Here’s something different to my usual Hallowe’en article. Just for a change, here’s my take on Hallowe’en and how today, All Soul’s Day, is just as important, and how one lgbt community has turned Hallowe’en’s true meaning into a popular celebration.
I’m sure you know that Hallowe’en is short for Hallows Evening, the night before All Hallows (or All Saints) Day, when the lives of Christian saints are honoured. This is followed by today, All Souls Day, when lives of all the departed are honoured. Hallowe’en is the English name for the Festa di Ognissanti, the real name, celebrated in Catholic churches today, and they don’t celebrate it with trick-or-treat and pumpkins (unless they copy the Americans).
I’ve often felt uncomfortable about the way Hallowe’en is celebrated. I know what the word Hallowe’en actually means and what it symbolises, and neither have anything to do with horror, trick-or-treat, or pumpkins. Most modern Hallowe’en practices originate in the USA, and most (not all) of them were appropriated from European Christmas traditions.
As I grew up I went along with the horror aspect of Hallowe’en because I was led to believe by the media that this was how it should be celebrated. When I left school I began research into all things historical, and I realised that what I was told about a lot of things were not completely accurate, including Hallowe’en.
There’s nothing wrong with having a bit of fun at Hallowe’en. I enjoy sitting down to watch “Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy” or “Carry on Screaming”. But, like other genuine Christians, I also mark the day as it should be. No pumpkins, no scary costumes, and definitely no trick-or-treat.
Being quarter Irish, my main misgiving about modern Hallowe’en is the false belief that it is an Irish Celtic pagan festival. Neo-pagans and anti-Christians consistently claim that it originated in something called Samhain. They provide no evidence, except to repeat a lot of unsourced 17th century suppositions.
The name Samhain first appears in the 9th century, AFTER the Catholic Church created All Saint’s Day and Hallowe’en. The idea that Celts had a festival in October or November was first suggested in the 17th century by amateur “historians” who based their history on folklore and legend, not documentary evidence. There isn’t even any evidence to say what Samhain actually was. A festival? A month? A season? People who believe those old “historians” remind me of Mr. Copper in the “Doctor Who” episode “Voyage of the Damned”, who gives this description of Christmas:-
There are many reasons why horror, monsters and gore became associated with Hallowe’en, which will take too long to explain. Most of them don’t come from the Celts but from Germanic Christmas customs, but the Christian Hallowe’en has always been about honouring our ancestors, not being scared by them. Ironically, neo-pagans appropriated this idea for their modern Samhain.
European colonists in the 16th century took the above-mentioned Festa di Ognissanti with other festivals to the New World. The Spanish, in particular, had a large empire in the Americas, and it is in Latin America where we find that the closest observances to the original Hallowe’en are still celebrated. Their celebration is called the Dia de los Muertes. You probably know it better as Day of the Dead.
Let’s have a look at what is probably the longest running lgbt Day of the Dead festival, the Calavera LGBTQ Festival in Los Angeles, California, USA.
Calavera is the name given to representations of the human skull that are decorated with colourful patterns. You’ve probably seen some of these in your area. Originally, in the 18th century, they may have just been sugar candy skulls given to children.
In 2016 LEA produced their first lgbt Day of the Dead events. First was a workshop where visitors could learn about the meaning and spirituality of the occasion and place small gifts on an ofrenda, an altar traditionally erected to honour the dead. These altars are erected everywhere during Day of the Dead, including people’s homes, in communal areas in streets, and on the graves of family ancestors. Several days later LEA hosted a Calavera Dance Party, where guests painted their faces like calaveras.
The impetus for the creation of this event was the terrible shooting in the “Pulse” nightclub in Orlando, Florida, the previous June in which many young people, mainly lgbtq, were killed. Perhaps LEA was also inspired by their Youth Council, who had set up an ofrenda in October 2015 to honour transgender murder victims.
In 2017 LEA held their second event, renamed the Calavera LGBT Community Celebration, and this marked the start of its annual return. Since then, ofrendas and acts of remembrance have gone alongside celebrations and traditional dances, and at the same time raising money for local lgbt Latin-American causes and charities.
From 2019 the event has had its current name of the Calavera LGBTQ Festival and has been held every year since then. Like many events during the Covid Year, 2020, the festival was held online, and was available to a wider audience. In 2021 the festival returned to its usual format. The most recent festival was held on 18th October.
With the focus of Hallowe’en, All Souls Day, and the Day of the Dead all being on honouring your ancestors it provides a perfect occasion for genealogist and family historians, which is how I usually celebrate these days. I concentrate on doing family history research (which is what I’m going to do after I’ve posted this, particularly research into my great-uncle who was a professional boxer) and placing (plastic) roses around photos of my family. For an alternative celebration you could decorate the walls with lgbtq flags as though it was Pride Month or your local Pride, or celebrate whatever other community you identify with, or all communities.
