Patriarch Kirill is outraged by the celebration of Halloween on the day of national mourning

The head of the Moscow Patriarchate called on to pray that the Lord would not punish those who decided to celebrate the Celtic holiday of Halloween. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia was amazed at how "wildly" this night in Russia they celebrated the night before All Saints Day.

“Tonight, we were violently celebrating not ours, an obscure holiday for us, called Halloween, in some nightclubs and other entertainment establishments,” Cyril said after the liturgy in the Church of the Beheading of John the Baptist near Bor in Moscow.

According to the patriarch, the state should have limited entertainment activities after a Russian airliner with 224 passengers on board crashed on Sinai.

“The state and society should have enough strength and firmness to prevent this kind of phenomenon if people themselves are not able to limit themselves,” Kirill said.

Let us recall that November 1 in the Russian Federation was declared a day of mourning for those killed in the largest plane crash in the history of the Russian Federation. On Saturday morning in Egypt, the A321 airliner of Kogalymavia, en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, crashed. The plane crashed south of Al-ARish in the Sinai Peninsula in the area of ​​active operations of Islamist groups.

Crimean authorities banned schools from celebrating Halloween, and Orthodox raids on clubs and entertainment venues in cities took place in Krasnodar, Rostov-on-Don and Sochi.

This controversial holiday has its origins in Celtic culture, which celebrated the last day of autumn and the arrival of winter on October 31st. In the 7th century, Pope Boniface IV approved November 1 as All Saints Day, wanting to distract the English people from pagan customs. Later, November 2 became the Day of All Souls - when all the dead were remembered.

In recent years, the holiday has thoroughly returned to Europe and gained popularity in some Asian countries. Children dress up as monsters and go to neighboring houses, bargaining for sweets. Masquerades are also held, and a hollow pumpkin with carved eyes and mouth, with a candle inside is displayed in the window. This terrible "head" is designed to scare away evil spirits.