Halloween
Halloween, in the United States, is a day observed by non-Orthodox Christians in various manners. The day, October 31, is the eve of the day of remembrance of All Saints by Western Christians, particularly Roman Catholics. Orthodox Christians observe this day on the Saturday after Pentecost. While having a Christian origin, the All Hallows' Eve, (from the medieval English festival of the All Hallows) has become in the modern era a secular observance said by some to be based upon the pagan observances of the ancient Druidic Celts.
Modern day Halloween was established as a civil festival in the United States in 1921 when the city of Anoka, Minnesota made it an official civic event. Protestant Evangelicals sometimes attack some of the Hallowe'en customs as "satanic", "druidic", "demonic" or "occult". These (largely inaccurate) characterizations arize mostly from the hostility of their Puritan forebears to the veneration of saints.
Contents
Articles
- Bp. (now Abp.) Kyrill of Seattle (now of San Francisco). On Halloween. Orthodox Life, Vol. 43:5 (Sept./Oct. 1993).
- Archpriest Victor Potapov. "Concerning Halloween". Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Washington, D.C.
- St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church (T.O.C.). No. 11 - Do Orthodox Christians Observe Halloween?
Books
Children's Books
- Dennis Eugene Engleman. Halloween Town. Illustrated by Niko Chocheli. Regina Orthodox Press, 2009.
Teenagers & Adults
- Archimandrite Vassilios Bakoyannis. Confronting the Devil, Magic & the Occult. Orthodox Book Centre, Athens 2003. 172 pp.
- Michael Whelton. False Gods: Counterfeit Spirituality in an Age of Anxiety. Regina Orthodox Press, 2002.
- Harry Potter The Truth Behind the Story. A pamphlet of St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery.
Source
See also
Wikipedia
External Links
- Orthodox Christian Children.com. Against Halloween & Magic.
- Who stole Hallowe'en
- Evangelicals and Hallowe'en
