A Roman Catholic theologian named Giordano Frosini, from near Florence, has denounced Halloween as a manifestation of neo-paganism and American cultural imperialism. He is not alone; several small-town Austrian mayors are trying to organize a boycott of what they see a a crude, boorish and entIrely American holiday. More from AP.

Although Halloween has become increasingly popular across Europe — complete with carved pumpkins, witches on broomsticks, makeshift houses of horror and costumed children rushing door to door for candy — it's begun to breed a backlash. Critics see it as the epitome of crass, U.S.-style commercialism. Clerics and conservatives contend it clashes with the spirit of traditional Nov. 1 All Saints' Day remembrances.

And it's got purists in countries struggling to retain a sense of uniqueness in Europe's ever-enlarging melting pot grimacing like jack-o'-lanterns. Halloween "undermines our cultural identity," complained the Rev. Giordano Frosini, a Roman Catholic theologian who serves as vicar-general in the Diocese of Pistoia near Florence, Italy. Frosini denounced the holiday as a "manifestation of neo-paganism" and an expression of American cultural supremacy. "Pumpkins show their emptiness," he said.

Giordano, Giordano. I'm not entirely in disagreement with you about how crass and commerical Halloween has become. I could almost do without it myself, but my kids, well they really like the costumes and trick-or-treating. No, where you skid off the tracks Giordano, Giordano, is in blaming America. Wikipedia tells us that Halloween's continental roots are considerable.

Halloween was formerly also sometimes called All Saints' Eve. The holiday was a day of religious festivities in various northern European pagan traditions, until it was appropriated by Christian missionaries and given a Christian reinterpretation....Halloween is also called Pooky Night in some parts of Ireland, presumably named after the púca, a mischievous spirit. In the United Kingdom in particular, the pagan Celts celebrated the Day of the Dead on Halloween. The spirits supposedly rose from the dead and, in order to attract them, food was left on the doors. To scare off the evil spirits, the Celts wore masks. When the Romans invaded Britain, they embellished the tradition with their own, which is the celebration of the harvest and honoring the dead.

These traditions were then passed on to the United States. Halloween is sometimes associated with the occult. Many European cultural traditions hold that Halloween is one of the "liminal" times of the year when the spirit world can make contact with the natural world and when magic is most potent.

Sounds like we were latecomers to the party. With such a historical connection, no wonder Europeans have gone mad for Halloween and spend, spend, spend for costumes, parties, candy, and more.

Germans alone spend nearly $170 million on Halloween costumes, sweets, decorations and parties. The holiday has become increasingly popular in Romania, home to the Dracula myth, where discothèques throw parties with bat and vampire themes. In Britain, where Halloween celebrations rival those in the United States, it's the most lucrative day of the year for costume and party retailers.

"Without Halloween, I don't think we could exist, to be honest," said Pendra Maisuria, owner of Escapade, a London costume shop that rakes in 30 percent of its annual sales in the run-up to Oct. 31. The Metropolitan Police, meanwhile, hasn't logged any significant increase in crime.

....In Austria, where many families get a government child allowance, "parents who abuse it to buy Halloween plunder for their kids should be forced to pay back the aid," grumbled Othmar Berbig, an Austrian who backs the small but strident boycott movement.

Wait, I've got it. We should have the EU issue a decree capping Halloween spending at one-third of annual consumer outlays for artisinal cheese in EU member countries. Yeh....that's the ticket.

TECHNORATI TAGS: EUROPE, HALLOWEEN

TO COMMENT: The regular "comment" feature is not in operation. E-mail comments to address under "Contact" on main page masthead, and I'll add them, here.

Wesley Taylor: Dear Matt, you wrote about Halloween:

"...several small-town Austrian mayors are trying to organize a boycott of what they see a a crude, boorish and entIrely American holiday."

Well, they're right about it being a crude, boorish, and - as currently practiced - entirely American, crassly commercialized excuse for retailers to tell consumers they really have to buy more stuff they wouldn't otherwise even consider, and has no practical use whatsoever (outside of the candy, which isn't too practical either). I don't consider it a holiday, really, either.

Yes, I remember going out to each and every house in my neighborhood in costume when I was a little kid; and I had no problem with my children doing it, as long as it was a quest for candy and nothing more. Over the age of about 12, they stop being very cute. And I won't go into how current teenage fashions look more like Halloween costumes than "fashion," so it seems like "trick or treat" every day of the year.

Gary L. Burk: Matt,

A newsletter from NASA this week taught me that Halloween is an astronomical holiday. In part the article said:

And that's funny, because Halloween is an astronomical holiday.

It has to do with seasons: Halloween is a "cross-quarter date," approximately midway between an equinox and a solstice. There are four cross-quarter dates throughout the year, and each is a minor holiday: Groundhog Day (Feb. 2nd), May Day (May 1st), Lammas Day (Aug. 1st), and Halloween (Oct. 31st).

Long ago, "the Celts of the British Isles used cross-quarter days to mark the beginnings of seasons," says John Mosley of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. "Winter began with Halloween, [or as they called it, 'Samhain']. Halloween marked the transition between summer and winter, light and dark -- and life and death."

"On that one night, according to folklore, those who had died during the previous year returned for a final visit to their former homes. People set out food and lit fires to aid them on their journey -- but remained on guard for mischief the spirits might do."

According to my Anchor Atlas of World History, the Celts came from Central Europe (Austria?) before they moved across most of Western Europe. I believe that Europe has a Ground Hog Day equivalent holiday also. In fact, Google reminds me:

The Emperor Justinian I in 542 AD declared February 2 the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin. In medieval Europe this date became Candlemas Day, the date when the candles to be used for the remainder of the year are blessed.

Are the Austrians, et al, going to cancel the other three cross-quarter holidays too? Maybe we should go back to the original version of May 1st? Wikipedia doesn’t mention any astronomical significance in my quick scan. Maybe those cycles were for the spring wheat harvests?

(Here's the link to) the full NASA article.

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at October 28, 2005 11:38 AM