New Meaning for an Old Rite?

The email edition of the Scotsman newspaper from Edinburgh had a story about Halloween costumes. The headline said that nobody wanted their children to grow up to be skeletons, ghosts, or dragons. This year children were being sent out in costumes of lords, lawyers, ambassadors and doctors. The idea being, so it seems, to plant in the mind of the child an ambition. As I understand the old Halloween origins these costumes would be a dramatic change in purpose of the holiday.

I have no way of knowing if my information is correct, but when I did look into this holiday, I found that Halloween was basically a community rite of confession. On this time of All Saints Day, the fear was that the spirits of the dead would rise up and roam the world. They would be coming back to "get even." The restless spirits of the dead would come back to earth to settle up scores with those who offended them in life. The spirits of the dead came back seeking out those who had "done them wrong." The living would put out lights and scary objects in hopes of keeping the spirits away. The living would put on masks and costumes in hopes that the disguises would make it hard for the spirits to find them. The spirits of the dead do not like bright lights, we are told. The masks and costumes would make it hard for the spirits to find the people they were looking for. The Spirits of the dead only had a very brief time to look so any delay was welcomed.

So in a sense, to put on a mask, to put out lights, to wear a custom was a confession that one had done somebody wrong. At least, it was the fear that the dead spirits might have a grudge against you. To fear the return of the dead was to acknowledge that one had done some things that the dead might not have liked and had taken exception to. In the end it was to affirm that "all of us have sinned" and that we were frightened by the thought of the revenge of the dead.

That is what I read when I studied the history of Halloween. But Halloween has taken a beating over the last forty years. All those conservative Christians who believed it was fraternizing with the devil. All those link it with Thanksgiving and make it a find of fall festival. Now to suggest it is an early career indicator. It has come a long way, baby.