Is Halloween Classical?

Developing Classical Thinkers

Why do we dedicate one night of the year to wearing costumes and asking for candy? How did such an odd holiday become an established part of the American calendar? Should students at a classical school be celebrating such a holiday? Is Halloween classical?
In this episode, Winston Brady and Josh Herring talk through the ways Halloween may or may not be classical. Halloween largely derives from the Catholic feast day of All Saints’ Day and All Hallow’s Eve, celebrated on a day that the ancient, pagan Irish used to celebrate a holiday called Samhain (pronounced, saa-wn).
In one sense, perhaps, Halloween is classical. Herein, we have a pagan holiday absorbed by a Christian feast day so that the occasion for gathering together and celebrating still remains–even if its dark undertones are obscured. Much of what we call classical education focuses on the relationship between Jerusalem and Athens (and Rome, for that matter). Think of the city of Rome, full of obelisks taken from pagan Egypt which the Catholic Church crowned with Christian crosses, symbolizing the Christian world’s triumph over the forces of paganism.
But of course today, those Christian overtones are largely missing from Halloween. Now, the night is a chance to escape one’s identity, eat gobs of candy, and perhaps engage in mischief–elements that are most likely, not classical, in the sense of classical education’s emphasis on virtue. Good character is what you do when no one is looking over your shoulder, a voluntary act of the will to pursue what is good, true, and beautiful.
After all, classical education emphasizes human dignity and gratitude for the way that God created you. Classical education emphasizes self-control and personal responsibility, so one should never eat too much candy in one sitting, regardless of the day.
Also, classical education emphasizes traditional morality and love of neighbor, so we would never encourage, tolerate, or promote the toilet papering of trees or the smashing of pumpkins. The mischievous elements of Halloween are in that way, uniquely unclassical.
So, this Halloween, if you go out and get candy, be safe. If you wear a costume, put some thought into it so that it’s clever and whole, both ingenious and ingenuous at the same time–not merely a costume you bought online. Be safe, and resist the temptation to engage in those Halloween pranks that do nothing to cultivate what is good, true, and beautiful.
And be aware of the background of some of the elements of Halloween–the spooky, ghostly elements–that might make for an interesting discussion with friends. Indeed, they may be the best argument for staying inside on Halloween and just reading a good ghost story.
We can acknowledge some reasonable, healthy religious impulses in existing pagan traditions and in the way described in the episode, “baptize” them. All the while though, we should, of course, recognize the ghastly, unnatural, and evil impulses and reject those elements of the holiday. A classical education should equip us to choose what is good and persuade others to choose what is good, too–and such things aren’t thrown out just because it’s Halloween.