For The Last Time, Halloween Is Not Pagan!
Once again, I am writing another article explaining why Halloween isn't a pagan holiday. Every fall season, TikTok pagan "experts" finally crawl out of their caves, ready to storm social media with claims and drawn-out monologues about how every Christian holiday is actually pagan, and specifically, here, Halloween. They describe how every Christian is actually partaking in a grand conspiracy of devil worship. They try, if "try" is even the right word, to prove that Halloween was originally a pagan fall festival called Samhain, celebrating evil, tricks, and treats. These people go out of their way to make grandiose, out-of-context, and pure pseudo-historical claims. Is Halloween pagan? Some say that it is a harmless holiday where kids get to dress up in costumes and collect candy, while others say it's an evil day that came from Celtic pagan rituals and is a mass deception from the Satanists, a night when they curse all of the candy and ruin families nationwide through their evil and deceptive tactics. You invite the devil into your house when you take candy and dress up.
They say that Halloween has pagan origins and that we should avoid any celebration on that day, because no matter what your intentions are, you are actually glorifying satan! Many non-believers have used and appropriated the holiday in sinful ways, but that doesn't mean that a Christian cannot dress up and visit family and friends, and take back the original Christian day from secular culture. If Christian's were to partake in demonic or occult activities, then it would be sinful, but do we see every Christian running to the basement to experiment with Ouija boards, sage, tarot cards, and cult traditions? No. Some people try to support this notion by quoting the founder of the church of satan, Anton LaVey,
“I am glad that Christian parents let their children worship the devil at least one night out of the year.”
Since he said this, the argument goes, it somehow contributes to the claim that the day came from paganism. But even if this quote is real, it does nothing. Christ has power over any imaginary chant a Reddit incel or cult leader butt toucher makes up, and God has always had infinitely more authority than Satan, especially when His Holy Spirit dwells above us, within us, and below us, figuratively speaking. We are immersed in the enjoyment of salvation in Christ, and when we focus our lives on Him, no online babble can break through. But to make matters worse, this quote is fake. No book, speech, recording, or writing anywhere references it. The church itself, along with several independent groups, has repeatedly debunked this quote. Even if he did say this, we can be sure he is wrong, because Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).
But, of course, this does not mean there aren't occultic activities taking place on Halloween, nor does it mean that you can partake in any of them as well. It must be admitted that over the last few centuries, the Church has allowed secular culture to take hold of this day in the West and change it from a day to honor the persecuted Saints to a day mainly focused on parties, candy, and everything scary and frightening. At first glance, these modern traditions may seem pagan, but once we learn the history and its development, we can clearly see that the scary elements and claims of "pagan origins" are very recent and unrelated to Halloween's origins. And as the day becomes more secular, we can take it back! We simply don't have to engage in the secular elements, returning to the originally Christian remembrance of the very first Church that was slaughtered by the Roman Empire for the first 400 years of Church history. These men were not killed by their own willingness, but because they believed in Christ and not the Emperor as God, and these martyrs are the very reason the Church has survived to this day. So we should never forget the weight and meaning behind it, and we should honor our predecessors accordingly.
Besides, any average Joe would not be leaping for witch guides and sage once October is on his calendar, but many people do, intrigued by the sense of wonder and mystery that contacting "spirits" may offer. But through a Christian worldview, the only "spirit" out there is not anything good but demonic, in fact. So, is Halloween pagan, and should Christians partake in the American tradition of trick-or-treating?
Where Does Halloween Come From?
Let's start with the day itself. Where does Halloween come from in the first place? The current name is a contraction of the original name, All Hallows' Eve. The word "Hallow" means to honor something as holy. So literally, the name means "the evening to honor the Holy." The Early Church established this day to remember the Saints who died under 400 years of Roman persecution. So the holiday's name isn't pagan in origin; we can trace it back to the Early Church, long before any European occultism came into contact with Christianity. But does it come from the Celtic Samhain?
Historically speaking, Halloween has no origin connection to the Holiday of All Hallows' Eve. The claim that Samhain is the real Halloween has many issues. First, no ancient texts say Samhain was a day to celebrate the dead, as pagans claim. Our earliest available evidence suggests it was a day to host feasts as winter approached. Feasting before winter is a tradition common to almost all cultures in cold regions because animals would die during winter in Northern Europe. It was extremely common for people to kill most (if not all) of their animals and hold feasts and festivals, often keeping the leftovers or unused meat for storage.
Was Samhain A Celebration Of Evil And The Dead?
British Historian Ronald Hutton notes that no direct evidence suggests Samhain, pronounced Sow-en, involved pagan ceremonies or sacrifices, as some claim. These cultures did have common feasts and festivals and probably exchanged food and supplies for winter, but none of it directly connected to All Hallows' Eve or modern Halloween. He also says people believed supernatural encounters could happen on that day in Europe, and he notes that modern scholarship doesn't know the exact date of Samhain because no ancient documents record an established day.1 Modern culture and social media figures tell us that Samhain was actually a Celtic festival where people wore costumes and left treats outside of their homes to ward off spirits, but this is all speculation, as no records mention specifically what went down.
Samhain simply means "Summer's End" and marks the onset of the upcoming winter and the earliest odcuments we have concerning the day are dated to the 10th century A.D., from "Sergile Con Cilainn "(The Sickbed of Cú Chulainn). This document says the men of Ulster would gather annually in the Plain of Muirthemne in modern-day Dundalk, Ireland, for three days, ending with the festival/feast of Samhain. During the three days, scholars think they held sporting events, set up markets, held plays, and feasts.
No documents mention evil sacrifices, costumes, treats for spirits, or rituals. This made sense, as winter was coming soon. In much of Northern Europe, and even today, many animals die from cold temperatures. So, at the end of summer, many ancient people would kill some of their animals and hold feasts before winter came. They would then store the leftovers and unused meat to feed themselves during the winter. Documents and Manuscripts that attach supernatural elements to Samhain show up about 200 years after its first appearance. In the 12th century, the mythic Macnamara Finn---an epic in a collection from a group of hunters that protected Ireland called the Fianna---describes the belief that the barrier between the human and fairy world was thinner at certain times of the year, and that some people would be able to see them on specific occasions. None of this connects with Halloween, as Christianity didn't contact Celtic cultures until the 400s A.D., after the Church created All Saints' Day feasts, with All Hallows' Eve having a separate history.
“In fact, there is no hard evidence that Samhain was specifically devoted to the dead or to ancestor worship, despite claims to the contrary by some American folklorists, some of whom have presumed that the feast was devoted to Saman, god of the dead.”2
Regardless, many still say that Christians moved All Saints' Day from May 13th to November 1st to synchronize pagan traditions into Christianity, or "Christianize" the pagan holiday. The strongest evidence for a date places Celtic Christians celebrating All Saints' Day on April 20th, months before Samhain. The 9th-century document The Martyrology of Tallaght says the Celts celebrated All Saints' Day on April 20th, not May 13th like the claim goes. Only English and Germanic Christians had already chosen November 1st. We can already see that Samhain was neither a day about the dead and spooky, nor directly stolen by Christians, so let's move on to this "All Saints' Day" I've been repeatedly mentioning.
Halloween Ultimately Comes From All Saints Day
May 13th was a day when people in the Church remembered those who died under the persecution of the Roman Emperors.3 We also know that the Syrian Churches began celebrating something akin to All Saints Day during Pascha week, ending on Easter Sunday. Initially, this day honored Saint Paul, Stephen, Peter, James, John, and other Apostles and followers of Christ who entered Heaven, refusing to reject the name of Christ as LORD and Savior. Greek Churches celebrated it on the sunday after Pentacist, Roman Churches chose May 13th, the Celtic Church on April 20th, and the English, Germanic, and French Chose November 1st. All Saints' Day is the day the Church honored the Saints, and it wasn't set for the entire Church until Pope Gregory III, sometime between 731 and 741 A.D., set it for November 1st. This was done because, as time went on, more and more people died under persecution, so there were so many Saints being honored at various times throughout the year. This led them to choose a single day from the Church calendar; since Gregory was in Rome and the anniversary of a chapel built in St. Peter's Basilica fell on November 1st, along with Germanic, English, and French Churches, that day naturally became the Church's chosen date.
The claim that this was done to adapt to European regions is speculation, as no evidence directly suggests it was done because of Samhain, since the Celts' day was April 20th, not even close to Samhain.4 Ronald Hutton says,
"It had not, however, started in Ireland, where the felire of Oengus and the Martyrology of Tallaght prove that the early medieval churches celebrated the feast of all saints on 20 April. This makes nonsense of Frazer's notion that the November date was chosen because of 'Celtic' influence; rather. Both 'Celtic' Europe and Rome followed a Germanic idea. The origins of that idea are lost; it may be simply that some northern churchman felt the need of a spectacular feast at the opening of winter, at a time when some form of merriment was badly needed."1
Hutton isn't a Christian. So somebody cannot say, "Obviously that guy says it's Christian, he's one too!" because the man wasn't led by a Christian bias. He was a British historian and specialist in British folklore and modern paganism. He wanted to find pagan traces in modern holidays, but in his research, he couldn't find any direct evidence of modern Christian holidays with pagan roots. There is no evidence that Samhain connects to the pre-Christian era, or that any pagan rituals took place during it. Yes, it happened around the same time, but that doesn't mean they are connected. The issue with Halloween is that the pagan claim focuses on setting a date for All Saints' Day, with All Hallows' Eve following as the day before. If Halloween descended from a pre-existing pagan holiday, All Saints' Day coming first would not be expected. This lends epistemic support to the idea that Halloween originated in Christianity rather than Samhain. Another point is that a celebration on the day before All Saints' Day appears centuries after Christendom established the day. The date of Halloween as October 31st came from Christian Europe as All Hallows Eve, the day before All Saints' Day, which was already established. It did not originate with Celtic pagans.
No evidence exists of a celebration before All Saints' Day until many centuries later, contrary to the Samhain narrative, which requires pagan celebration from the outset; however, no such evidence exists. By A.D. 1030, Abbot Odilo of Cluny established All Souls' Day on November 2nd based on the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory, a day to remember the souls who remain there. Now the Church had a day honoring the dead martyred Saints, as well as a day to remember the souls in Purgatory, which, in turn, sparked folklore among common people about the souls in hell. In the 11th century, Irish commoners began banging pots and bells on All Hallows' Eve to scare the souls and demons in hell and keep them from causing mischief.5 So the precursor to Halloween began as a day to remember the Saints, which was celebrated on different dates depending on its location. Then, in Christian Europe, the Pope set the date to November 1st and named the day before All Hallows' Eve. A few centuries later, the day afterward was named All Souls' Day to remember those stuck in Purgatory, which then caused speculation about demons in hell. Thus, Halloween did not originate with Pagan Celts, but began in Church history.
So if Halloween's name, date, or traditions didn't originate from paganism or Samhain, then where does modern-day Halloween come from? How did we go from honoring the Saints, with Christians in different regions developing different traditions on All Hallows Eve, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day, to handing out candy and wearing costumes? Some of these modern traditions have secular origins, but not pagan ones, and ultimately come from Christian Europe. As we shall see, claiming that modern traditions came from paganism is like claiming that Labor Day originated from paganism.
Modern Trick-or-Treat
Modern Halloween comes from European folk traditions, not ancient paganism. From where we left off, we move to the 1600s onward, with the formation of a multicultural nation: the United States. Halloween began to change as people from these various Christian cultures blended on American soil. These traditions from Christian Europe contributed to modern traditions, not pagan cults influencing Christianity. Modern Halloween began when French immigrants brought their All Souls' Day traditions of dressing up to America throughout the 17th century. Dressing up as skeletons or decaying bodies became popular following the Bubonic Plague of the 14th century. They called it the Danse Macabre or "Dance of Death," where Catholics would dress up to remind people of the dead saints as well as their own mortality. The Danse Macabre didn't come out of paganism, but from Catholic culture. In America---which was predominantly Protestant, thus not celebrating All Souls' Day---the dressing up aspect of the Danse Macabre was attached to All Hallows' Eve when the French began to assimilate. Scholars think that when the French began to intermarry with the Irish, dressing up while banging pots began to emerge. Both Irish and French Christians contributed to the tradition of dressing up and banging pots.
Another tradition that joined this mix to create the early version of what we now call Halloween is Guy Fawkes Day. In England, people celebrated Guy Fawkes Day on November 5th, honoring the man after whom it is named. Guy Fawkes was part of a Catholic plot to blow up the British Parliament with gunpowder barrels on November 5th, 1605, to assassinate the Protestant King James I along with the majority of the government of the time. The day became one to remember his ultimate failure to do so, along with harassing Catholics, demanding drinks from them, bullying, and playing pranks. This is where the problem of pranks comes from, and it helped shape the event that changed Halloween in the West. When the British came to America, they brought Guy Fawkes Day with them, and over time the "Guy Fawkes" focus of the day was mostly forgotten. In colonial New England, it became known as "Pope Night," which was an anti-Catholic knock-off. Over the 19th century, as more Irish Catholic immigrants came to New England, people dropped the anti-Catholic Pope Night, but the tradition of playing pranks and causing mischief remained. As a result, the traditions stayed alive and moved to All Hallows' Eve, where they fit quite nicely. Over time, people focused more on the mischief, leading to the birth of Trick-or-Treat.
In the early 20th century, Halloween became known as a night of mischief, when kids would go around playing pranks, making noise, and vandalizing property. This got so bad that it peaked in 1933, known as the "Year of the Black Halloween" because of the widespread destruction. In response, many businesses began changing Halloween to prevent children from causing havoc. This is where Halloween parties, costume contests, and the Halloween decoration market began. Many business owners saw an opportunity to profit, leading to mass advertising of everything spooky and scary. Newspapers began pushing parties and costume contests. Many people would also bribe kids with candy not to prank them or damage their property, which is where the term Trick-or-Treat comes from. In turn, candy manufacturers also saw an opportunity to advertise candy and decorations throughout the rest of the 30s. They began mass advertising in the days before Halloween, boosting the candy market during the Halloween season. This in no way means the traditions came from pagans leaving candy out to ward off spirits.
it is simply the result of people neutralizing the day's mischievous side, and capitalism doing what it does best—providing something needed when the opportunity arises. As the country became more secular through the rest of the 20th century and into the 21st, Halloween followed suit, becoming a day to celebrate everything spooky, with most of the Christian elements removed or forgotten, but with no pagan roots. And this is the case for all Christian Holidays in the West. Secular culture influenced them, not ancient pagans. Enlightenment rationalism emerged during the Enlightenment and heavily influenced the formation of America and its educational institutions. Rationalism rejected religious metaphysical claims. By the late 20th century and into the 21st, this secular philosophy took hold of Western education. As a result, most laypeople simply didn't care for religious tradition, favoring the “new” over the “old.” As more and more people secularized, and as Marxist ideology—which sees tradition as something to be destroyed and replaced—gained influence, public interest in preserving elements of holidays like Halloween, Easter, and Christmas has declined. So the modern secular state of Christian holidays is not from paganism, but from the transition from a majority Theistic influence to a majority secular/atheistic influence. And that does not support the ancient pagan Halloween argument.
Goblins, Witches, and Skeletons
The associations of Halloween with goblins, witches, and skeletons are actually a very recent development with no continuity to paganism. Halloween falls the day before All Saints' Day, a day that remembers the dead. So it makes sense that over time the day would become associated with things also associated with the dead.6 Witches, goblins, and skeletons---all things we associate with the dead today---are the exact things that became attached to Halloween. The simplest explanation is that this is a natural evolution of the elements of the Danse Macabre, as it mixes bone and death imagery with costumes, something Ronald Hutton says has appeared only in the last 100 years.
"There is no hard evidence that Samhain was ever specifically associated with the dead or that it was the direct ancestor of Halloween. The festival as we know it is entirely Christian in Origin."1
Some scholars also say the tradition of handing out candy comes from 1500s Europe, where rich Catholics would give food and goods to the poor in exchange for prayers for souls in Purgatory. This does not connect any aspect of Trick-or-Treat to the pagan feast of Samhain. With the formation of the date, name, and traditions of Halloween covered, we can confidently say that, without a reasonable doubt, Halloween did not originate in any paganism. Anyone who disagrees will have to directly contend with the historical evidence and the academics, not just Google AI and Reddit threads.
Is Halloween Sinful?
So, since Halloween has no pagan origins, simply participating in it does not mean you are partaking in demon worship. Even if it did have pagan origins, thinking that its origin determines whether you celebrate it is fallacious. You can celebrate Halloween without sinning, even if it has pagan origins. Even so, some still say that Halloween is sinful, so what's up with that? Is dressing up demonic? Some say that dressing up in costumes means you put on another image, you allow the devil to change your identity, and expose your kids to the normalization of occult practices. People curse candy with rituals, and by letting them into your house, you invite demons into your family. This one's wild. Jack-o'-lanterns curse your property and invite demons into your house. Are these even remotely true? Does the Bible confirm any of this?
First, how does one unwillingly participate in a pagan or satanic ritual? You have to actively perform a ritual and desire to do it in the first place. And how does doing something an ancient man might have done make it pagan? Just because some ancient men handed out food doesn't mean you worship their gods when you hand out food and treats. Just because pagans gave gifts to each other (like every people group does on holidays) does not mean that you are worshipping a demon when you give your children presents on Christmas. And no, dressing up as Master Chief for Halloween doesn't mean you are wearing the devil's identity.
"Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that 'all of us possess knowledge.' This 'knowledge' puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that 'an idol has no real existence,' and that 'there is no God but one.' For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many 'gods' and many 'lords'— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist." (1 Corinthians 8:1–6)
In 1 Corinthians chapter 8, Paul talks about eating meat offered to idols. Some Christians in the Corinthian church were saying that meat bought from the market was probably sacrificed to Zeus; therefore, nobody should eat the "cursed" meat. He says that, simply, since idols do not exist and there is only one true God, Jesus Christ, the idols have zero power or effect on a Christian. So, claiming that candy being "cursed" by Satanists somehow destroys your life, maybe read your Bible more often. Candy being "cursed" does not affect a Christian, and that view has a very weak view of Christ. There is also nothing in the Bible that says kids dressing up as Iron Man and collecting candy from neighbors is identifying with satan, or that the devil is intruding on our lives because of it. If we truly have the Holy Spirit within us, then no "curse" or satanic slogan can affect us. It makes no ontological sense.
"He replied, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.'" (Luke 10: 18-20)
Jesus Himself has told us that satan has no power over us. He has given us authority over demons and principalities. If Jesus has overcome the enemy, we can overcome them as well through Him.
"You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ." (Romans 8:9)
Paul reminds us that we do, in fact, have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. C.S. Lewis elaborates this by saying that the Spirit is not just within us, but above us, and below us. Once you enter the Christian life, you can't step outside that worldview. You are, as Lewis called it, enjoying salvation through Christ.
"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death." (Hebrews 2: 14-15)
Jesus overpowers Satan's tactics and deception. The devil has no power over Halloween, and the Church has done a bad job of keeping the original spirit of the day alive. In a sense, we have failed to uphold this day as a day to honor the saints. Why does satan overpower God one night of the year? It makes no ontological sense.
Within Philosophy, there are three major branches: Metaphysics, the branch that deals with the nature of being and preconditions for knowledge, things like "do we have free will," and what is real; Epistemology, the branch that deals with rationality and theories of knowledge; and Ethics, which concerns what is good and evil. Within Metaphysics is the smaller branch of Ontology, which deals with the nature of being and its relationships to other beings. So when I say that the devil having power over Christ makes no ontological sense, I mean that it makes no sense for the devil's nature to be "higher" than that of God's. Let me explain. God created the devil; therefore, satan is a created being. Created beings are finite because of their ontological limitations, not being God. Existing within creation does not make you infinite like its Creator. Satan was an angel, so he was not, by nature, an infinite being; that nature belongs solely to God. So for satan to have power over God, satan would need a nature greater than His. But he doesn't, so to believe satan has power over Christ is to have a very weak ontology of God, contradicting the definition and natures of created beings and the Creator. It makes no ontological sense!
If we were to drop everything with pagan origins, we would have to drop a lot of modern institutions. We would have to abandon and rename the days of the week and the months, because the days are named after pagan gods, and the Gregorian calendar has Roman pagan roots. The days of the week have Norse origins: Sunday is named after the sun, Monday after the moon, Tuesday is named after the Norse god Tyr, Wednesday after Odin, Thursday after Thor, and Friday after Freya, while months have Roman origins: January is named after the Roman god Janus, for example. The Gregorian calendar itself is a reformed version of the Julian calendar, created by Julius Caesar. Just because something was adopted from pagans doesn't mean that the people who use it are worshipping their gods. Should Christians just not celebrate the holiday? Play it safe and stay away? You surely have the choice to not celebrate Halloween, and that's okay; there are plenty of secular people who do not celebrate holidays. But is this the standard for all? Absolutely not. Jesus called Christians to go into the world, make disciples, and be a light to the darkness.
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)
Jesus also tells us not to abandon the world, but to enter into it and establish the kingdom of heaven by spreading the Gospel message.
"I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one." (John 17:15)
He tells us not to remove believers from the world, but to watch over them, care for them, love them, and keep them from the devil. While continuing His prayer to the Father, he says,
"They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth." (John 17: 16-19)
He says that though we are not of this world, but belong to God, we are sanctifying those of the world to the truth of God's word and the Gospel. Just as Jesus was sent into the world to save mankind, we too should enter the world to save those lost in it. We shouldn't avoid the world; instead, we should show the truth of Christ in it. This Halloween, spread the Gospel and the true history of this day.
Make It a Holy Halloween
It is perfectly fine to partake in the American Halloween tradition. It is also perfectly fine to honor this day's roots and remember the early Church Christians who sacrificed not only their time to develop and preserve the Church, but their lives to defend what is true. You can make this clear to your children. The Bible tells us that we are all "the saints" (Romans 8:27, 1Corinthians 6:2, and Colossians 1:25-25). All Hallows Eve is a good day to talk about this with your children, friends, and family. Set them down and talk about the origins of the holiday and the martyrs who were killed for professing the truth. Dressing up in costumes and collecting candy may be part of that celebration, along with attending a party and playing games. You can hold a Bible study on the same scriptures discussed here and explain why the popular myths are simply that, "myths." No evil practices need to be promoted; it can be a day to honor the saints, martyrs, and our country's culture and development. Halloween is an American holiday, modernized by Americans, but it ultimately has Christian origins.
We can honor the men and women who came before us, who fought for the faith. You can honor God throughout the day (as we should every day): participate in a local church's trunk-or-treat to keep the traditions alive, safe, and glorifying Jesus. Talk about the day's history, and avoid occult practices if they come up. There is nothing sinful about being near people in creepy costumes; it would be sinful to glorify and worship that. You can stay away from provocative costumes and glorifying evil; although secularists have appropriated the day, it can be restored to its original purpose, while not abandoning the American tradition.
This year, don't succumb to the Satanists, but push back by being a Saintinist. Christians need to stop hiding; we have given the day to satan, and offered the one thing he wants from us: our fear and attention. Secularists have hijacked the day to be provocative and a celebration of evil. If you do not want to celebrate Halloween, that's okay, but don't try to go around calling other people who do wicked things sinners; that's a form of legalism. Remember the Saints; use this day to spread the Gospel message. Make this Halloween a Holy Halloween, and may you love mercy, and walk humbly with God this All Hallows Eve.
"To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8)
1 (Ronald Hutton, The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain, Pgs 360-370)
2 (Nicholas Rogers, Halloween From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, Pg 19)
3 (The Carmina Nisibena of Saint Ephraem)
4 (Whitley Stokes, The Martyrology of Oengus the Culdee Book, Pg 119)
5 (Kristin Norget, Days of Death, Days of Life: Ritual in the Popular Culture of Oaxaca, Pg 193)
6 (Jacqueline Simpson and Steve Roud, A Dictionary of English Folklore, Pg 163)
Comments