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You Don't Know Jack...
Fr. Jack Collins, CSP, hits the streets asking young adults what they know about things Catholic.
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October 24th, 2011
You Don’t Know Jack… about Halloween
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Fr. Jack Collins, CSP, hits the streets of New York City’s scary Greenwich Village, asking young adults what they know about the origins of Halloween — how it began, why people wear costumes, and the two Catholic holidays surrounding All Hallow’s Eve.
Music: Kevin MacLeod
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it’s great to see an old Catholic priest going out and meeting young people where they’re at and talking to them about the Catholic Church and Church holidays. jack seems to be open and accepting of them and their responses, most likely presenting to them a side of the Church they have never heard about or would see elsewhere. kudos Busted Halo
WONDERFUL, lively, engaging conversation and yes, acceptance all around. Faith must have its FUN dimensions, too, and Jack and company deliver!
This video promotes blatantly false information. Despite common misconception, the first attempts to show some connection between the vigil of All Saints and the Celtic harvest festival of Samhain (the supposed Pagan origins of Halloween) came over a thousand years after All Saints Day became a universal feast, and there’s no evidence whatsoever that Gregory III or Gregory IV was even aware of Samhain. Furthermore, the tradition of wearing costumes came from Renaissance royalty who had elaborate masquerade dances during holy times, particularly All Souls and Epiphany(12th Night). Even the tradition of Trick-or-Treating was started by Catholics/Christians in medieval England. For the sake of charity, the wealthy would give out small treats, or ‘soul cakes’, to poor children who would roam door-to-door singing hymns or carols. Eventually, the wealthy tradition of masquerading and the poor tradition of sweet-collecting met, and the modern idea of Halloween (Hallows Eve) was born. There is absolutely no basis for the “pagan” origins of Halloween, and to say that there is is to deny a rich and decidedly Catholic history.
Jacob, you point out some of the Catholic traditions that have over time been blended with secular traditions to become what we know as Halloween today. According to historians, the Celts did believe that this is the time of year when the physical and supernatural worlds were closest and that magical things could happen. This, combined with the religious traditions that already existed at the time, helped to form our Halloween traditions today. Click here for another Busted Halo article that points to some of the both Catholic and secular backgrounds of Halloween.
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