associated with All Hallows' Eve.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2006/9/18/Bishop_challenges_supermarkets_to_lighten_up_Halloween |title=Bishop Challenges Supermarkets to Lighten up Halloween |publisher=The Church of England |quote=Christianity needs to make clear its positive message for young people. It's high time we reclaimed the Christian aspects of Halloween," says the Bishop, explaining the background to his letter. |access-date=28 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518215103/http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/digest/index.cfm/2006/9/18/Bishop_challenges_supermarkets_to_lighten_up_Halloween |archive-date=18 May 2012 }}</ref><ref name="newadvent.org">{{cite web | url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01315a.htm | title = Halloween and All Saints Day | access-date = 22 October 2006 | date = n.d. | publisher = newadvent.org | url-status=live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061016020938/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01315a.htm | archive-date = 16 October 2006 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> Some of these [[Christian worship|practices]] include [[Christian prayer|praying]], [[fasting]] and attending [[Church service|worship services]].<ref name=Fasting>{{cite web|title=BBC – Religions – Christianity: All Hallows' Eve|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/halloween_1.shtml|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)|quote=It is widely believed that many Hallowe'en traditions have evolved from an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain which was Christianised by the early Church.... All Hallows' Eve falls on 31st October each year, and is the day before All Hallows' Day, also known as All Saints' Day in the Christian calendar. The Church traditionally held a vigil on All Hallows' Eve when worshippers would prepare themselves with prayers and fasting prior to the feast day itself. The name derives from the Old English 'hallowed' meaning holy or sanctified and is now usually contracted to the more familiar word Hallowe'en. ...However, there are supporters of the view that Hallowe'en, as the eve of All Saints' Day, originated entirely independently of Samhain ...|year=2010|access-date=1 November 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103105817/http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/halloween_1.shtml|archive-date=3 November 2011}}</ref><ref name=Service /><ref name=Prayer />

{{blockquote|O LORD our God, increase, we pray thee, and multiply upon us the gifts of thy grace: that we, who do prevent the glorious festival of all thy Saints, may of thee be enabled joyfully to follow them in all virtuous and godly living.  Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.  Amen. —[[Collect]] of the Vigil of All Saints, ''[[The Anglican Breviary]]''<ref name="Church1955">{{cite book|title=The Anglican Breviary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CaI9AAAAYAAJ|access-date=12 November 2015|year=1955|publisher=Frank Gavin Liturgical Foundation|pages=1514 (E494)|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423211911/https://books.google.com/books?id=CaI9AAAAYAAJ|archive-date=23 April 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>}}

[[File:Votive Candles in the Halloween section of Walmart.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Votive candles in the Halloween section of [[Walmart]]]]

Other [[Protestantism|Protestant Christians]] also celebrate All Hallows' Eve as [[Reformation Day]], a day to remember the [[Reformation|Protestant Reformation]], alongside All Hallows' Eve or independently from it.<ref name = "RefDay">{{cite web | url = http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?act=reader&item_id=15084&loc_id=9,612,32,52 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070223075856/http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?act=reader&item_id=15084&loc_id=9,612,32,52 | archive-date = 23 February 2007 | title = Reformation Day: What, Why, and Resources for Worship | access-date =22 October 2006 |date=21 October 2005 | publisher = The General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church}}</ref> This is because [[Martin Luther]] is said to have nailed his ''[[Ninety-five Theses]]'' to [[All Saints' Church, Wittenberg|All Saints' Church in Wittenberg]] on All Hallows' Eve.<ref>''Halloween, Hallowed Is Thy Name'' (Smith), p. 29</ref> Often, "Harvest Festivals", "{{va|hallelujah|text=Hallelujah Night}}" or "Reformation Festivals" are held on All Hallows' Eve, in which children dress up as [[List of minor biblical figures|Bible characters]] or [[Protestant Reformers|Reformers]].<ref name=Reformers>{{cite web |last=Allen |first=Travis |year=2011 |title=Christians and Halloween |publisher=Church Publishing, Inc. |url=http://www.gty.org/resources/Articles/A123 |access-date=31 October 2011 |quote=Other Christians will opt for Halloween alternatives called 'Harvest Festivals', 'Hallelujah Night' or 'Reformation Festivals' – the kids dress up as farmers, Bible characters, or Reformation heroes. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028075853/http://www.gty.org/resources/Articles/A123 |archive-date=28 October 2011 }}</ref> In addition to distributing candy to children who are trick-or-treating on Hallowe'en, many Christians also provide [[Tract (literature)|gospel tracts]] to them. One organization, the [[American Tract Society]], stated that around 3 million gospel tracts are ordered from them alone for Hallowe'en celebrations.<ref>''Halloween tracts serve as tool to spread gospel to children'' (Curry), Baptist Press</ref> Others order Halloween-themed ''Scripture Candy'' to pass out to children on this day.<ref name="Woods2013">{{cite book|last=Woods|first=Robert|title=Evangelical Christians and Popular Culture|year=2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-38654-1|page=239|quote=Evangelicals have found opportunities with both Christmas and Easter to use Christian candy to re-inject religion into these traditionally Christian holidays and boldly reclaim them as their own. They have increasingly begun to use Halloween, the most candy-centric holiday, as an opportunity for evangelism. Contained in small packages featuring Bible verses, Scripture Candy's "Harvest Seeds" – candy corn in everything but name&nbsp;– are among many candies created for this purpose.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=D'Augostine|first=Lori|title=Suffer Not the Trick-or-Treaters|url=http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/devotions/daugostine_halloween.aspx|publisher=CBN|access-date=23 October 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029184839/http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/devotions/daugostine_halloween.aspx|archive-date=29 October 2013|date=20 September 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Halloween Costumes.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Belize|Belizean]] children dressed up as Biblical figures and Christian saints]]

Some Christians feel concerned about the modern celebration of Halloween because they feel it trivializes&nbsp;– or celebrates&nbsp;– [[paganism]], the [[occult]], or other practices and cultural phenomena deemed incompatible with their beliefs.<ref name="russo">''Halloween: What's a Christian to Do?'' (1998) by Steve Russo.</ref> Father [[Gabriele Amorth]], an [[exorcist]] in Rome, has said, "if English and American children like to dress up as witches and devils on one night of the year that is not a problem. If it is just a game, there is no harm in that."<ref name="Brandreth">Gyles Brandreth, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20071011093730/http://telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fhealth%2F2000%2F11%2F03%2Ftldevl03.xml&page=1 The Devil is gaining ground]" ''The Sunday Telegraph'' (London), 11 March 2000.</ref> The [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston|Catholic Archdiocese of Boston]] has organized a "Saint Fest" on Halloween.<ref name="www.rcab.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.rcab.org/Pilot/2004/ps041105/saintfest.html |title=Salem 'Saint Fest' restores Christian message to Halloween |access-date=22 October 2006 |date=n.d. |publisher=rcab.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060929155738/http://www.rcab.org/Pilot/2004/ps041105/saintfest.html |archive-date=29 September 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Similarly, many contemporary Protestant churches view Halloween as a fun event for children, holding events in their churches where children and their parents can dress up, play games, and get candy for free. To these Christians, Halloween holds no threat to the spiritual lives of children: being taught about death and mortality, and the ways of the Celtic ancestors actually being a valuable life lesson and a part of many of their parishioners' heritage.<ref name="CelticChristians">{{cite web | url = http://allsaintsbrookline.org/celtic/samhain.html | title = Feast of Samhain/Celtic New Year/Celebration of All Celtic Saints 1 November | access-date = 22 November 2006 | date = n.d. | publisher = All Saints Parish | url-status=dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061120171225/http://www.allsaintsbrookline.org/celtic/samhain.html | archive-date = 20 November 2006 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> Christian minister Sam Portaro wrote that Halloween is about using "humor and ridicule to confront the power of death".<ref>{{cite book|last=Portaro|first=Sam |title=A Companion to the Lesser Feasts and Fasts|date=25 January 1998|publisher=[[Cowley Publications]]|isbn=978-1-4616-6051-4|page=199|quote=All Saints' Day is the centerpiece of an autumn triduum. In the carnival celebrations of All Hallows' Eve our ancestors used the most powerful weapon in the human arsenal, the power of humor and ridicule to confront the power of death. The following day, in the commemoration of All Saints, we gave witness to the victory of incarnate goodness embodied in remarkable deeds and doers triumphing over the misanthropy of darkness and devils. And in the commemoration of All Souls we proclaimed the hope of common mortality expressed in our aspirations and expectations of a shared eternity.}}</ref>

In the [[Catholic Church]], Halloween's Christian connection is acknowledged, and Halloween celebrations are common in many [[Catholic school|Catholic parochial schools]], such as in the United States,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071024173709/http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Halloween/ "Halloween's Christian Roots"] AmericanCatholic.org. Retrieved 24 October 2007.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://broomecatholicschools.org/catholic-elementary-schools-to-celebrate-halloween-with-costume-parades-on-friday-october-28-monday-october-31/|title=Catholic Elementary Schools to Celebrate Halloween with Costume Parades on Friday, October 28 & Monday, October 31|last=Bucci|first=Rich|year=2016|publisher=The Catholic Schools of Broome County|language=en|access-date=2 October 2018|archive-date=3 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003061841/https://broomecatholicschools.org/catholic-elementary-schools-to-celebrate-halloween-with-costume-parades-on-friday-october-28-monday-october-31/|url-status=usurped}}</ref> while schools throughout Ireland also close for the Halloween break.<ref>{{cite news |title=School holidays |url=https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/articles/school-holidays |access-date=26 September 2023 |publisher=Department of Education Northern Ireland}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Schools 'must reopen' after Halloween break |url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2020/10/26/news/schools-must-reopen-after-halloween-break-2109837/ |access-date=26 September 2023 |work=Irish News|quote=Catholic school chiefs have insisted that the extended Halloween holiday must not be stretched out any further.}}</ref> A few [[Christian fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] and [[Evangelicalism|evangelical]] churches use "[[Hell house]]s" and comic-style [[Tract (literature)|tracts]] in order to make use of Halloween's popularity as an opportunity for [[evangelism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-10-26-hell-house_N.htm|title=Some Christians use 'Hell Houses' to reach out on Halloween|last=Suarez|first=Essdras|date=29 October 2007|work=[[USA Today]]|access-date=7 November 2015|quote=While some Christians aren't certain what to make of Halloween – unsure whether to embrace or ignore all the goblins and ghoulishness – some evangelical churches use Oct. 31 as a day to evangelize. ...Some use trick-or-treating as an evangelistic opportunity, giving out Bible tracts with candy.|archive-date=28 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428062255/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/2007-10-26-hell-house_N.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Others consider Halloween to be completely incompatible with the Christian faith due to its putative origins in the [[Festival of the Dead]] celebration.<ref name="www.thercg.org">{{cite web | url = http://rcg.org/articles/totuh.html | title = 'Trick?' or 'Treat?'&nbsp;– Unmasking Halloween | access-date = 21 September 2007 | date = n.d. | publisher = The Restored Church of God | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120425093016/http://rcg.org/articles/totuh.html | archive-date = 25 April 2012 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> Indeed, even though [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] Christians observe All Hallows' Day on the First Sunday after [[Pentecost]], the Eastern Orthodox Church recommends the observance of [[Vespers]] or a [[Paraklesis]] on the Western observance of All Hallows' Eve, out of the pastoral need to provide an alternative to popular celebrations.<ref>''Do Orthodox Christians Observe Halloween?'' by Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church</ref>