So Sophie,

Why do people wear Halloween costumes? Where did Halloween come from? As a Christian, can I celebrate Halloween without succumbing to the Devil?

-Concerned Christian

Hey Concerned,

or the majority of people, Halloween is a great holiday, filled with fun, spooky times and candy for everyone. For a few rabid Christians, it is a day filled with evil and demonic possession. Neither one of these interpretations is entirely correct, although both seem to have a small basis in fact.

The word Halloween is derived from the term "All Hallows' Eve" which occurred on Oct. 31, the end of summer in Northwestern Europe. "All Saints' Day," or "All Hallows' Day" was the next day, Nov. 1. Therefore, Halloween is the eve of All Saints' Day. The origins of Halloween can be traced back to ancient Ireland and Scotland around the time of Christ. On Oct. 31, the Celts celebrated the end of summer. This was important because it was when animal herders would move their animals into barns and pens and prepare to ride out the winter. This was also the time of the crop harvests. This annual change of season and lifestyle was marked by a festival called Samhain, meaning 'end of summer.'

There was a lot of superstition associated with this time of change, including the belief in fairies and that the spirits of the dead wandered around looking for bodies to inhabit. Since the living did not want to be possessed by spirits, they dressed up in costumes and paraded around the streets making loud noises to confuse and frighten the spirits away. In addition, the new year began for the Celts on Nov. 1. So, the day of Samhain was believed to be a day that was in neither the year past or the year to come. Since it was in between, chaos ruled on that day. Often, people would pull practical jokes on others as a result. Later, around the 5th century, as the Catholic Church developed and moved into the area, instead of adding a new day to celebrate, it took over the Samhain celebration in an attempt to shift the people's attention away from their own beliefs and to the brainwashing inherent in the Christian church. Nov. 1 became "All Hallows' Eve" where all the saints of the Catholic church were honored. A later custom developed where people would go door-to-door on Nov. 2, requesting small cakes in exchange for the promise of saying prayers for some of the dead relatives of each house. This arose out of the religious belief that the dead were in a state of limbo before they went to heaven or hell and that the prayers of the living could influence the outcome. This may have been the precursor to Trick-or-Treat.

The Jack-o-Lantern stems from Irish folklore about a man named Jack who tricked the devil into climbing a tree. Once the devil was in the tree, Jack carved a cross on the trunk, preventing the devil from coming down. The devil then made a deal with Jack to not allow Jack into hell after Jack died if only Jack would remove the cross from the tree. After Jack died, he couldn't go to hell, and he couldn't go to heaven. He was forced to wander around the earth with a single candle to light his way. The candle was placed in a turnip to keep it burning longer. When the Irish came to America in the 1800's, they adopted the pumpkin instead of the turnip. Along with these traditions, they brought the idea that the black cat was considered by some to be reincarnated spirits who had prophetic abilities.

Now, regarding the question of whether or not you should celebrate Halloween: yes. The holiday only takes on as much religious significance as you give it. If you teach your children that it is only about dressing up in costumes and asking for candy, then that is all that they will think it to be. The second you walk around screaming about demonic possession, your kids will start to take a much deeper interest in it and do some independent research of their own. Every psychology book in existence will agree that once you forbid something to children it will become infinitely more attractive than it would have been had you just allowed easy access to it.

Go ahead, wear a costume, go to parties and get over it. It's got nothing to do with your religious beliefs unless you let it.