Is it appropriate for an Orthodox person to celebrate Halloween?

Fun, though a little creepy holiday Halloween came to us from American culture. It has become very popular, although we do not cease to debate whether to celebrate it. Today we will tell you when Halloween is in 2022, how to celebrate it and whether you are an Orthodox person.



Editorial "Site" I know what is the essence of this terrible and at the same time fun holiday.

When Halloween is celebrated in 2022, Halloween is celebrated annually on the night of October 31 to November 1. This year's holiday will be on Tuesday, although all preparations have begun in advance. Many stores have already placed pumpkins, ghosts or hanging webs. This holiday has taken root in popular culture, especially in advertising campaigns. But that wasn't what he was about before.

If you look back in time, you can see that Halloween is a modified holiday harvest Samhain. It was celebrated by the ancient Celts. They just started counting down the year from November. And the night from October 31 to November 1 was a landmark. The Celts believed that at this time the line between our world and the world of the dead was becoming thinner. They believed that on this night the souls of the dead came to earth.



Along with them are other dark forces: demons, housewives, witches. All the evil spirit comes down to earth. In order not to become the prey of a dead shadow, people extinguished hearths in houses and dressed as terrible as possible - in animal skins and terrible masks, hoping to scare away evil spirits.

When Christianity came to Europe, Samhain stopped celebrating. The Pope appointed on November 1 the Catholic holiday All Saints Day. In the people, the night before this day was called All Hallows Eve - the eve of All Saints' Day, which eventually shortened to the usual Halloween.



In 1000, the Catholic Church declared November 2 the Day of all the departed faithful – the commemoration of all the deceased relatives and friends. Since then, the pagan mysticism of Halloween has coexisted with the Christian faith. In the XIX century, Irish immigrants brought Halloween to America, from where the holiday spread throughout the world.

The Orthodox Church disapproves of this holiday. The priests see this as a kind of glorification of Satanism. The debate over whether to celebrate the holiday has been going on for years. In our country, they believe that Halloween is a borrowed holiday from a foreign culture. Therefore, it is not worth celebrating it at all.



In addition, we do not approve of such flirting with otherworldly forces. The clergy believe that an Orthodox person should not dress up in terrible costumes and joke about the departed. In the Orthodox tradition, it is customary to treat the dead with respect. Therefore, priests recommend praying, rather than following the creepy traditions of the holiday.



But it's up to you to dress up and cut out the pumpkin faces. There is nothing terrible about the holiday. It’s fun enough, especially for kids. Those who celebrate it do not worship the dark forces seriously. It's just an excuse to come up with a funny costume and have a good time. Whatever it is, pagan traditions are preserved in the traditions of different peoples. And there's nothing so terrible about it.



If the soul wishes, you can safely decorate the house for Halloween, make pumpkin toys and dress up. The most courageous hostess can even try to bake pumpkin pie. The main thing is to spend this time as you want. There are worse things in this world than Halloween costumes. So why not take a day off from it?