Did America save or destroy Halloween?

[purplepoppy]

America is often credited with saving Halloween. By concentrating on the commercial side rather than the spiritual aspect they preserved it for the modern age. Very much the same way Christmas is now about Santa rather than Christ.

However, last night I was watching a documentary that explored old Halloween customs that have largely died out. It had several interviews with people for who Halloween still had a deep spiritual meaning very much like how some Christians still go to church on Christmas.

So my question is did America save Halloween or destroy it?

[Lliam]

Samhain was a Celtic tradition long before Christianity began sweeping across Europe. It marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred (similar to Day of the Dead in Hispanic cultures). On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. As part of the festivities, people would light fires, dress in animal costumes, and tell stories.

Fast forward to the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints. Soon, All Saints Day incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween.

The Churches effort to "Christianize" non-Christians fit with England's ongoing effort to wipe out Gallic culture entirely.

American colonists are responsible for initially bringing Halloween to the United States. Most of the colonists were English Puritans who celebrated Samhain before traveling to their new Country. Although the Celtic religious traditions had long been replaced by Christianity, many of the old practices remained. Influenced by a variety of cultures, the Halloween traditions in the American Colonies began to meld and change.

Pumpkins, which are indigenous to America, were found be a superior replacement for the turnips that had traditionally been carved to hold glowing embers to be used as lanterns.

In the mid-1800s, Irish immigrants came to the United States, bringing their Halloween traditions with them. This included dressing up in costumes, asking their neighbors for food and money, and pulling pranks in the evening on Halloween. Americans started doing the same thing, which eventually turned into what we now know as trick-or-treating. However, it wasn’t until recently that treats became more common than tricks.

For Example, In the 1920s, rowdy pranks had become expensive and costly, especially in major cities. Over time, cities and towns began organizing tame, family-oriented Halloween celebrations, which eventually helped reduce the number of reported pranks. Once candy companies began releasing special Halloween-themed candies, our modern idea of “trick-or-treating” was born.

Like Christmas, Halloween became commercialized and evolved into a popular, secular holiday with ancient roots and symbolism, although the symbolism has largely been forgotten.

With a resurgence of paganism, there are people who enjoy practicing the ancient reverence for Earth, changing of the seasons, celebration of harvest, and preparation for winter. So the "old ways" have managed to survive, partly as a result of the U. S. constitution's guarantee of religious freedom.

Therefore, America may have played a role in saving Halloween but it certainly didn't destroy it.

[Chazmatazz269]

Neither. Halloween as it’s celebrated in the US is kind of an amalgamation of All Hallows’ Eve and the Day of the Dead, among other things. Of course it’s been perverted for capitalism and consumerism, but too many people forget that “All Hallows’ Eve” originally perverted Samhain and other “pagan” celebrations and ceremonies. This is the same reason we celebrate Christmas in December. Jesus of Nazareth was NOT born on the 25th of December. They just decided to celebrate his birthday then in order to convolute celebrations surrounding the winter solstice. Ell oh ell! I’ve read that this was necessary when Christians were minorities and didn’t want to be persecuted. I’ve also read that Christians in power did this in order to kind of absorb pagan rites and eventually phase out paganism. Both make sense for various times and places.
What we have today is a kind of campy observation of some of those ancient rites and a lot of consumerism. It’s a far cry from where it started, but there are no laws preventing us from celebrating traditionally any or all of the old holidays that inspired Halloween. It hasn’t been destroyed, and it didn’t need saving.

[Bratsondanielle]

It's our version of the day of the dead. We do it the same way it has been done since anyone alive can remember. It's just like saying "Americans save Easter" it's literally the same thing. Or Thanksgiving (which I hear some retarded liberal are saying is "racist" )😆😆😆😆😆😆

Anyway: happy 🦇 Halloween 🦇 everyone

[Jaximus-Lion]

All Saints day dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the departed. It's not a celebration to get candy for kids and wear trashy costumes. In my opinion! The states ruined the real meaning of this celebration. Although Santa was a real person that did lovlely things for the kids back then, now he is being used as an image for consumtion. I don't support any of this, but hey! Who cares about what i think, am a christian guy from the middle east 🤷‍♂️

[bean2k21]

Halloween is a bunch of racists coming up with an excuse to wear white robes and trying to scare black folks. What da name of that doculementary?

[purplepoppy]

It's calan gaeaf carys eleri https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09yyysv
And your right there wasn't a single black druid on the show

[USLegionary]

Halloween is part of Allowtide which encompasses the triduum of All Saints' Eve (Halloween), All Saints' Day (All Hallows') and All Souls' Day and its a Catholic religious festival. Far from save or destroy they incorporated it into American culture after it was brought to America by immigrants and we probably did it bigger and better kind of what we did with ST Patrick's Day but like St Patrick's day it's not really a Catholic celebration in America. Like St Patrick's we've exported our version of it back around the world.

[jshm2]

Neither, it Americanised it into a socialist festival.

One where people are expected to provide FREE candy, and entertainment, to strangers at any door they choose.

Imagine that for Thanksgiving or Christmas?

[Twalli]

Making Halloween and Christmas commercialized preserved them insofar as keeping them around.

[jimmy2]

The drugs dealears put them down there I'd Fentanyl looks like Candy so many parents will go to churches and safer places

[Anonymous]

Its not destroyed yet.

[Debbie14217]

not anything... we are the same

[eagle1951]

what is Halloween