Welcome to the encore edition for 2026, the sixth episode of Pop Culture Matters, the sixth episode of season four, and the sixth episode of season five, first released in 2025!

In today’s episode I discuss Halloween, All Saints Day, All Souls Day, and Samhain (sow-in) too. Growing up, I was clear what Halloween was: a night to get candy and dress up. Halloween is All Hallows Eve, hallows referring to Saints, that is, Halloween was the day before All Saints Day on Nov. 1, and two days prior to All Souls Day on Nov. 2. These links seem strangely tenuous now. Halloween stands on its own. But then I also heard later that Halloween emerged from or was adopted from Samhain (sow-in), an ancient pagan Celtic festival that was celebrated on November 1 in Ireland and Scotland and preceded the arrival of Christianity. These connections, touted both by modern Wiccans and pagans and bemoaned by fundamentalist Christians, have led some Christians not to celebrate Halloween due to pagan or satanic connections. Fang Fang tells me Christians in Indonesia are encouraged not to celebrate the festival.

Since I am no expert on Halloween, but do see its ubiquity all around me, I wanted to understand how we got from a Church festival that focused on purgatory, to a modern celebration of wirches, goblins, spooky movies, and a lot of candy. I relied specifically on an excellent book from 2003 by Nicholas Rogers, a historian now retired from York University. The book is Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night (Oxford University Press, 2003), and one its best features is that history and practices from both Canada and the USA are discussed.

I have to say that one thing that I did not get into, as I think it needs its own episode, is Dia De Los Muertas (Day of the Dead). This festival, which is celebrated in Mexico and parts of the USA, traditionally is celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31, are often included. Day of the Dead in some ways preserves more of the medieval traditions surrounding All Hallows Eve than Halloween does. Nicholas Rogers covers it in depth, but not only does it need its own episode, I think it could benefit from a conversation with someone who knows the lived experience of Dia De Los Muertas. Next year!

This podcast emerges from the Centre for Christian Engagement at St Mark’s College, the Catholic college at UBC, a centre that explores the Christian and Catholic intellectual tradition and seek to learn from others, other Christians, other religious traditions, and those who do not claim any particular or formal religious affiliation.

Thanks again for listening and remember pop culture matters.

John W. Martens

Intro music for this podcast from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/ancient-caves License code: WGRTZGRDSALHU07U