All Hallow's Eve or Halloween
A Christian Perspective
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| Druid Festival |
Churches will fully sanction the event with parties that will be decorated with witches, cats, brooms, jack-o-lanterns and bobbing apples. What is the harm? What's the big deal? We are just having fun - right? But let's look at how did this feast day really originated.
The custom of Halloween is traced to the Druid festival of the dead. Then the Roman Pantheon was built by Emperor Hadrian in 100 A.D. as a temple to the goddess Cybele and other Roman deities. It became the principle place of worship. Roman pagans prayed for the dead. Rome was captured and the Pantheon fell into disrepair. Emporer Phocas captured Rome and gave the Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV in 609. He reconsecrated it to the Virgin Mary and resumed using the temple to pray for the dead, only now it was "Christianized", as men added the unscriptural teaching of purgatory.
In 834 A.D. Gregory IV extended the feast for all the church and it became known as All Saint's Day, still remembering the dead.
Samhain, a Druid god of the dead was honored at Halloween in Britain, France, Germany and the Celtic countries. Samhain called together all wicked souls who died within the past year and that were destined to inhabit animals.
This celebration of the dead honored the god of the dead on this particular night. Druids believed that souls of the dead returned to their former homes to be entertained by the living. Bonfires (the name is derived from the Celtic custom of burning the bones of the cattle which were slaughtered at this time of year - a BONE fire) were built atop hills so they might find their way. Suitable food and shelter was provided for these spirits or else they would cast spells, cause havoc, steal infants, destroy crops, kill farm animals and create terror as they haunted the living. The spirits demanded placating by giving them a type of worship and offering. This is the action that "Trick-or-Treat" emulates today.
The Samhain celebration used nuts, apples, skeletons, witches and black cats. Divination and auguries were practiced as well as magic to seek answers for the future. Black cats were considered to be reincarnated beings with the ability to divine the future. During this festival supernatural beings terrified the populace. Even today witchcraft practitioners declare October 31st as the most conducive time to practice their arts.
The Christian church tried to eliminate the Druid celebration by offering All Saint's Day as a substitute. As Christianity spread over Europe and the British Isles, it attempted to replace the pre-existing pagan cult worship of Apollo, Diana or Ymir, but to no avail.
Although the outward forms of such worship disappeared, the belief in these deities did not. They found an outlet during the Middle Ages in the open practice of witchcraft which is presently enjoying a revival in many countries, including the U.S. In Germany the occult is considered more prevalent than in the Middle Ages. The deistic cults held periodic meetings known as witches sabbaths, and it is the same today with October 31st being of more importance.
Pranks and mischief began to by played out to represent the mischievious behavior attributed to witches and the fairies. Trick-or-Treat came from and ancient Druid practice. One of the basic tenets in witchcraft is to control the will of another by use of fear. Even in jest, when one threatens to punish if a treat or offering is not given, they are imitating an occult practice of controlling the will of another by use of fear.
Prosperity was promised to all who were generous donors, and tricks to all who refused during the Irish Druid event of trick-or-treat. The contributions demanded were in the name of Muck Olla, and early Druid deity.
Traditional Halloween symbols appeared in the U.S. during the late 1800's. Witches, black cats, death's head cut from a pumpkin, candles, masks, parties and pranks were used.
In rural areas, aggravating and destructive acts were done, such as removing gates and placing them atop barns. The same was done with outhouses and wagons.
The uninformed Christian has no idea that there truly are demonic spirits which are contacted and activated as people call out to them in jest or in seriousness. Every act around Halloween is in honor of false gods, which are spirits in the realm of the Satanic. Those who have been deeply involved in witchcraft and who are now free, declare that even those who say they worship spirits of nature are in actuality contacting the Satanic realm without knowing it. (I even knew of a former satanic priest who shared how witches in his "group" were "raped" (sometimes consensually) to conceive by the "priests" and then those babies, grown and born in secret, were slaughtered on the alter as sacrifices to the devil on the 31st of October.)
To pray for the dead is against scripture. If one knows Jesus before death, their spirit is already with the Lord. Paul says to be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord, II Corinthians 5:6. If one is an unbeliever at death, the scripture says there is no second chance as it is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment. Therefore, prayer for the dead is in opposition to God's Word and a pagan practice that became "Christianized". While living, one must make a choice "for" or "against" Jesus and that determines the destination at death of the spirit. No amount of prayer can reverse the decision made on earth by the person concerned while they were alive.
The Bible instructs us to have nothing to do with the deeds of darkness. Both Christian and Jew are forbidden to participate in the occult practices listed in Deuteronomy 18:10. Necromancing is the delving into contacting the dead. God said all such practice was an abomination to Him.
Some may reply, "But we only do this in fun...we don't practice witchcraft." That which represents Satan and his domain cannot be handled or emulated "for fun". Such participation places you in enemy and forbidden territory and that is dangerous ground.
Through the ages, Halloween has gone by various names but all have been tributes to the same dark force, Satan. There is no place in the life of the Church or the Christian for such participation.
Information used here was taken from an article by Mrs. Gloria Phillips and published at Bay View Church, PO Box 9277, Mobile, AL 36691.
REFERENCES:
Bibliography: Encyclopedia Americana Encyclopedia Brittanica Christian Life, October 1980 World Book Encyclopedia The Standard Dictionary of Folklore Babylon Mystery Religion The Satan Seller, Mike Warnke Freed From Witchcraft, Dareen Irvine Time Magazine, June 19, 1972 The Supernatural, Grolier Enter., Inc. Christianity Today, Oct. 21, 1977