Halloween & The Colonization of Christian Holidays

We examine the origins of Halloween traditions and show that none trace back to pagan practices. From trick-or-treating evolving out of pre-holiday door-to-door visits and caroling-style customs, to jack-o’-lanterns starting as practical turnip lanterns, every element developed within Christian communities.

The video covers the history of All Saints Day, the role of Scottish and Irish folk customs, the commercialization through postcards and party goods in the early 1900s, and why modern associations with ghosts and the occult appeared centuries later. It also addresses common claims about Samhain and explains how the date and practices remained distinct from any earlier pagan observances.

Episode Transcript

Simone Collins:Hello,

Malcolm Collins:Simone. I’m excited to be here with you today. Today, we are going to be busting the myth that the modern practice of Halloween has any meaningful pagan roots at all.

Simone Collins:But I don’t know the the the pumpkins and the gourds and the lights and the the... You gotta scare away that?

Malcolm Collins:Nothing traces back to anything pagan, and we will go through each thing with receipts. And it is going to shock, I think, a lot of people who have bought into this myth because it is a persistent myth, and it feels cool. Like, oh, I bet the pagans did something around that time,

Speaker 4:My life has been a lie. God is dead. The government’s lame. Thanksgiving is about killing Indians. Jesus wasn’t born on Christmas. They moved the date. It was a pagan holiday.

Simone Collins:and they’re in like, don’t Christian families say, well, we don’t celebrate Halloween because that’s a demonic holiday, etcetera.

Malcolm Collins:They also say that about Christmas, and they say that about a a lot of things. So, it’s actually really fascinating as you get into it, where the various Halloween traditions come from. so for example, can you guess, the practice of trick or treating Is actually an evolution of another practice that was just something you did before any holiday, and there is another

Simone Collins:evolution of

Malcolm Collins:What? Okay. And what what was it? Describe it.