Halloween's Tangled Religious Roots

Check out my Daily Beacon feature story on the religious origins of Halloween.

Here are the first few lines:

Marked primarily by costumes and candy in our culture, Halloween, seemingly in contrast to the way it is practiced now, has its roots in religious festivals, first from a pagan feast and later an infusion of pagan and Christian traditions.

Some of today’s practices carry over from the holiday’s ancient roots. Halloween’s religious overtones have evolved throughout the years, in some cases as a result of the dominant religion of the time and later in reaction to the seeming contradiction of celebrating a holiday with pagan roots within the context of Christianity.

Read the rest here.