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Halloween: Where it comes from.

We often do wrong in ignorance and without bad intentions. Other times we do nice things to please God. Does the Halloween Feast please God, or is it one of those things we do by ignorance?

If we want to know the meaning of the word Halloween, we can divide the word in "hallow" and "ween". According to the American Heritage Dictionary these words mean:

Hallow: 1. To make or set apart as holy. 2. To respect or honor greatly; revere.
Ween: [Archaic.] To think; suppose.

By combining these to meanings we get:

Halloween: 1. A day that is supposedly holy. 2. A day that we respect for its holiness.

The question that rises is: What has Halloween of holy or sacred? Are the stories of ghost and witches holy?

Obviously, there is something suspicious about this feast. For this reason I think is worthy to explore how Halloween originated.

Origin of Halloween:

According to the Grolier's Academic American Encyclopedia: "Halloween was originally a Celtic festival for the dead, celebrated on the last day of the Celtic year, Oct. 31." The Encyclopedia Britannica explain briefly about the Celtic religion. Their words are as follows:

"Because of their great reverence for the art of memory, the pre-Christian Celts themselves left no writings. Other than a few inscriptions, the principal sources of modern information about them are contemporary Greek and Latin writers, notably Poseidonius, Lucan, and Julius Caesar. Insight can also be gleaned from the sagas and myths, particularly of Ireland and Wales, that were recorded by native Christian monks centuries later."

Celtics believed in many gods and in human sacrifices. The Encyclopedia Britannica adds:

"Celtic worship centered upon the interplay of the 'otherworld' or divine element with the land and the waters. Wells, springs, rivers, and hills were believed to be inhabited by guardian spirits, usually female, the names of which survive in many place-names. The land itself was regarded anthropomorphically as feminine. The ocean, ruled by the god Manannán, was also, particularly in British and Irish cosmology, a force of great magic and mystery."

Among the Celtic traditions there was on October 31 the Celtic festival of Samhain (which means end of summer or festival of the dead). The Britannica mentions that:

"The date was connected with the return of herds from pasture, and laws and land tenures were renewed. The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats, fairies, and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about. It was the time to placate the supernatural powers controlling the processes of nature. In addition, Halloween was thought to be the most favorable time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health, and death. It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes."

With time, children's games replace the spiritual meaning of Halloween. They wore masks to vandalize or threated tricks unless the owner of the properties paid them (usually with candies). This custom enters the United States with the settlement of the Scotch-Irish. Nowadays children go door by door asking for candies. Nevertheless, the police force, which are worried about safety and security, has a very busy night on October 31.

To complicate things more, the Catholic Church celebrates the All Saints' Day on November 1. The original intention of the All Saints' Day was to remember all Saints and Martyr of God (known and unknown). The All Saint's Day has a Christian meaning, because we are accepting God decision of giving eternal life to their already chosen ones. The problem arises when Halloween was seen as an All Saint's Eve (sometimes call Hallows' Eve). These two different celebrations in nature are often confused as one thing.

Christian's Point of View:

Do you think that the pagan origin of Halloween pleases God? The Word of God teaches us:

(Leviticus 19:31) "Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God."
(Deuteronomy 18:10-12) "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you."
(1 John 2:4-5) "The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him."
(Luke 6:46) "Why do you call me, `Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?"
(Revelation 21:8) "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

Clearly Halloween does not please God nor is a holy day. Everything done on that day was opposite to what the Bible teaches us. How is it possible that you disguise your child for Halloween when that is not of God's please? Do you think that a child game or a bunch of candies is more important than the spiritual health of your family? It is serious not to give God the first place in your heart. You are in sin when you do something contrary to God's will, and it is even worst if you know that is wrong and keeps doing it. While you live in ignorance you were not offending God, but once you know something is wrong you should stop doing it. Once you were baptize in Christ, you become son of God, and you should not sin as you did before.

Pagan's point of view:

Non-Christian people could think that Halloween feast is a kid game and not a religious belief. They could tell you that history had set apart the pagan worship part that Halloween implies. For them, this statement is so true as saying that Thanksgiving Day and Christmas has no religious meaning. In fact, they eat turkey and call Saint Clauss without remembering to give thanks to God or without remembering Jesus birth. They live with spiritual emptiness. You as a Christian, however, give thanks to God on Thanksgiving Day and visit the Church on Christmas in remembrance of Jesus birth. For you, these celebrations are more than simply traditions of a country. These are Christian days. What make you think that Halloween is an exception to this rule? It is not a surprise that it is not an exception. Please, do not negate God to follow what the rest of the people is doing. We are call to follow God always. Nobody had said that it is easy, but the reward that Jesus Christ promises is far more precious than any of our efforts.

Conclusion:

Because of history, we lost the Paradise; because of history, we had been forgive en the Blood of Christ; and because of tradition we follow the Church's belief. Please, do not contaminate your soul for worship something contrary to God. In conclusion: (James 4:17) "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."

References:

1996 Encyclopedia Britannica,: electronic edition.
Grolier's Academic American Encyclopedia: electronic edition.
"American Heritage Dictionary": electronic edition, version 3.0-115.

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