You can disagree with Halloween in Poland for many reasons. I’m American and I celebrate Halloween in Poland for one reason and one reason only – my children. I didn’t celebrate Halloween here before I had kids and I will probably stop (excluding the occasional jack o’ lantern) when they reach the age that they are “too cool” to celebrate it. I choose to celebrate Halloween with my children here in Poland because I want to share a bit of my childhood with them. We also go with them to the cemetery on November 1st and 2nd. They are Polish children after all. Well, Polish/American.
I have such fond memories of dressing up, bobbing for apples, going trick-or-treating. I went to Catholic School and we had to go to Mass every single morning, but what a fantastic morning it was when our priest conducted Mass dressed up as Dracula. Seriously. We were in awe. Our priest along with the nuns (usually dressed as witches) escorted us each year on a Halloween parade around the neighborhood. It was a lot of fun. I also remember my grandmother’s neighbors who dressed up as Frankenstein’s monster and the Bride of Frankenstein every year. They decorated their front porch with scary decorations and lights and even played scary music. It was great. I want my kids to have some fun Halloween memories too. I don’t want to import Halloween to Poland and insert it into Polish society. We celebrate on a small scale with willing participants only. If it helps, I would gladly remove McDonald’s and Starbucks from Poland if I could. Poland for the Polish ;)
OK, I got a little carried away. Back to Halloween.
You can disagree with Halloween in Poland because it encourages consumption (because candles and wreaths and Sidolux for cleaning graves are all free).
You can disagree with Halloween in Poland because it is cultural colonization from the west (so drop that Happy Meal and put down that Coke).
You can disagree with Halloween in Poland because you think it encourages hooliganism, or you can disagree with Halloween in Poland because you think it is stupid or because masz wszystko w dupie.
That’s fine with me.
But you cannot disagree with Halloween in Poland because it promotes the occult. Because it doesn’t. You cannot send letters home to parents that celebrating Halloween breaks the 1st commandment. Because it doesn’t. You cannot tell kids that carving a pumpkin is a sin. Because it isn’t.
Does Andrzejki promote the occult? It is more mystical than Halloween. Does Karnawal promote the occult? Kids’ karnawal parties look pretty much like Halloween minus the dynia.
And what do you think of this poster? Pretty funny, isn’t it? Or pretty drastic? We had the exact same situation with Rosie. Suddenly, she couldn’t fall asleep at night. We couldn’t leave the room. What was going on? The explanation was surprisingly simple. She’s 4. She goes to pre-school. She is not signed up for Religia but the teachers seem to forget about that and let her in the room during Religia. She’s too little to tune out the Religia teacher. Soooo, we spent one week checking under the bed for “Niewidzialny Jezus”. Thanks Religion Teacher.
If you’d like to “sracz i rzygać jednoczesnie” (as Misiu so eloquently put it), you can read the opinion of Polish bishops on the topic of Halloween.
http://www.stefczyk.info/wiadomosci/polska/biskup-ostrzega-przed-halloween
http://warszawa.radioplus.pl/Wiadomosci/Warszawa/Warszawscy-biskupi-ostrzegaja-przed-Halloween
Here are only two articles but you can easily find more and more.
Here are some more opinions about Halloween w Polsce from the net.
And to push the stereotypes a little further…
One of my students decided to go trick-or-treating with her friends last year. I told them the Halloween trick-or-treating rules.
No costume, no candy.
No destructive tricks.OK, back to my student and her Halloween haul. She got some candy, one swipe with a broom, a few opportunities to do a trick, a few F**K OFFs and 50 zloty. Wow, 50 zloty! At one house, a guy gave her a 50 and asked her to go and buy her a flaszka. Cool.
No trick-or-treating after 9 p.m.
Wear something reflective.
No paper treat bags.
(I had an unfortunate incident as a child when the local pastor who gave out apples –and sometimes dimes- dropped an apple into my treat bag. The apple went all the way through the bag to my feet along with all my candy. The pastor said “Happy Halloween” and closed the door.)
P.S….
We can only hope ;)
Happy Halloween!
30 comments:
I tell you solemnly - even on a tough day like today you can make me smile, which is a good thing, even if it is a wry smile...
I don't mind Halloween and I do agree with you in that point: if some Poles are so negative about that holiday as pagan thing, that what about Andrzejki, Noc Świętojańska or burning the Marzanna? ;)
Way back when, the church we attended had a very conservative chair of children's ministries. Memos were sent out to all the Sunday School teachers (I was one) stating that there would be no acknowledgement of Halloween in our classrooms; it's not a Christian holiday - no pumpkins, no Halloween candy, etc. She would have agreed with the Polish Bishops.
A few years later, a new committee chair, and the church started to hold a Fall Festival complete with pumpkin carving and lots of games where the kids in costumes got candy. It's still going on today.
I can't even comment.
Honestly Chris, why do you guys still live in Poland?
I mean, not that US is wackos free, but I think is still better here:)) At least in Northeast;)
And imagine that I know people who celebrate Halloween and then they go to 'celebrate' the All saints day. And they see nothing wrong in it. Actually, do these two days/approaches exclude each other? I don't think so. Well, after all, we've got the Christmas Eve and then two days of Christmas. Why not have the All Hallows Eve and then the All Saints Day?
By the way, we tend to forget that, actually, the day one should pray for souls of the dead is on the 2nd of November, not the 1st. I hate this martyrdom (is it actually the correct word?) in Polish traditions and festivals, everything has to be sad, pious and.. pathetic. In all meanings of the last word. The most funny thing, for me, is when somebody criticises 'pagan' festivals... I wonder wheter they're just ignorant or maybe they pretend they don't know the origins of many (if not the majority) Christian rituals.
Sometimes I just wonder - and it happens in corelation to any subject, starting with Halloween and St Valentine's Day, through LGBT relationships, ending with abortion/in vitro/contraception topics - why can't we just mind our bussiness and let others live their lives. There's enough place for everyone in Poland, and if one can't/doesn't want to do someting, then - sorry - why not f*** off and let others choose what they can/want? Is it so difficult? I teach kids about Halloween. I teach them about Dia de los Muertos, I teach them about Dziady and I teach them about All Saints Day. Wisdom is when you know stuff, and you can choose what suits you, what suits your mind. Whatever floats your goat. Err, sorry, boat :D .
P.S. I think 'invisible Jesus' story was great! And I do think that this plus what's in 'Dziady' is far more scarry than some little witches and skeletons.
P.S.2 Yesterday I had a nice chat with a man around 40 (maybe 40+ even) whose kids I happen to teach. Guess what he told me! He was born in a village in Poland, and he remembers that they were actually carving the pumpkins and had quasi-Dziady, quasi-Halloween parties there! So it made me think whether the 'Americanisation' is to be blamed, really. I have to check it! :)
P.S.3 We tend to have a nice family gathering the day before All Saints Day. We eat, we drink, we carve pumpkins, we do a little bit of dressing up, we play games, and we share anecdotes about those, who are dead, meaning my parents (mostly) and aunts/uncles. I think this is cool, and I think this is what we should do - remember those, who are not here 'in body'. It's more important than just visiting graves once a year. At least, that's the approach my dad taught me. Coldplay had a nice song, once : those, who are dead, are not dead, they're just living in my head..
P.S.4 Happy Halloween to you, I hope you'll all have fun! :) I hope some little strangers will knock at my door this year too :) Although they hardly ever have a trick prepared, I always have sweets for them :)
It's not that all Polish are closed-minded. Some are. Pretty much of them. But still - not all.
I've carved one bigger and three smaller pumpkins. My three-years-old daughter scares plush doggie with them and laughs. No sin here, definitely.
My sympathy.
I hope I won't ever have to go back to live in my homeland. Never ever.
PP- It is nice to know that I can make someone smile. I usually just crack myself up and nobody gets my jokes :)
Justine -abroad - I agree. There are so many other reasons to disagree with Halloween, the pagan reason being the most distant one.
Lois B - My niece goes to the Catholic school that my sister and I attended. They are bummed because school is cancelled due to "Sandy" and they won't have their Halloween party.
Star - Our wackos carry crosses. Your wackos carry guns ;) Anyone on TVN24 right now, they aren't talking about Halloween. Halloween, Smalloween. Smolensk, k**wa! (Stay safe and dry there in NYC Star)
Zofia - Martydom is a word. Don't worry. I tried to spell hooliganism as huliganism and couldn't figure out what was wrong.And about Halloween and in vitro...I was reading an article (I think from Fronda - always a good way to lose your appetite) and the article started out with Halloween and ended with in vitro. Way to link two topics! I also like the way you spend your Oct 31-Nov 1. Remembering. I'd much rather be remembered after I'm gone then have my grave cleaned.
Zuzanka - We are going to do some carving tomorrow after school. I can't wait! Like everywhere, the most closed-minded people are usually the loudest. Not that not liking Halloween is closed minded. Just people need to be honest and logical about why they don't like it.
czar - If you do, you are welcome to trick-or-treat at our place :)
PS - By the way, I was reading my old posts about Halloween and then I started to read some other old, old posts about anything and everything that I'd forgotten I had even written. I have to say, I'm pretty funny. I cracked myself up.
Go Chris!
> what about Andrzejki, Noc Świętojańska or burning the Marzanna?
No to mention lighting candles on graves on All Saints Day. This custom is a modern version of "Dziady" - described in the Mickiewicz's poetical novel every Pole learned about in school. Its pagan roots were more clear in Mickiewicz's times.
With all due respect Chris, just because you don't believe in something, you don't have to put it in bold print to get your point across.
Why are you angry that Catholic bishops told Catholic people that celebrating Halloween doesn't do wonders for their faith? You and your family are not Catholic (as I understand), so it should bother you about as much as it bothers you what the local Rabbi says about pork consumption - that is, not at all. Are you trying to remake the world in your family's image? I get it you might not agree with the things Catholics say, and that's ok. Let's just be honest: if you don't agree with something, it doesn't mean it's not important or even crucial for some people. Personally, I see the obvious connection between Halloween and the occult, and I can perfectly understand why bishops would warn against it.
Now, you say that many Catholics celebrate Halloween and All Saints' Day. Well, for me it's a bit like reckless driving, you know: you can ignore signs and signals and even get lucky once or twice, but eventually, there'll be a crash. Catholicism has some rules people agreed to abide by(at least theoretically) . If they don't, well... happy driving and lots of luck. It's not always pretty when you ignore those rules. I understand you get mad about your daughter being constantly shepherded with other children to be taken into Religion classes. Take a firm stand against it, but don't blame others who actually want to be there.
Mmmm, to be home sick with a cold means I can keep up with the comments.
Slawekk - True, and at least it's a Polish tradition with some connection to Polish history.
Obadiah - With all due respect, I think you missed the point of this post too. To start, this is my blog so if I want to put things IN BOLD or in italics or underline them, that's my perogative. Next, the tone of this post is not angry at all so if you got that then you misunderstood. I didn't say that it is important or unimportant to me if people in Poland are for or against Halloween. My point was and is that being against Halloween because you think it promotes the occult is ridiculous. Being against Halloween for many other reasons, I can see. I don't see the obvious connection to the occult nor do I see how it harms the Catholic faith in any way.
About my daughter(s) and Religia - Firm stands have been taken. I don't blame those who want to be there. The teachers of this class don't repect my beliefs. They show me it every time my daughter attends Religia. Simply, I feel that church and state should be separate. This is not an anti-Catholic statement. My father, a devout Catholic, feels the same. That's why we went to Catholic school and had extra religious instruction after school at the church.
Could you clarify for me how Halloween and the occult are connected? And I mean now (not historically). How children at school learning the words "trick-or-treat" during their English lesson could possibly lead them into the occult? There are no mystical games during Halloween like during Andrzejki - just a lot costumes, candy and pumpkins. Please understand me, I am not poking fun at you. I really want to see where the connection is made and to understand where you are coming from. Also how is it that my former Catholic church in the US sponsors a Halloween party every year for the children? Are they less Christian?
I get to hear practically every day about Chameryka and how we are contaminating cultures of the world. I'm not offended. I think Poland should fight for Polish traditions but not by spreading strange ideas.
Chris - I believe you cannot ignore those 'historic' occult background of the Halloween. The European Catholic churches have a long history of fighting against the traditions which might be tracked to the old pagan customs. Those non-Christian customs were and are traditionally called 'occult' or 'magic' by the Catholic church. This is also the way how the Polish Catholic church works. Either a custom is approved Christian, or it is magic/occult and should be frowned upon.
Why the church officials and church members do not attack Andrzejki, Marzanna etc. so vehemently, then?
Purely for tactical reasons. They hate those customs, too. Do not doubt it. But they can see that such attacks will not gain them much popularity. Freshly 'imported' (and originally Celtic) Halloween is a better target, because here their attacks can by supported by the 'cultural contamination' prejudices that you also mention. But for our priests and their supporters those non-Christian roots are decisive factor when they talk about magical roots of Halloween.
Hi Andrzej R - I agree with you that Halloween is an excellent target considering its foreigness and I appreciate your explanation of the church's rationale -hypocritical or not (the church, not you). I take issue with that hypocrisy and it is not because I am trying to remake the world into my family's image. It is because I take issue with hypocrisy where ever it may come from - even from myself.
But for the rest of us not responsible for establishing official church doctrines in Poland, I think we absolutely can ignore the Celtic roots of Halloween and the dangerous, mystical connections which don't in reality exist.
Because of "Sandy" it is a bit too rainy in my hometown for trick-or-treating so the parish priest decided that he would host a Halloween party. All the local kids are invited. It's the same Catholic church under the same Vatican rule. If the priest can ignore the roots, I think we can too.
I also suppose that without checking on their iphones, most kids couldn't even tell us where Halloween comes from. And judging from the number of superhero and princess costumes, the object isn't even to scare anyone.
I'd like to reiterate that I am against western culture creep no matter how convenient it is for me and I limit our Halloween celebration to willing participants only. Tradition gives our life meaning and Halloween is a very important tradition to me and now to our family. We celebrate Thanksgiving too and each year invite someone to join us.
Hi Chris - I appreciate you responding me and I feel sorry that teachers don't respect your beliefs about your daughters' religious education. Believe me, respect can be enforced, but not always in the nice way. I don't know the particulars, but if they don't listen to you, well, there are authorities out there that would be glad to intervene on your behalf. And I mean it.
About Halloween - the example you gave about a priest hosting a Halloween celebration is double-edged: if the mayor of your city drives under influence, should you go into his/her footsteps?
I think we cannot understand each other, because you ask me for a purely rational response, and I simply cannot do that, as we're discussing religion.
I'll try to reiterate my point: Halloween has something to do with the occult, if we accept that witches, vampires, spirits and spooks are part of the occult. How much exactly it has - I'll leave that to you, but I think you agree that the connection is out there, even if conceptual only. Now, I have three basic reasons for not celebrating Halloween:
- The Bible and Jesus never endorsed magic and occult of any kind, quite the contrary: it is said to be harmful and offensive to God
- the Church agrees with that and teaches us in a number of documents about dangers of associating with the occult, however slight such associations may be
I want to stop here and stress that I trust my Church. If there is a tradition against something, I won't spend my time on trying to circumvent it, just because it forbids something I might like. It's an issue of basic trust: if someone you trust warns you against something, you're bound to at least think about their words.
-Thirdly, and most personally, I don't like it. I think it's dangerous to meddle in these things and I've heard about and seen people who were mucking with magic and their lives took a turn for worse. I experienced the danger myself, that's why I don't take kindly to seeing others happily playing with supernatural.
Oh, yes, one more thing: it's not "just for fun". Some would like us think so: regrettably, it is not.
I understand that you hold other views, but I just wanted to explain my point.
Coż... Wam, Amerykanom, będzie ciężko zrozumieć dlaczego buntujemy się wobec tradycji, która w waszym środowisku jest zakorzeniona tak głęboko, że niemal straciła wymiar duchowy i stała się pozornie tylko zabawą. Żeby spróbować oddać o co chodzi z tym okultyzmem, trzeba byłoby wygłosić cały wykład na temat pochodzenia, korzeni Halloween. Nie będę tego robić, bo Internet jest tak bogatym źródłem wiedzy, że znacznie więcej dowiesz się, drogi Autorze bloga, spędzając pół godziny na googlowaniu tematu, niż na czytaniu moich wypocin.
Polecam zrobienie researchu w tym temacie: Jakie są korzenie Halloween i jaka jest jego tematyka przewodnia (z jakimi podaniami/wierzeniami się wiąże) i z drugiej strony: Jaka jest tematyka przewodnia katolickiej uroczystości Wszystkich Świętych.
Czy świętujemy śmierć i znicze, czy może radość z życia i światło... Jeśli przyłożysz się do poszukiwań, bez trudu zrozumiesz, o co nam chodzi :)
pozdrawiam :)
I think the sharpness of some of the anti-Halloween sentiment is due to the huge importance of Nov 1 in Poland. The vibe of the former is fun and kid-oriented; the latter is solemn and reflective. You don't have that kind of contrast in Japan or even Western Europe. It's much easier to ignore Valentine's Day, just shrug it off. But the lightness and frivolity of Halloween can be seen as offensive to those for whom Nov 1 is on par with Christmas or Easter (and for plenty Poles it is.)
Dorota in Colorado
Obadiah - I respect your views concerning religion, church and the occult. You are right that we do not see eye-to-eye but it is nice that we can agree to disagree. However, I think comparing the priest who hosts a Halloween party to a drunk-driver is grossly inappropriate.
m- Thank you for directing me to search out the origins of Halloween. I'm quite aware of the roots of this holiday and no further googling is needed. Additionally, I understand why in Poland people reject this holiday. It is not difficult for me to understand. I will say again...I think you should reject it...for many reasons, but not because it encourages some dangerous behaviour. Maybe I am reading something more into your comment, but it seems that you are suggesting that I am too lazy to research the topic and perhaps too ignorant to understand it.
During my Catholic childhood, we very easily combined Halloween with All Saint's Day, followed by All Soul's Day. We were intelligent enough to differentiate the holidays from one another.
Here's the point that I seem to be unable to get across about Halloween and I don't mean Halloween in Poland, I mean Halloween at all. It is all pretend, really pretend. These things which are associated with the occult (witches, vampires, spooks,spirits and magic)don't exist except in our imaginations. If we cannot agree on that, then we have to agree to disagree.
Dear anonymous...
All Saints Day is not only polish tradition - it's a solemnity celebrated in the Church all over the world. It is a bit reflective but definitely it's not sad.
You said: " But the lightness and frivolity of Halloween can be seen as offensive" - That's not true. Lightness is not a proper word to describe Halloween. We see it rather as a dark, sad celebration of death - and that's why we can't stand it. All Saints Day is reflective but joyful, concentrated on life, happiness, sanctity, unity of the Church - here, on earth, and there, in heaven. So we have beautiful, joyful solemnity and on the other side we see the feast of death, devil, demons etc.
We are also aware that Halloween comes from pagan feast called "Samhain" - it has huge matter for us, catholics. Samhain was pagan god, and also the most important Gaelic celebration. They celebrated the victory of darker half of the year, and believed that in this night souls of dead people (treated as demons) are coming down to possess humans' bodies. People were frightened, all lights were turned off, some food was given for demons to eat and go away. The older tradition says people killed their children to sacrifice them for Samhain.
Chris - absolutnie nie twierdzę, że jesteś zbyt leniwy czy ignorancki. Sugerowałam dotarcie do źródeł, bo z doświadczenia wiem, że bardzo wiele osób nie jest ich świadomych. Jeśli inaczej jest w Twoim przypadku, to doceniam ten fakt :) To była tylko luźna sugestia, absolutnie bez próby obrażania Cię ;)
p.s. As you can see, Halloween is a problem not only for polish people ;)
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/394119_437759799613425_1032823604_n.jpg
This is a problem for all Catholic Church - no matter that some priests in the USA think different. The voice of the Church comes from the Holy See, not from individuals.
Cool. I think we can end our debate. But please know that for those who actually celebrate Halloween it has absolutely nothing in common with a dark celebration of death. It's more a worship of sugary treats.
But to each his own.
Now I am off to the village. I am hoping for a safe drive. Already today a drunk guy on a bike ran into me (I was a pedestrian) and just now a very funny texting teenager walking into a lamp post and then into me. Be careful out there!
m- Chris to kobieta. gdybyś choć przez chwilę zadał(a) sobie trud zapoznania się z blogiem to byś wiedział(a)... po prawej stronie szablonu bloga jest niemalże wizytówka.
Chris - naprawdę bardzo mi przykro że przy okazji emigracji geograficznej przeniosłaś sie również w czasie. Do średniowiecza :)
Wesołego Halloween!
Ja co prawda nie obchodzę, ale bardzo lubię nastrój tego dnia. Dokładnie tak samo jak wieczór Dnia Zmarłych (w świętych nie wierzę).
Pozdrawiam!
Małgośka - gdybyś przez chwilę zadała sobie choć odrobinę trudu, wiedziałabyś doskonale, że "dzień zmarłych" nie istnieje.
Ja natomiast nie czuję się zobowiązana do zapoznawania się z blogiem, odnoszę się wyłącznie do treści, która w tym przypadku jest 'unisex'.
Jak się czujesz jako osoba wytykająca innym błędy niezwiązane z tematem i strzelająca jednocześnie potężną gafę na temat?
haters gonna hate...
p.s. No chyba, że czcisz boginię Mictecacíhuatl - wtedy owszem, dzień zmarłych powinien być trwale wpisany w twój kalendarz, Małgosieńko.
M --
All Saints Day is NOT celebrated with solemnity all over the world. Google how they celebrate it in Mexico - it's a wild party!
You don't see Halloween as "light?" Then you've never seen a real Halloween! In America, it's all about fun, dressing up, being neighborly and getting candy. For adults, it's all about fun and going to parties wearing witty/creative/naughty costumes. That's Halloween. If you don't believe me I can only conclude that you're a victim of propaganda waged by Polish bishops :)
Halloween and All Saints Day are NOT THE SAME THING. Please get that through your head. And in all my years of going to the cemetery on Nov 1 (my family grave is at Powazki in Warsaw) I have yet to experience it as "joyful." Meantime tonight in Denver Colorado, Halloween night has been nothing but laughter, children's awe and giggling, and fabulous house decorations. My next door neighbors
have a witch on a broom, crashing into a tree with a sign that says 'don't drink and fly.' Another house is decorated all in orange lights. I myself put up a skeleton wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots and holding a donation jar for the Red Cross (to help with the hurricane on the East Coast.) Last I checked, the donation jar was halfway full. How is this scene from my street reminiscent of devil or demons?
My suggestion is to read less history and to experience more real life. You'll be surprised how holidays can evolve, for example Christmas. That Santa Claus or that decorated tree? Very pagan, yet somehow it exists in every home in Poland.
Dorota in Colorado
OMG!! It is polish... So polish. I am sorry that you have to see/listen those bigots. It is difficult to be "normal" in Poland. That is (not only) why I left my country and live...well, in US. In Poland you can not be yourself. You have to play, pretent, smile, not to smile, pray very loudly, attent mass especially when the neibor's "firanka" moves suddenly when you live your home. I would recommend mental detachment from polish bigotry. Be yourself!
Some "demotywatory"s were funny lol esp. "jestem Polakiem i czekam na Wszystkich Swietych". But I must admit sometimes I miss Wszystkich Swietych and nostalgy that comes from this day.
Happy Halloween.
iwona (Midwest)
Thanks everyone for your comments. Małgosia, thanks for defending my gender identity ;) Dorota, I agree with you that we need to look at how the holiday is celebrated in reality, not according to the first paragraph of wiki. And Iwona (from the midwest :), the firanka point is so true!!!!!!!
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