Posted on 10/22/2006 10:37:57 AM PDT by DouglasKC
Halloween is undoubtedly one of the strangest holidays people celebrate, with its symbolism of witches, devils, skeletons, bats and black cats. Is it not a little bizarre that children are taught to dress up as ghosts and monsters to go from house to house demanding "trick or treat!" (with the threat of a trick or prank constituting a playful form of extortion)?
While tricks are no longer the norm in most places, it used to be common in many areas that refusal to give trick-or-treaters candy invited minor acts of vandalism, such as having one's windows marred with a bar of soap, trash dumped on the lawn, toilet paper unrolled across tree limbs, and raw eggs thrown against the house and car.
Where, how and when did such strange customs begin? And why do they continue?
Many parents encourage their children to celebrate Halloween, assuming it to be harmless and innocent fun. But why? Would parents honor this holiday if they knew what's behind it—behind the mask?
Halloween's origins
Few people really understand the origins of Halloween. However, many clues are obvious from the trappings of the holiday—witches, ghosts, jack-o'-lanterns, skeletons and the like.
History shows that behind the dark mask of this popular children's holiday reside the terrors of an ancient Celtic festival renamed All Hallows Eve. It was originally a holiday marking the mythical time when the dead supposedly rose from their graves to walk the earth.
To better understand the origins of Halloween one needs to be introduced to the ancient pagan festival of Samhain (usually pronounced sow-en).
In The Encyclopedia of Religion, under the heading "Halloween," the authors link Halloween to the eve of Samhain, "a celebration marking the beginning of winter as well as the first day of the New Year within the ancient Celtic culture of the British Isles."
This encyclopedia explains that "the time of Samhain comprised the eve of the feast and the day itself (31 October and 1 November). This event was a crucial seam in the social and religious fabric of the Celtic year, and the eve of Samhain set the tone for the annual celebration as a threatening, fantastic, mysterious rite of passage to a new year" (1987, p. 176).
Both the eve and day of Samhain were thought to be a time when the barriers between the human and supernatural worlds were broken, allowing passage between the two. "Other worldly entities, such as the souls of the dead, were able to visit earthly inhabitants, and humans could take the opportunity to penetrate the domains of the gods and supernatural creatures.
"Fiery tributes and sacrifices of animals, crops, and possibly human beings were made to appease supernatural powers that controlled the fertility of the land. Samhain acknowledged the entire spectrum of nonhuman forces that roamed the earth during that period" (ibid., p. 177).
The Encyclopedia of Religion then explains the origin of the bizarre customs that survive in today's Halloween: "Divination activities remained a popular practice. Adults, dressed in fantastic disguises and masks, imitated supernatural beings and visited homes where occupants would offer tributes of food and drink to them. A fear of nocturnal creatures, such as bats and owls, persisted, since these animals were believed to communicate with the spirits of the dead" (emphasis added).
Halloween comes to the New World
Centuries later, Irish and Scottish immigrants brought the custom of Halloween with them to the New World. After massive immigration of the Irish to the United States during the great potato famine in Ireland (1845-46), Halloween eventually became a national event.
Today, says The Encyclopedia of Religion, "modern Halloween activities have centered on mischief making and masquerading in costumes, often resembling otherworldly characters. Folk customs, now treated as games (such as bobbing for apples), have continued from the various divination practices of the ancient celebrants of this occasion. Supernatural figures (such as the ghost, the witch, the vampire, the devil) play a key role in supplying an aura of the mysterious to the evening, whether or not they originally had an association with the festival.
"Children are particularly susceptible to the imagery of Halloween, as can be seen in their fascination with the demonic likeness of a carved and illuminated pumpkin, known as the jack-o'-lantern. In recent times, children have taken up the practice of dressing in Halloween costumes and visiting homes in search of edible and monetary treats, lightly threatening to play a trick on the owner if a treat is not produced . . .
"There also has been renewed interest in Halloween as a time when adults can also cross cultural boundaries and shed their identities by indulging in an uninhibited evening of frivolity. Thus, the basic Celtic quality of the festival as an evening of annual escape from normal realities and expectations has remained into the twentieth century" (p. 177).
God unmasks Halloween
Does the Bible have anything to say about strange customs and holidays such as this? In fact, it does—and none of it is good.
While God's Holy Days in the Bible celebrate the role of Jesus Christ in bringing mankind to salvation in the eternal family of God (as explained in the following article and our free booklet God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind), Halloween is a celebration of the opposite—of demonism, witchcraft, death and evil spirits.
God's Word makes it clear that no one should dare entertain witchcraft or act as a sorcerer. "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD" (Deuteronomy 18:10-11, emphasis added throughout).
God pronounced death on any Israelites who would dare dally with demonism or Satanism: "A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them" (Leviticus 20:27). "You shall not permit a sorceress to live" (Exodus 22:18).
Why such a harsh penalty? God did not want such perverted, demonic practices to spread among His people and corrupt others. "But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst" (Deuteronomy 13:5).
Would God be against something as harmless as Halloween, especially since it allows children to have fun and enjoy a little entertainment? Can't we let them have a little harmless fun?
Frankly, Halloween is anything but harmless. It focuses one's attention on witchcraft and demonism, which flies in the face of the holy God Almighty! When parents not only allow but also encourage their children to celebrate witches and goblins, they are teaching them that it's acceptable to deal in demonism.
And we have seen what God thinks of that. God is a God of light and truth (1 John 1:5). Satan, "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4), is a very real being—a being of darkness, deception and death (Revelation 12:9; John 8:44). We are to have nothing to do with his ways. (To learn more, request our free booklet Is There Really a Devil?)
Do not assume that Halloween is a harmless holiday. God hates mankind's dabbling in the spirit world of Satan and his demons!
If there were no other reason available, that should be enough. But there are more reasons. Halloween keeps humankind, and many Christians, confused, disoriented and separated from the one and only true God.
God is not the author of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33). Nor is He the author of Halloween or any other "Christianized" pagan holidays (Amos 5:21). Why would the only true God who loves mankind support any worldly holiday that blinds human beings to Him and His truth and that holds men, women and children captive to deception?
What does God expect from you on Halloween?
You now know what lurks behind Halloween's mask: Satan the devil! God will one day unmask the ritual and tradition of Halloween to all people (Hebrews 8:10-11).
If you believe that God exists and you understand that He is highly offended by the holidays designed and perpetuated by the god of this age, then you have a choice: whether you will begin honoring God the way He expects to be honored and be blessed for doing it, or whether you will ignore the truth revealed in history and His Word. Don't wait!
God is not a god of masks, but a God of truth. God says that if you honor Him, He will honor you (1 Samuel 2:30). Ignore God and He will leave you subject to the god of this world and all that entails. God expects all who love and honor Him to repent from dead works and turn in faith toward Him, the only true God. GN
Snatch the little monsters off the front porch and haul them off to a well deserved exorcism.
I remember one year taking my son trick or treating. We went up to a house that had a porchlight that was brightly blazing. On the door was a note that stated, "We are Christian, so do not observe Halloween." They could just as easily have turned off their lights the way most normal people do.
"I understand that many don't like to hear this type of thing, but it's important to know where the customs we observe come from and why we observe them."
Well, Jesus was not born on December 25. From what I understand, the whole reason why we celebrate Christmas in December is because early Christians wanted a holiday to counter the pagans' Winter Solstice. Does that mean we shouldn't celebrate Christmas?
I am very much a Christian, and while I try and avoid the occult, I don't see anything wrong with a kid dressing up as Spider Man to get some free candy (Provided the kid is supervised, of course).
No one is against having fun. What we are against is the satanic and wiccan elements of these things, in a climate where the Christian meaning of Christmas and Easter are systematically driven out.
To a parent these things are quite important. They should be equally important to a citizen who plans to live in the same country with the generation we are raising on witchcraft. I am sure you yourself would also draw a line somewhere in the methods of fun you would allow your children. Where does the line go for you?
Yeah, I think it used to be pretty much harmless, except maybe for some localized areas, but Satan has been loosed on the world in ways he wasn't before and I think it's playing with fire now.
If I were a parent I doubt I would put the kibosh on all recognition of this, but I'd try to put the emphasis on All Saints and All Souls days and off of the dark evening prior.
How do you know society has not gone from rationality to ignorance?
That's exactly what it means. The Lord's holy days, the ones he wants us to observe, are listed in Leviticus chapter 23.
My sentiments exactly.
Birthdays were observed and noted in the bible because the ages of many biblical figures are recorded. Thus I don't havea a problem with it.
The Fourth of July is a secular holiday that commemerates an event in United States history. I do observe it.
It most likely falls under the 1st commandment: Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
By observing days dedicated to false gods against the wishes of God, you are putting other gods ahead of God.
From the article:
Halloween is a celebration of the opposite—of demonism, witchcraft, death and evil spirits.
God's Word makes it clear that no one should dare entertain witchcraft or act as a sorcerer. "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD" (Deuteronomy 18:10-11, emphasis added throughout).
God pronounced death on any Israelites who would dare dally with demonism or Satanism: "A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them" (Leviticus 20:27). "You shall not permit a sorceress to live" (Exodus 22:18).
Why such a harsh penalty? God did not want such perverted, demonic practices to spread among His people and corrupt others. "But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst" (Deuteronomy 13:5).
You didn't read the article...did you?
I don't put too much stock in what post-biblical writers had to say.
How about you use it to spread the Gospel instead? Put a Snickers and a Bible tract out to anyone who comes to the door?
Instead of encouraging the activities, I think more of an impact would be made by politely telling them that we don't observe Halloween for religious reasons.
You're a smart person I can tell...so you need to familiarize yourself with the evils of Wicca and the occult and any mind control cult on impressionable people.
Which is the main point. The danger isn't that by dressing up and getting candy one day a year would lead to a child becoming pagan, but that the society is promoting a kind of agnostic polytheism. When you see show after show and book after book glorifying witchcraft, a Christian parent needs to be aware and guard their children against that.
Interesting shell game, as many of the writers were contemporaries of St. Paul. Rings meant something different then also than today.
A good example is building a compost. I read a pagan calender and they suggested building a compost in dedication to the Earth on may 1, beltane. It turns out that I have a compost. So does this mean that in the real God's eyes I am a practicing pagan? Of course the answer is a resounding no. Same for trick or treating.
"Agnostic polytheism" is neopaganism.
Actually it's not the same. Halloween is a real pagan day of worship to false Gods. It's celebrated to this day by pagans and Satanists. If you're not a Christian then it's understandable that you participate in it because you don't know any better. If, however, you profess to worship the one, true God, then you are being held to a much higher standard by God. You have agreed to enter into a covenant with God and to obey his laws.
A compost heap could have been used by pagans, but so what? It wasn't part of a formal day of worship to false Gods. Having things in common with pagans isn't bad in and of itself, it's all about worship of God.
You are preaching a works based doctrine with your behaviorism and holy day stuff.
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