“I am glad that Christian parents let their children worship the devil at least one night out of the year, Welcome to Halloween.”
— Anton LaVey (founder of the Church of Satan)
The term Halloween derives from “All Hallows’ Eve,” the evening before All Hallows’ Day (or All Saints’ Day) on November 1. This day was established by the early Catholic Church to honor saints and martyrs, particularly those without a designated feast day. By placing the celebration on the eve of November 1, the Church sought to Christianize and absorb older pagan festivals that marked the end of the harvest and the onset of winter, specifically the pagan Celtic festival of Samhain.
Celebrated at the end of the harvest season, around October 31st, the ancient Celts believed this was a time when the boundary between the living and the dead was believed to be thin. The tradition of carving pumpkins—originally turnips or beets—with grotesque faces was to ward off evil spirits. The Celts believed that spirits—both benign and malevolent—roamed the earth during this liminal time. By dressing in disguises or donning animal skins and masks, people sought to confuse or scare away these spirits, making it difficult for them to distinguish the living from the dead.
To appease wandering souls and avoid their wrath, communities would offer food and drink, leaving portions on altars, doorsteps, or at bonfires. These offerings were meant both as acts of respect for ancestors and as protective measures, ensuring that the spirits remained benevolent or at least neutral. Over time, this practice evolved into the medieval Christian tradition of “souling,” in which people—often the poor—would go door to door offering prayers for the dead in exchange for cakes or other treats. The modern Halloween custom of trick-or-treating can be traced directly back to this ritual of giving and appeasement.
The term “trick-or-treat” appeared in the late 19th century, originating from the Scottish practice of “guising.” Scottish children would disguise themselves in costumes, visit homes, and perform small acts—such as songs, recitations, or jokes—in exchange for food or coins. If a household refused to offer anything, the children might play a “trick,” often a mischievous prank. This playful coercion was a secular survival of the older Samhain belief in appeasing spirits through offerings—now displaced onto children imitating those wandering souls.
The bonfires of Samhain were not ordinary fires but ritual instruments used in what the Celts saw as spiritual warfare. They believed that on the night marking summer’s end, the powers of darkness and death grew strongest. In response, entire communities gathered on hilltops to ignite massive fires dedicated to their gods. These flames were thought to repel evil spirits, purify the people, and secure favor from the unseen powers for the coming winter. In many accounts, livestock were driven through the smoke or between twin fires as a form of pagan purification and sacrifice.
As recounted in the October 29, 1922 edition of The Pensacola Journal, the tradition goes back as far as the Romans, “On Nov. 1 the Romans had a feast to Pomona, goddess of fruits and seeds. On the same date, or thereabouts, the druids held their autumn festival to the sun, giving thanks for the season’s harvest. And they taught that, the night before, Saman, Lord of death, called together the wicked souls he had condemned to occupy animals’ bodies during the year. It was then that, by gifts and incantations, he might be Induced to release these captives. November, too, was one of the times for these same Druids to rekindle their supposedly sacred fires.”
Catholic Church Sanctified Samhain
As Christianity spread across Europe, the Roman Church faced the challenge of converting pagan peoples who remained deeply attached to their seasonal festivals. Rather than confronting idolatry with repentance and reform, Rome adopted a policy of syncretism—absorbing heathen customs and giving them a Christian veneer. Around A.D. 731–741, Pope Gregory III dedicated a chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica to all the saints and martyrs. He then moved the celebration of All Saints’ Day to November 1, directly over the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, and the evening prior became known as All Hallows’ Eve—or Halloween. The policy was later reinforced by Pope Gregory IV (c. A.D. 835), who extended the November 1 observance to the entire Western Church—thereby universalizing what had begun under Gregory III in Rome.
This calculated move allowed pagan converts to retain their cherished rituals—bonfires, disguises, offerings for the dead—under new names and supposedly Christian meanings. In practice, it replaced one form of superstition with another. Prayers to saints took the place of offerings to spirits; “souling” for the dead mirrored the old sacrifices for wandering souls. In the medieval Church, the Catholic practice of praying to saints—asking them to intercede on behalf of the living or the dead—served as a substitute for the pagan offerings once made to spirits. Instead of leaving food, drink, or gifts for wandering souls, people were instructed to offer prayers, light candles, or give alms in the name of a saint. What had been open pagan necromancy and divination was merely baptized in holy water and declared sanctified. The Church of Rome thus blended light and darkness, polluting the purity of the Gospel.
”Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not afraid for the signs of heaven, though the heathen be afraid of such.”
— Jeremiah 10:2
Reformation of Unbiblical Traditions
Halloween, or All Hallows’ Eve, was largely absent from early colonial America. In Puritan New England, celebrations, masquerades, and superstitious practices were strictly forbidden as ungodly. Any folk customs brought by English, Scottish, or Irish immigrants were localized and small-scale, often tied to harvest-time fortune-telling or pranks, which was spoken about at length by Puritan preachers and condemned.
Likewise, in parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Scotland, Reformed leaders instructed congregations to avoid any rituals associated with spirits, divination, or honoring the dead outside of Scripture. Unlike the Roman Church, which sought to “Christianize” pagan customs, many Protestants did not attempt to co-opt pagan traditions (Colossians 2:8).
Ignorance is the Mother not of Devotion, but of Heresy.
— Cotton Mather
It was not until the late 18th and 19th centuries, with increased immigration and cultural mixing in cities like Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, that All Hallows’ Eve began to emerge as a recognized social event, complete with costumes, pranks, and visiting neighbors. As Halloween began to spread in the U.S., some Protestant ministers spoke against it as seen in a 1870s issue of The New York Observer, “The day known as All Hallows’ Eve is a relic of superstition… children go about with masks and tricks, imitating the very evils we ought to shun.”
Many Protestants emphasize Reformation Day on October 31st, commemorating Martin Luther’s nailing of the 95 Theses on October 31st in 1517 (which sparked the Reformation of the Catholic Church), as a counterpoint to the growing popularity of Halloween. They viewed the holiday not only as Catholic-influenced, with practices such as the veneration of saints but also as rooted in pagan customs. Activities on Reformation Day should focus on worship, Scripture reading, and prayer, reflecting on God’s Word, and the ongoing need for spiritual renewal. Families and communities can study Reformation history, read the writings of Luther and other reformers, and discuss the significance of the Reformation in shaping biblical faith.
By focusing on worship, education, and prayer, believers can remember the Reformation as a celebration of truth, holiness, and devotion to Christ rather than human traditions rooted in superstition.
