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The irony of Halloween is that it was kept by the Catholic church in order to entice the Irish and Celtic Britons to convert them to the Church. The same goes for El Dia de Muerte. The holiday then became commercialized through corporations and it is agreeable that the festivities, costumes, and other unmentionables have gotten out of hand. However, it is honestly up to the individuals to decide whether or not they should celebrate Halloween. Yes, the roots are pagan, but if we look at this holiday from another angle we will see that it actually celebrates community and remembrance for those we have lost.

There is a distinct difference between WORSHIPING the dead and REMEMBERING the dead. The Celts believed there was a thin line between the dead and living and during the Winter Solstice that line would be practically be non-existent. So they would put out sweets and gifts to appease the dead so they were protected. There was an eminent FEAR not admiration of the dead (this is where many "modern" Christians go wrong in their critique of this holiday). In the Mexican tradition of El Dia de Muerte the family members set up alters with the dead in remembrance's favorite food and other things he/she liked while they were alive. It is meant to celebrate their life and remember those who past. There is nothing mentioned or done that blatantly worships the dead. Death is something everyone has to face. We do not understand it the same way we do not understand how God works. The Christian sect (because there is very little backlash from the Catholic and Orthodox communities) has a major problem with this holiday because the traditions have been misunderstood over time.

The major argument you will hear from "modern" Christians is that the holiday is pagan. They are not wrong, but they are not telling a full and complete story. Perhaps, (this is speculation) they do not understand the tradition in its entirety and have only voiced what was told to them. The "modern" Christian sect has strayed very far from its original roots. Almost to the point to where many people wonder if they have done more harm than good to the gospel. This is a major issue because this is how extremism with many other issues flare up and it causes detrimental consequences. From their point of view, the costumes nowadays are agreeably tasteless and vulgar. THAT is something that needs to be addressed and remedied. Even atheists will agree that there is a fine of indecency you just do not cross. However, despite the downfalls of Halloween, this tradition was reconciled once with religion. It can still be done. Unfortunately, "modern" Christians fail to see this. This criticism of "modern" Christians do not minimize their concerns, but it should make them see just how polarizing their views can be. Their goal is to create a community where practically everyone is Christian, but ignorance of holidays as ancient as Halloween and a strong imposition of views will do the exact opposite. Do they not know that Christmas, the time in which we celebrate Jesus' birth has pagan roots in some of its traditions or is it conveniently ignored because they were able to justify it using The Savior? Balance the scale and let's discuss which holiday is more blasphemous than the other.

So to answer the question: Should Christians celebrate Halloween? The answer would be, no "modern" Christians should not celebrate Halloween. Reason being as stated above. They do not understand the full and complete context of the holiday and they have strayed so far from their roots that the only way for them to stay legitimate in their ideology is to omit holidays such as this.

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