Pop Culture Matters: Halloween, All Saints, All Souls, and Samhain

Welcome to the sixth episode of Pop Culture Matters, the sixth episode of season four. In today's episode I discuss Halloween, All Saints Day, All Souls Day, and Samhain (sow-in) too. Growing up, I was clear what Halloween was: a night to get candy and dress up. Halloween is All Hallows Eve, hallows referring to Saints, that is, Halloween was the day before All Saints Day on Nov. 1, and two days prior to All Souls Day on Nov. 2. These links seem strangely tenuous now. Halloween stands on its own. But then I also heard later that Halloween emerged from or was adopted from Samhain (sow-in), an ancient pagan Celtic festival that was celebrated on November 1 in Ireland and Scotland and preceded the arrival of Christianity. These connections, touted both by modern Wiccans and pagans and bemoaned by fundamentalist Christians, have led some Christians not to celebrate Halloween due to pagan or satanic connections. Fang Fang tells me Christians in Indonesia are encouraged not to celebrate the festival.

Since I am no expert on Halloween, but do see its ubiquity all around me, I wanted to understand how we got from a Church festival that focused on purgatory, to a modern celebration of wirches, goblins, spooky movies, and a lot of candy. I relied specifically on an excellent book from 2003 by Nicholas Rogers, a historian now retired from York University. The book is Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night (Oxford University Press, 2003), and one its best features is that history and practices from both Canada and the USA are discussed. 

 I have to say that one thing that I did not get into, as I think it needs its own episode, is Dia De Los Muertas (Day of the Dead). This festival, which is celebrated in Mexico and parts of the USA,  traditionally is celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31, are often included. Day of the Dead in some ways preserves more of the medieval traditions surrounding  All Hallows Eve than Halloween does. Nicholas Rogers covers it in depth, but not only does it need its own episode, I think it could benefit from a conversation with someone who knows the lived experience of Dia De Los Muertas. Next year!

This podcast emerges from the Centre for Christian Engagement at St Mark’s College, the Catholic college at UBC, a centre that explores the Christian and Catholic intellectual tradition and seek to learn from others, other Christians, other religious traditions, and those who do not claim any particular or formal religious affiliation. 

Upcoming Events

We will be having some new in person and virtual events starting in this coming Fall and I can now give you some details. 

Save the date of November 12, Sarah Johnson will be joining us from Ottawa to speak about her new book, Occasional Religious Practice: Valuing a Very Ordinary Religious Experience (Oxford University Press, 2025). You can come in person or virtually, so sign up at Eventbrite for Occasional Religious Practice and Grassroots Ecumenism, also featuring a panel discussion with Rev. Dr. Nick Meisl and Rev. Alisdair Smith.

 On February 20, 7 pm, Cathy Clifford from St. Paul’s University in Ottawa will join us to speak about the synodal process at St. Mark’s College. Her lecture is called, “Toward a Spirituality for a Synodal Church,” but her lecture will be the end point of a number of lectures offered throughout the Lower Mainland:

-          November 20 - Dr. John Martens, The NT Foundations of Synodality (St. Matthew's, Surrey), 7 pm.

-          December 13 - Dr. Fiona Li, Mary as a Model for a Synodal Church (St. Peter's, New Westminster); Fr. Nick Meisl, The OT Origins of Synodality (St. Peter's, New Westminster), 2:30 pm

-          January - Dr Nick Olkovich - The Synodal Parish: A Sign of Hope for a Broken World (St. Paul's, Richmond) TBD

and on March 17, Pavlo Smytsnyuk will speak on Christianity and nationalism, a part of the Christian Nationalist project until we get a new title. Pavlo Smytsnyuk specializes in political theology and religious nationalism in modern Orthodoxy and neo-Hinduism. In particular, he is interested in how the dichotomy between the religious and political manifests itself outside of the Western context. His research explores how non-Western, especially Orthodox, traditions deal creatively with the category of religion (as separated from the political), and how holistic theological-political narratives make space for violence.

 

If you are enjoying the podcast, please let your friends know. It’s the free gift that you can give to all of your friends! And also let people know by rating and reviewing What Matters Most on your favourite podcasting platform. And subscribe to the podcast. If you are listening, please subscribe. It’s free!

Thanks again for listening and remember pop culture matters. 

John W. Martens

Intro music for this podcast from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/ancient-caves License code: WGRTZGRDSALHU07U