Halloween and Satanism – They Are Not the Same

Every year as Halloween approaches, there are those who decry it as a Satanic holiday that should not be celebrated by anybody, much less by Christians.  Certainly, there are those who call themselves "Satanists," and these folks celebrate various holidays throughout the year.  And, according to High Priestess Blanche Barton of the Church of Satan, Halloween is definitely one of those holidays they celebrate. (Barton)  As well, Halloween is one of the eight Pagan Sabbats that Wiccans celebrate as part of their Wheel of the Year, those holidays that correspond to the planet's orbital position.  Halloween – Samhain – falls halfway between the Autumnal Equinox – Mabon – and the Winter Solstice – Yule. (Wigington)

But just because a Satanist or a Pagan (and there is a difference) celebrates any given holiday, including Halloween, doesn't mean that holiday is Satanic.  A holiday can only be Satanic if it were created with the purpose of celebrating Satan, or it is a holiday that existed before and now is only celebrated by those claiming to be Satanists.  After all there are Satanists who celebrate Christmas, but that doesn't make Christmas a Satanic holiday.  We just can't call Halloween Satanic because we think it might be, or because some folks who should know better but don't say that it is... and we believe them.  This is not a religious argument.  It has nothing to do with faith.  The object is to discover whether historic research will show that Halloween derives from Satanic origins.  And it doesn't.

Certainly there are many websites that claim Halloween is a Satanic holiday.  However, the majority of these appear to be written by Christian writers.  Trusting a Christian source for the "truth" about Satanism would be just as foolish as trusting a Satanic source for the "truth" of Christianity.  To determine if Halloween is a Satanic "holiday," we will need to know just what "Satanism" is, as well as the history of Halloween itself.

Setting aside a day to celebrate "All Christian martyrs of Faith" – namely the Catholic faith – dates to the Fourth Century of the Common Era.  In 615 CE, Pope Boniface IV set aside May 13 as "The Feast of All Martyrs."  By 741, the feast had expanded to include all saints in heaven, not just martyrs.  By 840 the Holy Day's title was changed to "Feast of All Saints," both those known and unknown.  And in 844 the Feast of All Saints was moved to November 1, (Miller) where it remains.

It was only after there was an All Saints Day that there could be an All Saints – or All Hallowed -- evening.  "Halloween" literally means "hallowed evening." (Donovan)  When All Saints Day was moved to the first of November in 844, that made October 31 Halloween.  However, the word "Halloween" didn't come into existence until around 1745, and it wasn't until 1785 that the word became popular with the publication of the Scottish poet Robert Burn's poem "Halloween." (Halloween)

It is suggested that All Saints Day was moved to November First to coincided with the harvest, so there would be plenty of food to feed those returning from their pilgrimages before winter set in. (Connelly)  More than likely, Halloween was moved as an "alternative" holiday for the Pagan festival of Samhain, which was on October 31.  (Halloween 2019)  Moving Christian holidays to counter already existing Pagan holidays was common.  For instance, Pope Julius I moved Christmas to December 25 to correspond with the various holidays celebrated by just about everybody else on or around the Winter Solstice.   (The Celebration of Christmas)

Samhain (pronounced "sah-win") means "summer's end" in Gaelic, (Radford) and it pre-dates Christianity by more than a thousand years. (Celts)  Though a whole lot isn't known about the ancient festival, we do know that "it was an annual communal meeting at the end of the harvest year, a time to gather resources for the winter months and bring animals back from the pastures."  (Radford) 

Whether or not Samhain had anything to do with the dead is open for debate.  While some researchers claim that the Celts performed many "ritualistic ceremonies..." including wearing costumes in an attempt "to connect to spirits," (Donovan) others claim that "'there is no hard evidence that Samhain was specifically devoted to the dead or to ancestor worship.'"  (Radford)  In the end, it seems that "Samhain was less about death or evil than about the changing of seasons and preparing for the dormancy (and rebirth) of nature as summer turned to winter...."  (Radford)

And then there's the age difference.  The entire idea of "Satanism" is fairly recent relative to the history of humankind, and especially that of the Christian religion.  "The terms 'Satanism' and 'Satanist' can be traced back to the 1560s — not as a religious designation one ascribed to oneself, but as a way of describing someone with a 'satanic disposition.'" (Dickinson)  As such, "Satanism existed primarily as an accusation by various Christian groups toward perceived ideological opponents, rather than a self-identity..." with no true evidence that the majority of those accused of practicing Satanism were guilty of anything other than not being liked by those in power.  (Satanism)  Indeed, it is stated that "The concept of Satanism is an invention of Christianity, for it relies upon the figure of Satan, a character deriving from Christian mythology." (Satanism) 

Satanism, as a practiced religion, did not exist before 1966, when the Church of Satan was established by Anton LeVey in San Francisco.  (Dickinson)  That's not to say there haven't been those throughout history that did purposefully worship the idea of Satan.  Throughout the majority of European history, for instance, the concept of separating church from state was unheard of.  So for the oppressed lower classes, "Satanism was the ultimate anti-establishment party."  Those from the ruling class, on occasion, also sought out Satan as an alternative to the strict morals of the time. (Dickinson)

Therefore, the Celts did not create the original holiday of Samhain to celebrate Satan,  because they "...did not worship anything resembling the Christian devil and had no concept of it."  As well, by the time the Catholic Church started persecuting those they deemed "satanic," the Celts were no longer celebrating anything.  They were long gone.  (Radford) And what Samhain eventually became – Halloween – was not created as a Satanic holiday, either.  Far from it.  It grew out of a Christian holiday.  If anything, Halloween is Christian, not Satanic. 

In the end, Halloween is only Satanic if you want it to be.  But then, that's probably true of everything.  Granted, if you hold out your goody bag and say, "All Hail, Satan!" instead of "Trick or Treat," you're probably going to get far less treats.