The Christian Origin of Skulls at Halloween
Skulls stored at the Greek Orthodox monastery of Meteora. Photo by form PxHere
While skulls are often seen as ominous and sinister, in the Christian reality (especially monastic) it is meant to be a realistic and welcome reminder of death and our impermanence. As such skulls are not hidden or kept in dark places, but are kept nearby as a constant reminder.
As the first monasteries were in the deserts of Egypt and surrounding area, burying all of the departed monastics was not always possible due the soil conditions (or lack thereof). Bodies were buried but often soon dug up, and bones respectfully and kindly collected and stored together in ossuaries.
In fact in some monasteries, each skull is inscribed with the person’s name and placed on shelves. In the St. Gerasimos monastery in the Judean Desert (Israel), there are named skulls dating back hundreds of years. And in some of the monasteries on Mt. Athos, the skulls date back 1000 years! According to some monastics, the colour of the skull can indicate the state of the deceased’s soul: white-coloured if they had honestly completed their monastic vows; dark-coloured if their soul is perishing, and golden-coloured (potentially even sweet-smelling) suggesting that they had achieved a state of righteousness. And in the same way that an icon can miraculously have myrrh stream from it, so too can skulls and bones (you can read more about the 2009 miracle of myrrh-bearing skulls at the Panahrantos Monastery in Greece).
In relation to Halloween, as it is a Roman Catholic feast day to remember all the departed, evening traditions likely included celebrating a mass in the ossuary (Roman Catholics also have ossuaries).
Learn More
What Is an Ossuary & Why Is It an Orthodox Practice? (Video)
What the Skull Said: Finding Oneself in the Face of Others (article)
In a Grave for 3 Years: burial practices on Mt. Athos (article)
On the Remembrance of Death: the Sixth Step of the Ladder of Divine Ascent (article)
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