WITCHES and ghosts, pumpkins and bonfires, trick or treat. The outward
trappings of Halloween are easy to identify. But what lies behind this
and similar celebrations? Halloween has also been called All Hallows’
Eve, the eve of All Saints’ Day. This supposedly Christian name,
however, hides origins that are far from hallowed. In fact, scholars
say that Halloween’s roots go back to a time long before
Christianity—the era when the ancient Celts inhabited Britain and
Ireland. Using a lunar calendar, the Celts divided the year into two
seasons—the dark winter months and the light summer months. On the
full moon nearest November 1, the Celts celebrated the festival of
Samhain, meaning “Summer’s End.”
It was believed that on the festival of Samhain, the veil between the
human and the supernatural worlds was parted and spirits, both good
and evil, roamed the earth. The souls of the dead were thought to
return to their homes, and families would put out food and drink for
their ghostly visitors in hopes of appeasing them and warding off
misfortune. Thus, today when children dressed as ghosts or witches go
from house to house demanding a Halloween treat or threatening a
mischievous trick, they unwittingly perpetuate the ancient rituals of
Samhain. Jean Markale comments in his book Halloween, histoire et
traditions (Halloween—History and Traditions): “In receiving something
in their hands, they establish, on a symbolic level that they do not
understand, a brotherly exchange between the visible and the invisible
worlds. That is why the Halloween masquerades . . . are in fact sacred
ceremonies.”
Since people believed that the barriers between the physical and
supernatural realms were down, they thought that humans were able to
cross over into the spirit world with ease. Samhain was therefore a
particularly auspicious time to unlock the secrets of the future.
Apples or hazelnuts, both viewed as products of sacred trees, were
used to divine information concerning marriage, sickness, and death.
For example, apples with identifying marks were placed in a tub of
water. By seizing an apple using only the mouth, a young man or woman
was supposed to be able to identify his or her future spouse. This
divination practice survives today in the Halloween game of bobbing
for apples.
Unable to uproot pagan beliefs from the hearts of its flock, the
church simply hid them behind a “Christian” mask. Highlighting this
fact, The Encyclopedia of Religion says: “The Christian festival, the
Feast of All Saints, commemorates the known and unknown saints of the
Christian religion just as Samhain had acknowledged and paid tribute
to the Celtic deities.”
Of even greater concern to Christians, however, is the fact that
Halloween and celebrations like it are steeped in paganism. The
apostle Paul wrote: “I do not want you to be participants with demons.
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.”
(1 Corinthians 10:20-22, New International Version) He also asked:
“What common interest can there be between goodness and evil? How can
light and darkness share life together? How can there be harmony
between Christ and the devil? What can a believer have in common with
an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16, Phillips) The Bible thus
condemns the whole idea of putting a Christian mask on a pagan
practice!
Also, the Bible warns against the practice of spiritism. (Deuteronomy
18:10-12) While it is true that the vast majority of those who
celebrate Halloween would claim to spurn Satanic practices, we should,
nevertheless, be aware that historically this holiday has close
connections with the occult. Thus, it can serve as a door leading to
spiritism, especially for impressionable youths. Pagan rites and
traditions tainted by spiritism simply have no place in Christian
worship; they are far from harmless.
Finally, there is the fact that Halloween, All Saints’ Day, and All
Souls’ Day are all based on the beliefs that the dead suffer or that
they can somehow bring harm to the living. However, the Bible clearly
shows that such beliefs are not true, saying: “The living are
conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious
of nothing at all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) For that reason, the Bible
counsels: “All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power,
for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol
[the common grave of mankind], the place to which you are going.”
(Ecclesiastes 9:10) Since the dead are unconscious and thus incapable
of harming others or suffering themselves, we have nothing to fear
from them. At the same time, prayers to help them are of no use
whatsoever. Does this mean that there is no hope for our dead loved
ones? No. The Bible assures us that “there is going to be a
resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”—Acts 24:15.
With knowledge comes the freedom to choose. We cannot be expected to
make intelligent decisions if we do not have all the facts. After
considering these facts, what will you decide?
Halloween perpetuates the lie that the dead are actually living
Celtic divination rites have survived in Halloween games
Bobbing for apples is one of the games that has Celtic origins
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