All Soul’s Day. Halloween. The first one, traditional here in Lithuania, is largely considered Christian, while the second is obviously based on some sort of pagan beliefs, but, looking deeper, they both feel the same. They’re both centered around the premise that the dead must be honored in the midtime between autumn equinox and winter solstice, only the related traditions differ. Here we will be trying to find out how good these traditions are.

All Soul’s Day. Halloween. The first one, traditional here in Lithuania, is largely considered Christian, while the second is obviously based on some sort of pagan beliefs, but, looking deeper, they both feel the same. They’re both centered around the premise that the dead must be honored in the midtime between autumn equinox and winter solstice, only the related traditions differ. Isn’t this the same for all the so-called Christian feasts? Instead of relying on any available biographic information about the people to whom the feasts are dedicated, they are based on ancient pagan traditions which in turn are closely related to astrological events. The question is - what good are these traditions? Aren’t they hypocritical?

Well, even though both of these celebrations seemingly have the same purpose, I personally feel that people that choose to participate in Halloween rather than All Souls’ Day also choose to honor the dead differently. While All Souls’ Day is basically a day for grieving - people visiting cemeteries, lighting candles on the graves of their loved ones - Halloween consists of families gathering together, neighbors actively taking part in trick-or-treating, children dressing up as their favorite underworld characters, having fun. The meaning of both of these traditions is often debatable and yet Halloween seems a more proper way to give our respects to the dead. Why choose to mourn, when honoring them by living on, the memories forever in our hearts, seems more appropriate?

That is part of the reason why I dislike All Soul’s Day - the way we are supposed to mourn the dead is yet another form of competition between people, namely relatives of the deceased. The situation is bad enough already: the gravestones are large enough to kill others, the fences around the graves are only short of watchtowers to be considered castle walls and the grave itself can either look like a garden or a sidewalk. Because of the tradition to further decorate the grave with wreaths and lit candles, All Soul’s Day becomes yet another victim of commercialization or, at least, abuse. However, the situation can be improved. I have yet to see a cemetery more beautiful than the Normandy American Cemetery, which illustrates how much of an impact can such a simple idea make on our minds.

But I do like the contrast between Halloween and All Soul’s Day, as, similarly, I think that manifesting life and remembering the dead in everyday situations is far better than having a single day devoted to that. An additional joyful holiday can’t do any harm, quite the contrary - I think the relatively recent introduction of Halloween to our culture will lead to a better (in my opinion, anyway) view of the death-related traditions.

Absolutely. Rather then choosing a specific date for that and that purpose alone, what wrong would it do to instead keep those special memories alive by acknowledging that which is front of our eyes? Shouldn’t we be focusing on the things that were achieved during one’s lifespan instead of constantly blaming something that is inevitable? While All Souls’ Day concentrates on death, Halloween offers a new and refreshing approach. It might not be the most perfect solution, but it is certainly an event that can truthfully be called a celebration.

Which actually easily questions the necessity of All Souls’ Day. This event, what does it offer the society? It does not create a pleasant atmosphere, nor does it suggest spending time with family. Instead, it infects people with uneasiness, sadness and doubt. Filled with these kind of emotions, how can people possibly honor the dead properly?

The necessity of All Soul’s Day for traditionalistic people is closely tied with beliefs in the afterlife as well as the role the feast plays in Christianity. It is quite natural that if one believes that it’s not only him remembering those who have died, but also them still observing the world, some sort of physical act in memory of them is needed. Given this, it’s also logical to question the necessity of organized spiritual belief systems, but that’s beside the topic. What is in topic is that All Soul’s Day is under pressure of modern lifestyle and it will, sooner or later, have to either lose it’s status as a particularly noteworthy day or adapt to the less spiritual modern worldview, though I doubt it will be easy as masses of people tend to cling to traditions despite not actually believing in their worth (hypocrisy once again). But even if it doesn’t sound right, I’m more worried about the option of adaptation, as I see some signs of it in the current commercialized view of this feast. On the other hand, I do look forward to the time when people realize that All Soul’s Day shouldn’t be such an exceptional time of year, so, to answer your question, I don’t think All Soul’s Day serves more purpose than a simple reminder that the dead should be honored, moreover, no significant damage would be done if the tradition ceased to exist. Then again, I don’t think it’s entirely appropriate for us to dismiss a tradition so largely based on religion, as religion, by definition, is a set of beliefs that no one should question (sorry, I couldn’t resist the temptation).

Halloween, however, is an easier target, and it’s flaw is more obvious to me: Halloween’s premise seems more interesting and, with it’s religious features being suppressed by bigger religions, it looks like fun supplement to Lithuanian version of Mardi Gras, but the commercialization in this case is even more severe, because of both it’s magnitude and the loss of mythological context interesting traditions, which are worth preserving.

It is indeed true that some people that participate in All Souls’ Day seek to receive a sign from the heavens. A reassurance that there is an afterlife. That the venial sins of those that regret committing them are forgiven and that divine punishment is executed upon those who do not. Others, perhaps, simply looking for a chance to meet their loved ones again.

The original concept of All Souls’ Day, however, was different. The celebration was meant to help souls that upon death had not been cleansed of their sins reach heaven. Prayers of the people guiding them, the burning candles lighting the right path. Seeing as how the feast has already changed and gained quite a few questionable traits, why not reconsider it’s importance? Things are bound to change, as are traditions. There is no logical explanation as to why we should blindly cling to old beliefs and let those sacred traditions turn in to whole industries.

I, too, agree that the time has come for us to reset our priorities. It is hard to believe the stunts people pull while trying to both honor the deceased and impress their neighbor.

(Allow me to ignore the second paragraph. ;P)

Given the fact that Christian church supports or, at least, doesn’t oppose the modified traditions of All Soul’s Day, the point that questioning it’s importance equals questioning religion which it is based on still holds true. Of course, we can dismiss it as being purely religious and having nothing to do with secular world, but it wouldn’t change much as the absolute majority of Lithuanians consider themselves Catholic. The real next step should involve either church adjusting it’s laws or people starting to perceive All Soul’s Day as a more-or-less secular holiday and acting accordingly. Until then, nothing more can really be done, and, I think, we’re bound to cope with it for the time being and hope that change comes soon, since I don’t think the current situation is beneficial in any way.

Comments and afterthoughts: Not much, really. I think agreement is going to become the curse of this blog :]