Why Denmark does not culturally and historically celebrate Halloween (in case you are curious)

 

So I decided to make this post, just because I have had many a "fun" debate with Americans, who are often really surprised when they learn that Halloween (and valentines for that matter) are not hollidays celebrated everywhere else.

So how come? 

So I can only speak for Denmark, I don't know the reasoning for this in other countries, but I would not be surprised if it is roughly the same story. 

Here in on this little cluster of Islands that I call home, others call Denmark - we had a real brief meeting with the Catholic church, it never did really gain ground here, which is why you have to look long and hard, trying to find a single Danish Catholic whom are not born into, or come from another culture (such as eastern and southern Europe). And for those who are not aware of the political climate here (and honestly why would you know?) State and church are not seperated, this means that the days the state church decides are "holy" days, are also days off work for instance. 

But before I get into this - I wanted to tell you that once we shared a lot of culture with the Celtic people, and we did have something akin to Shamhain - because much like Midsummer festivities, we'd also have a feast when everything was harvested, and everything was ready for winter. There must have been a million reasons for this, to thank some Gods or Deities or whatever do I know, but we did have a huge feast before we all had to lay low during winter. And then again we'd have a new feast around winter equinox. 

So, Shamhain - It is the 31st, which we (unless we are druids or wiccan) also know as All Hallows Eve. They are far from the same, but very much like the Christians took the Winter Equinox and turned it into Christmas - they took Shamhain and turned it into All Hallows Eve. Cause you see the REAL important day is not the 31st, according to the Catholics, no it is the 1st of November which is (yep you guessed it) All Hallows Day. On All Hallows Day, you prayed for those who were not yet babtized into the Christian faith, and also the day (cause they were Chatolic, and they love them some Saints) you'd mind the Martyrs and Saints. - this was done from around 610 AC to around 998 AC.

In 998 in came another Pope and rearrenged things, I guess he felt like there wasn't really a need to pray for those who were still "Heathens", maybe he didn't feel like the numbers were significant or whatever - what do I know. But instead All Hallows Day became the day were you prayed for your (of course Christian) dead family and friends, and to carry them faster through Purgatory. 

Not sure wich of these two versions of All Hallows Day I think sounds the worst, and without turning this into something political (alright it might be too late for that) then I seriously have a problem with the whole idea of Purgatory. 

Now in 1517 in comes a little munk named Martin Luther, and the Lutheran church (which is the state belief/church in Denmark) is born out of his 95 points of critique against the Chatolic church (that was probably not just someting you did on a whim back then). I won't get into how the Protestant reform actually happened, cause then i'd still be typing shit up next week (it is however super interesting if you like me, have a interest in the political history of structual religion). But it was what happened, the Lutheran-Evangelical church took over here in Denmark, out with the Saints, Pennance, Purgatory, Original sin - and Latin sermons. Up untill sometime after 1517 the Bible was in Latin, and the Priest would only speak in latin in church - and no one understand a single word he said (and I wouldn't be me, if I didn't mention how cool a trick that is, if you want to keep your flock docile) Sermons began to be in a language the common folk understood. 

Why am I giving you a history lesson? Well because it all ties into what I am trying to explain - So after this reform of the church - All Hallows Eve and Day was sort of mashed together into one day, it was celebrated on the night between the 31st and 1st, and was a day to remember your dead - sort of like Dia de Los Muertos (and to some extend we still do that here, it's an old and dying culture, but we used to take food & drink to our dead loved ones, and dine there on the grave - this is why lots of old graves here have benches on the actual grave - and probably also why we culturally treat graveyards as parks, where you picknick, walk your dog, take a stroll or play). 

 - AND.... dun dun dun.... Finally we are at the actual point of all this - In Denmark, in 1770 we had a King called Christian the 7th (he was a bit of a elitist dick actually), and he signed the new "holliday reform" - and that is why I tried to explain what it means when Church and State are not seperate, because let's face it; Employers are Employers - it's universal, and half those fuckers wouldn't let you leave work if they could. And since the old reform of 1517 had a fuckton of little days important to the church, where the workers were rightfully entitled to a day off, or better pay - the Crown then decided (cause after all the Crown is ordained by God himself... *sigh) that God wouldn't mind if we moved that day a little - so the celebration would ALWAYS be on the first sunday of November, cause Sunday is a day off anyways for most. I shit you not - I sort of wish I did, but no All Hallows Day/Eve was moved from october 31st to the first Sunday in November. Go remember your dead ones there, it's fine...  And over time, it was forgotten, In our calenders to this day, November 1st it's noted as all hallows day - And if you are a church goer, it's normal that the Minister will read the names of all the members of the Perish that was buried that year, so they can be remembered. It is also still normal to go visit your dead loved ones graves, and sometimes bring them a little something. We also culturally set out lights on the graves, and in windows on this day (not sure why tho, my guess is that it's a customs left from when we were Roman-Chatolic and well, it's pretty). 

And this is why we don't have Halloween. We culturally does not believe it is a day where the "veil is thin", but more like a Dia de Los Muertos, a day to spend in rememberence however you feel like it - of the loved ones you lost. We celebrate the time we had with them, instead of being sad they are no longer here. And that part of the Danish version I really, really like. But Danes are culturally some super buttoned up people (seriously we leave the Britons in the dust right there), and we don't make a huge deal out of anything, least of all something where you have to show emotions, or worse yet - talk about emotions. So there are no "festivities" tied to this, we just to it in complete silent privacy if we do it. No lanterns, special songs - costumes or whatever. 

But again since 2006 Tivoli have had a "real American" Halloween theme, and loads of people here in Copenhagen (some probably travel for it) come here to see the garden all dressed up in pumpkins and skeletons, to eat caramalized apples, popcorn and sit on haybales.. That is it ahaha it is what our imagination sort of stretches itself to - but then again what do we know, besides what we saw in American movies? But it just looks so fun! And I feel a little cheated out of it as a kid - and that is why I go TOTALLY overboard every Halloween, my kids are having the greatest of all goddamn Halloweens (even if we don't trick or treat, so everything is just done at home, unless you show up at some of the social events around town). 

I really don't dig structual reliegion, no matter what it is. I think that faith is a personal issue, and should be treated as such. But with that said, I like the Danish version of All Hallows Day, and try to keep it as a stable in my home. It is a wonderful thing to have a day where you basically thank your dead loved ones for all the good/silly/awesome they did. And I believe it's important to not let the grief of the loss, overshadow the love. (sorry if this ran off with my, it's my mums birthday today, and she has been dead for 3 years now - today is tough, and I am still learning to remember the good, without grief).