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Every year on October 31st, streets all over the United States are filled with trick or treaters for Halloween night. Halloween is a holiday that many kids look forward to celebrating. Most of society sees this day as a harmless celebration. 

Not only is Halloween celebrated with trick or treating, but there is also a connection between Halloween and religion. How do different religions react to Halloween? 

Trisha Wheelock is the director of Faith Life at Grand View University and director of the Moses Project, which is focused on professional development of rural pastors. Wheelock shared information about the connection between the Lutheran church and Halloween. 

“They celebrate All Saints Day right around Halloween on November 1st, and that’s this moment of remembering. It’s started with remembering people who died for their faith, who were martyrs, but now today it’s a day we remember those who have passed away. So in chapel on All Saint’s Day, we’ll read aloud a list of people who have passed away,” Wheelock said. 

Wheelock said that All Saint’s Day is a really special moment and wanted to get the word out about it as a day of remembering any loved ones who have passed away. Not many people know about this meaningful connection. 

The strong connection between Halloween and religion is not only within the Lutheran church, but also in the House of Israel Worldwide. Apostle Dr. Arthur Bailey is the leader of House of Israel Worldwide which is a group of Messianic Hebrew Roots Congregations that actively teach the Hebrew Roots of the Christian Faith. 

In Bailey’s book, “How to Hear God’s Voice,” he discusses the meaning of Halloween and how it has evolved within the Hebrew Roots of Christian faith. 

“Halloween evolved out of a Catholic holiday called All Hallows Eve, which occurs the day before All Saints Day. In the Orthodox Church, All Saints Day continues to be celebrated in late spring on the first Sunday after Pentecost, which in turn is seven weeks after Easter,” Dr. Bailey wrote. 

Halloween was not celebrated until 1845 in the United States because of its pagan roots. It was actually an influx of Irish immigrants that popularized the holiday. These immigrants are also responsible for the first jack-o’-lanterns, though they were not originally made from pumpkins. Irish people also historically carved turnips on Hallow’s Eve and put embers inside of them to protect themselves from evil spirits. Other traditions that carried over to America from Ireland include costume masks and bobbing for apples. 

According to Dr. Bailey and the Hebrew Roots of Christian Faith, Halloween and all its practices are associated with witchcraft. Not only is this visible through history and religion, but also through modern pop culture like “Harry Potter” and “Hocus Pocus,” which tend to gain popularity every October. 

Halloween comes from Christian tradition, and it means hallowed evening or holy evening. In the Christian calendar, October 31, or Halloween is the day before All Saint’s Day. Halloween is the day to honor the saints, and the day after is to remember the dead. Similar celebrations occur in places like Mexico on the first of November, when the Day of the Dead is traditionally celebrated. These connections between Christianity and Halloween might come as a surprise for many people because of the imagery of satanism, witchcraft, and evil during the holiday. All these images are traditionally opposed to the kinds of things associated with Christianity. 

Surprisingly, the connection between Christianity as a religion and Halloween is not that peculiar. Many of the popular outfits and spirits of Halloween which includes ghosts, demons, paranormal events, and vampires can be seen in the Christian tradition. 

Wheelock also discussed the connection between the occult and spooky atmosphere surrounding Halloween and religion and where it stems from. 

“There was an idea that the veil, the separation, between worlds, was thinner during this time. I’m not telling you that I believe or subscribe to that, but some people do or have, and you could commune with dead or spirits more easily during this time of the year,” Wheelock said. 

Wheelock encouraged everyone around the community to attend All Saint’s Day in the chapel. 

She emphasized it as a day for remembrance, saying how it made her smile when she heard the names of her loved ones who had passed being mentioned in the chapel. 

Halloween is something we see as secular today, but it is clear that it has a long history of religious association. Understanding this history and learning more about it may be a good way to get even more out of the already fun and exciting holiday.