What do Catholics think about Halloween?
Somebody had asked on Quora: Why don’t Catholics celebrate Halloween and what do they think about that day?
Here’s what I wrote:
Halloween CAME from the Catholic Church.
Halloween is short for “All Hallows Eve”. In other words, the night before the Feast of “All Hallowed”, or “All Saints”. All Saints Day. Nov 1. Holy Day of Obligation.
As to how it is currently being used to celebrate supposedly occultic stuff?
The Catholic Church does not place prohibitions on what people consider to be fun; horror movies and going to haunted houses may not be Sacramental affairs, but so long as they do not lead one to sin mortally, you don’t have to go to confession for them. There are plenty of tremendous examples of scary horror movies that aren’t exploitation-based, and fun activities one can do with a family around this time.
But the biggest thing to remember is that, as C.S.Lewis once said, that God “shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” That is, sometimes horror can be an entertaining way to awaken us to the problem of suffering in the world, and build in us a resolve to have courage to face our fears, while surmounting them.
Why don’t Catholics celebrate Halloween and what do they think about that day?