Why Do We Celebrate Halloween? - a Brief Discussion

Are you wondering - why do we celebrate Halloween?

In our modern culture, we take many of our current holidays for granted, not really understanding how the traditions that we follow came to pass.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when it comes to Halloween, the emphasis has shifted away from its original purpose and become a holiday that seems to celebrate being frightening or scary, rather than something that originally had a religious connotation tied to it. So, why do we celebrate Halloween?

The origins of the holiday date back to the Celtic days several hundred years ago. The name is derived from All Hallow's Eve, which means All Saints Day. It was originally a holiday that was meant to bless and convert pagans to Christianity.

The role of wearing masks originated as a way to hide from demons and scare away evil spirits. The premise was that if a demon couldn't see a person under the mask, then they wouldn't be able to possess or corrupt that person.

In Christianity, it is believed that when a person turns to Jesus and accepts Him as their personal savior, the Devil becomes enraged and tries to do everything he can to disrupt their life and turn them away from God.

So why do we celebrate Halloween today? Many pagan holidays and traditions remain within our modern culture because they have been absorbed by the Catholic church. Christmas and Easter are two major religious holidays that rely on pagan traditions. The church believed that if they incorporated some of these pagan traditions, it would be easier for the pagans to convert, as they would be more comfortable with the holidays and these traditions.

But you may still be asking why do we celebrate Halloween today, even though most of that original tradition has been lost in the past.

Halloween allows people to become somebody else for the day. Deep down, many people want to act like somebody else and they go throughout the year having to act in a more appropriate manner. Halloween has become an excuse to dress up in a costume and go out in public and just have a good time.

It has also become a reason to try to scare people. Fear is one of the emotions within people that isn't often elicited from many people very often. Yet, people love to be scared. It is an inherent trait that millions of people share. The fear that we sometimes feel keeps us feeling alive, especially when the adrenaline is pumping. That's why horror movies and suspense thrillers are so popular in recent years.

The world has become a much smaller place and the mysteries that once frightened us have been explained away by science. People, as a group, are missing some of those mysteries of the dark, and Halloween allows us to believe in them again, if only for one night.

If you ever find yourself asking why do we celebrate Halloween, the age-old answer is because, as people, we love to be frightened and to live closer to the edge of death and evil, and for one night, we are given that opportunity to do it, and still have a great time with friends.

Do you now have a better understanding of the question - why do we celebrate Halloween?

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