Racism, Current Events, and Halloween History

by Pam Connell | More from this Blogger

31 Oct 2009 08:08 PM

Not many people know what Halloween meant to the early Celtic Christians of Ireland. I knew that the name "Hallow-even" meant "eve of All Hallows (All Saints' Day), a feast day still celebrated by many Christian denominations. I knew that one of the origins of trick-or-treating was the custom of children holding lanterns (perhaps made of hollowed-out squash with a candle inside) and going from house to house offering prayers for the dead. The homeowners then served "soul cakes". I'm not exactly sure what those were, but that fact may be why I always associate Halloween with doughnuts.

That was as much as I knew, until I met an older gentleman. He told me that, both in the early Christian era and before, the Celtic people had a custom this time of year which was intended to confront evil and create solidarity. He explained that winter was a time not only of literal darkness but of scarcity. Food often ran low. This, he explained, brought out the worst in people-selfishness, theft, suspicion of neighbors. When the darkness came earlier, people took a day or two to give free rein to their imaginations and express their worst fears. Then they pledged to renounce the "evil spirits" of jealousy, greed, and fear.

My last blog dealt with racism, and the one before that dealt with anti-immigrant sentiment. We too are in a time when economic difficulties can bring out either the worst or the best in people. I've been talking about negative effects these attitudes may have on our children. In the next few weeks I plan to present some ideas for combatting these negative messages your child may receive from society. Likely we all have some hidden attitudes about some people-if not of a different ethnic group, then perhaps about those of a different political bent, religion, or other factor.

Most adopted people, whether or not they are the same race as their adoptive family members, feel different at some time or another. The more we try to learn about and associate with different people, the more we teach our children that it's okay to be different.

Learn more about Pam Connell

Pam Connell is a mother of three by both birth and adoption. She has worked in education, child care, social services, ministry and journalism.

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