The Meaning of Halloween

Thinking about the dead and the lives they led

Here in the United States, our Halloween celebration seems to originate in the pagan customs of the Celtic peoples of Scotland and Ireland, before Christianity became the dominant religion in these countries. The Gaelic festival of Samhain, which began after sunset on October 31, marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, when the world (in the Northern Hemisphere) seemed to be in a state of limbo between life and death. With this boundary weakened, it was thought that supernatural spirits could more easily enter the natural world.

In the Christian tradition, this same evening was consecrated as a time to think about the dead—particularly martyred Saints who’d died obeying their conscience instead of conforming to the pre-Christian strictures of Roman rule. In the early days of the Christian church, when the religion was heavily persecuted, the number of martyrs soon outnumbered the days of the year, which gave rise to All Saints Day on November 1 in order to honor all them at once.

Another interpretation of All Hallows’ Eve (All Saints Eve) is that it was traditionally a time to meditate on the wickedness of the world before the Flood. A conspicuous feature of the Judeo-Christian tradition is that it chronicles times in history when mankind seemed almost completely given to greed, selfishness, and dishonesty. Those who tried to stand up for what is true and good were destroyed for resisting their depraved and tyrannical overlords.

Early in my investigation of the COVID-19 policy response, I interviewed Drs. Peter McCullough, Vladimir “Zev” Zelenko, Harvey Risch, and Ivette Lozano. At first glance, the only thing these four doctors had in common was their passionate advocacy for treating people infected with SARS-CoV-2 before they sickened to the point of requiring hospitalization. All were animated with a sense of duty to try to help the sick as best as they could.

After my fourth interview, the director of the camera crew made an interesting observation: “Isn’t it notable that all four of these people have a strong sense of Judeo-Christian ethics?” This was true. Dr. Risch and the late Dr. Zelenko are Orthodox Jews. Drs. McCullough and Lozano are practicing Christians.

Critics of organized religion point out that its history is filled with divisions and sects that quarreled with each other over the correct interpretation of God. The questions—Who is God? What is true? and What is good?—became matters of hot debate and even war.

While this critical observation is true, it seems to me that there is one thing about which all decent people can agree whether they are religious or not—namely, those who are dedicated to the truth are preferable to those dedicated to ambitions and agendas that require frequent lying.

As George Orwell observed, the most striking feature of totalitarian regimes is that they constantly lie about everything. What defines the good guys who oppose such regimes—what they all have in common—is a dedication to discovering and telling the truth, even when they are severely punished for it.