By Pablo Alonso Ramos Henao, University of Liverpool
All opinions are those of their respective author, and are not indicative of the stance of EUPS.
It is truly unfortunate for the well-being of the contemporary reader that death and its ever-present shadow are shunned. The subject is generally avoided in day-to-day conversations. Bringing it up is an excellent way to shut down a conversation and pack up a random gathering.
And yet, forgetting one’s own mortality is a great way to let the years roll by without purpose or fulfilment. Luckily for the keen observer, Nature makes sure to remind us that death is a part of life in both beautiful and gruesome ways. With the turning of the seasons, branches wither away; seeds lie dormant as the generation of herbs that made them shrivel into nothing. Autumn reminds us to meditate on this fact, and humans around the world have not wasted the opportunity to do so, as festively as possible. Death doesn’t need to be grim, and nor should the times when it is felt the most.
The widely spread celebration of Halloween is such a time; it traces its roots back far into Northern Europe’s pagan festivities: Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lammas, Mabon, and Samhain. The latter being the one that would ultimately be co-opted and syncretised into what is known as Halloween.
Samhain coincides with the time when the nights lengthen, when leaves bleed into beautiful warm tones, and every plant and animal senses the coming of the icy winds. Agrarian societies would then need to begin preparations for the winter. Animals would be sacrificed and their meat cured; vegetables gathered and pickled, wood chopped, and fruit jammed.
Halloween signified the coming of deadly spirits and the return of the spirits of the dead. The veil of the spiritual world and the material world would begin to thin. Unfortunately, detailed historical accounts of what took place in different regions of Europe are scarce and vague. Caesar wrote extensively about Germanic and Celtic civilisations, but did so in Roman terms: deities that he deemed to be found already in the Roman pantheon would be addressed as such, and not by their native names, and the customs of the conquered would sometimes be presented in a light unfavourable to their participants.
It is not until the Middle Ages that we get richly written accounts of what took place during this time of the year, with the institutionalisation of the day of All Saints. This festivity laid its walls on the foundations of local festivities but emphasised the adoration of martyrdom and sacrifice. In England, it was known as All Hallows, from which we get the name for contemporary Halloween.
Although in many places the liturgy was intertwined with preexisting customs, the Church would often not tolerate syncretism. This, with a notable exception: conversion and evangelist activity. In Mexico, many Mesoamerican populations would adopt Christianity late into the colonial era and would do so by adapting native and foreign customs. Celebrated on the 1st of November, the Day of the Dead is one of the most important festivals in Mexico. Effigies of the dead are carefully crafted, skulls are drawn into stone and onto skin alike, and the memory of dead family members is honoured and remembered. Death is invited in and not feared. It is seen as a natural continuation of life. Death is even considered a proper Saint, La Santa Muerte. Mexico’s precolonial belief greatly cemented the tone for this festivity: Aztec religion saw time circularly, and life would only stale if death was not allowed to take its course. The planet Venus, to them the celestial manifestation of the god Quetzalcoatl, underwent cycles of death and rebirth as it completed its path in the heavens, and guided humanity with the wisdom obtained therein. Nowadays, the Day of the Dead is a time of plenty; all sorts of baked and fried goods are made for the living and the dead alike. Offers of arepas (corn flatbread), sweet buns and fermented drinks such as guarapo and chicha are made in plenty, so even in the afterlife one may toast with the Family.
Lighting candles in the darker months, gathering the bounties of the fertile seasons and remembering the dead with joy are deeply human activities. At heart, we are hopeful creatures; we wish to enjoy the mysteries of living. But that required the cultivation of wisdom that only careful meditation on death can bring, if one does so with good company.
References:
All Saints’ Day | Definition, History, & Facts | Britannica. (n.d.). Retrieved 20 October 2025, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/All-Saints-Day
Full article: Modern Pagan Festivals: A Study in the Nature of Tradition. (n.d.). Retrieved 20 October 2025, from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00155870802352178#d1e232
Here’s what to know about Day of the Dead. (2019, October 30).
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/amp-stories/travel/day-of-the-dead/ Hutton, R. (2014, October 28). Halloween? It’s more than trick or treat. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/28/halloween-more-than trick-or-treat-origins
