Halloween

How did Halloween start? And why do Christians, of all people, accept and celebrate this "holiday" every year?

There are many angles to the origins of Halloween. But there were similar celebrations, festivals, and cultural traditions, that took place around the same time of year, all over the ancient world. And that is directly related to Astrology. October 31 is cosidered to be the half was point between the fall Equinox and the winter Solstice (this half way point is also called the Samhain, by the Celts). It is also the evening before All Saint's Day (the Catholic tradition). It is said that witches can draw out the most power at this time of year. But I'll chase this topic later. [And just an FYI; when people say that Halloween has Christian origin/ties, that's only because they're tying Catholicism with Christianity. It's not the same, AT ALL. Catholic means "universal" or "broad taste or interest"; so the Catholic church (universal church. New Age, related to the end times), and Catholicism (universalism). Doesn't sound like Christianity, does it?]

Many ancient cultures had different beliefs about this time of year. The Celts believed it to be "The dying season" (because all things seemed to die. The grass, crops, etc.). So they had bonfires and paid tribute to their gods. It was also believed that the boundary between the world of the living and the realm of the dead was thinnest at this time. Thus allowing the dead to walk among the living, and even for the living to become trapped within the realm of the dead.

This was also a time to honor their dead. They would prepare the deceased persons favorite meal, and set a place for them at the table. The would also perform dances, songs, and poetry to entertain the departed souls. And lastly, they often would leave a window or door, on the west side of their house, open; they'd leave a candle there, so as to invite the dead to attend this celebration. Also, the Celts were said to wear masks and coverings made primarily of animal heads & skins (sound like someone's idea of a costume?).

Around the same time of year that the Celts had their Samhain celebration (this became involved in Rome, because the Romans conquered the Celts), the pope eventually created "All Hallow's Day" (now called, "All Saint's Day"). This day was appointed to honor all the past saints and martyrs. It is celebrated the day after the Samhain (October 31st); All Hallow's Day is on November 1st (just a side note. The Celts had both Druidism and Catholicism mingled in with their beliefs). After "All Hallow's Day/All Saint's Day", the pope recognized "All Soul's day", which recognizes all Godly souls, past and present; this is annually recognized on November 2nd.

Because the Samhain (celebration of the dead) is celebrated the day before "All Hallow's Day," the Samhain was renamed, and referred to as "All Hallow's Evening," then shortened into "All Hallow's Eve," and then finally combined and shortened to be called "Halloween."

The custom of trick-or-treating has different origins, but I'm going to touch on the most important source --

In times of old, druid priests and/or followers would go to a castle, mansion, estate, etc., and ask the owner for a "treat." This treat was to be a young maiden living in that place; they wanted her for human sacrifice. They would give the land-owner two choices: give them the maiden they requested, or be cursed. If they gave them the maiden (the treat), the druids would place a candle, made of human fat, on the door step of the home in question; this was supposed to ward off demons and evil spirits. If the owner didn't give them the maiden, they would draw a curse (a trick) on his dwelling, and a demon/evil spirit would enter the home, and kill someone that night (supposedly, the demon would kill them through unimaginable fright).

The less gruesome back ground to trick-or-treating, goes back to Catholicism. The Roman church (Catholicism) also had a part in Halloween. As most of you know, the Catholic faith teaches that there are 3 places a soul can go upon death: Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory. To get a loved one out of Purgatory, money was paid to the priest to pray for that soul, until that soul was finally ascended out of Purgatory, and into Heaven. But, that's not all. On the evening of "All Souls Day" beggars would come to peoples' doors, and ask ask for a treat. The owners of the home might then give them a small cake (more like a small pastry), in return for the beggars' offering up their prayers for that persons' deceased love one (anyone's prayers "might" help that soul. But the priest was the primary person who prayed, since his prayers "always reached" God). The beggars would sometimes wear masks, and recite short poems, or performances (sound familiar to the kids that come to your door in masks, saying "Trick or treat."?).

And there are other cultures who had similar festivals and such around the same time of year. But that's because that time is related to Astrology, which is a part of countless cultures and religions, in some form or fashion.

So, now that you've been down history lane, let's go down Truthful lane (AKA, God's Word).

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

- Eph. 5:11

I think this verse says enough. This celebration of all that is obviously dark, is widely celebrated and accepted by the world, as well as CHRISTIANS! Why is this? God tells us that as well.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, and thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

- Hsa. 4:6

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge".... How hard is that to see today? It's everywhere! The churches, our homes, EVERYWHERE. And people wonder why life is so hard. They aren't seeking knowledge as if it were hid treasure (Pro. 2:2-5), and they aren't obeying. In fact, most people don't even truly know how to obey, in the first place.

But, I'll get back on topic.

Christians partake in this pagan holiday openly, and without shame or regret. And what's worse is that they're teaching their kids that it is fine and good, from a very young age. Each time a child gets by with wrong, or the parent lets them think it's OK, it significantly weakens the next generation of Christians. Think about it: do you think the world was as bad as it is now, 50 years ago? No, it wasn't. Do you think it became this way over night? No. It happened over time, and it occurred through the weakening of the Christian body, through time and deceit. And churches aren't helping any, considering that they aren't teaching people this. They should have shot-down and exposed a lot of things, when they first appeared: the Harry Potter series, Twilight, they should be teaching the truth about Halloween, spiritual warfare, and the list goes on.

Christians are having their swords slowly dulled, and the world is hindering them from training to use it in any way. What does the Bible say the world will do?

And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

Mark 4:19

When we partake of the world, accept it's ways and truths, and want to be like the world, our effectiveness as Christian soldiers is drastically weakened. And that ties back into the previous verse I mentioned (Hsa. 4:6). When it says "thou shalt be no priest unto me", it's saying that God won't use us. The ancient Hebrew definition for the word "priest", used in this context, is "to meditate on religious services; to officiate as a priest; to hold the office of a priest, or execute the duty of a minister;" This is saying that if we're not obeying God's laws, He can't (and won't) use us for His purposes. In other words, we can't follow the best plan that God has for us. And we will be forgotten (uncovered) by God. Meaning he can't bless us, and we won't bless our children either [remember, the iniquities of the fathers will be visited on future generations (Exd. 20:5)].

And the point is made in 2 Chr. 6:14 --

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

Interesting, isn't it? That the word "darkness" is used again here. It means "darkness of error; obscure or blind" (taken from the ancient Greek dictionary).

We as Christians shouldn't be condoling and justifying this "celebration" known as Halloween; we should be speaking out against it, sharing truth with those who may not know, and honoring God with our obedience, and reverence.

I encourage you all, don't read this, only to stay silent and dormant. HELP EACH OTHER! An army is a unit, working for the same cause. And just as a house divided against itself will not stand (Luk. 11:17), neither will Christians; the soldiers, missionaries, and peace-keepers, of our Lord and Savior. The truth will set us free, always.

[I use the KJV Bible, and the Strong's Concordance for my Biblical references.]