To Halloween Or Not To?

Let’s talk Halloween. The first images that pop into your head are pumpkins, buckets overflowing with candy, and witchy costumes, right? Most of Western society associates these with the last night of October. Halloween’s presence is deeply integrated into popular culture, and booming sales serve as proof. In fact, in 2023 alone, Americans spent approximately $12.2 billion for all Halloween-related things, namely costumes, decorations, candies and pumpkins. Surely, such numbers show the World is rather fond of the celebration? Wrong.

Introducing… anti-Halloween movements, a signature cultural monument of Eastern Europe.

While Anti-Halloween movements are certainly not exclusive to Eastern Europe, as a Lithuanian, I will focus on my home country and its neighbors. These countries are marked by deep societal divisions between generations and social groups, and the topic of Halloween is one such example. While the younger fraction of the population often enjoys the frenzy of the celebration, older and traditionalist social groups tend to oppose all things Halloween. Here, every October, conservative politicians revive the question of Halloween’s “satanic” inappropriateness, sparking significant echoes across communities. Some activists have even conducted Anti-Halloween campaigns by writing propagandistic articles and sending agitative messages on Facebook groups. The messages are especially spread and, more so, targeted by religious communities, stimulating considerable indignation and social panic. For instance, a Christian children’s upbringing community affirmed that Halloween is not only scary for children, but it is the celebration of Satan and the culmination of long-lasting traditions of human sacrifice.

In private spheres, it is common to hear young people complaining about their grandparents’ disapproving glances at Halloween costumes, their frequent lectures on the holiday as a sign of Americanization, or even the devil’s worship. Similarly, Facebook comments under Halloween publications are flooded with baffled, personally-inflicted responses. Nonetheless, Halloween might be considered a rather neutral holiday, raising questions about the roots of the anti-Halloween position.

Recently, the question of celebrating Halloween has surpassed even the private sphere. In Lithuania, The Ethnic Culture Protection Council has called for a reconsideration of the celebration, highlighting its concerns about “scaring the youth” with disturbing costumes and violent themes, going as far as to say that such practices contradict the country’s laws protecting minors from harmful content. They further exacerbate the concern of Halloween by stating that it undermines the local custom of honoring the dead respectfully during the All Saints period.

Halloween falls two days before All Saints’ night, which is a core celebration of Christian tradition for the commemoration of the dead. It is no surprise that many, especially religiously-affiliated groups, perceive it as a mockery of the Christian holiday. Additionally, the concept of dressing up as beastly, gruesome creatures evokes associations with satanism. Religious authorities that remain in hold of substantial opinion-shaping power in Eastern Europe don’t hesitate to reinstate such views: priests reach out to readers on the internet, strongly advocating to avoid Halloween traditions and practices, and promoting the celebration of All Saints’ Day instead. Supposedly, this way people are better-aligned with their own national and religious identities. While some suggest that Halloween as a holiday attempts to drive out God from people’s lives, others even state that Lithuanians, specifically, are too serious of a nation to indulge in the “silly” business of Halloween.

Yet, certain national traditions raise issues with the argument that Halloween is a satanist celebration. A prime example could be one that takes place at the end of every winter: a century-old festival by the name of Užgavėnės in Lithuania, Meteņi in Latvia, Busojaras in Hungary, and variations of the name Maslenitsa in Slavic countries. The idea is rather similar to that of Halloween: people dress up as goats, witches or devils with the aim to “drive winter away”, welcoming spring into the land. The ethnocultural tradition of Užgavėnės has its roots in ancient Pagan rituals, yet, even taking into account witchy costumes, no questions are raised about its alignment with Christian worldviews… as long as it is “our own tradition”. Halloween, therefore, is perceived as a source of foreign influence, allowing for further condemnation.

Halloween is an integral part of American culture, which exacerbates the negative connotations among some Eastern Europeans. Often seen as shallow and child-centered, the traditions of Halloween, as well as its evident commercialisation, support this position. This stems from concerns about the overall “Americanization” of Eastern European culture that leaves less space for traditional heritage. On the contrary, borrowing certain traits from other cultures, American in this case, does not necessarily entail a downfall of our own. Moreover, some of those Anti-American sentiments are often thought to be either leftovers of Soviet anti-American propaganda or consequences of modern Russian anti-Western messages that portray American culture as evil and alien to the region.

Even though Halloween has witnessed its peak in the US, its roots nonetheless stem from Celtic tradition, specifically from Ireland. Incorporating elements from the Celts — a pagan culture — should not raise that much concern, as our own February festivals have strong Pagan affiliations.

National identities remain a pivotal concern for many in Eastern Europe, encompassing even festive issues. In theory, cherishing supra-generational celebrations, deeply rooted in national heritage, leaves little room for up-and-coming ones from other cultures. While there are numerous great traditions and national celebrations in Eastern Europe, being ever so closed-off might be seen as unreasonable given a comparison with other countries. In fact, most Europeans have approximately fifteen national holidays, and Indians celebrate at least thirty five. Therefore the claim that “we have our own traditions” loses grounds against the possibility of simply celebrating some more.

While the preservation of national cultural identity remains an important trajectory, it should not require closing doors to new traditions at the risk of a cultural stagnation. In the essay “Halloween as A Universal Cultural Phenomena”, Cleo Xu writes, “every day we are simultaneously living and creating history, just like with every new bestselling horror book of Stephen King there might be a new inspiration for Halloween pranks.” After all, historical development has been significantly driven by the merging of different cultures, creating new realities.

With the ever-increasing speed of global interconnectedness, we are faced with quite the pickle: to insist on national identities on the one hand, or to accept certain positive traits of other cultures on the other. In the case of Halloween, the excitement of dressing-up and trick-or-treating doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive with the commemoration of the dead on All Saints’ Day. After all, to celebrate or not is a personal choice to make, inviting a more nuanced judgment of Halloween.