Halloween ...is it ok for Christians to participate? By Pastor Ron McGee hristians in America are being destroyed and seeing their children turn away from the things of God because of a lack of C knowledge. They are rejecting knowledge that is available and are entering into activities that are expressly forbidden in the Word of God. Do you know the facts? Halloween is one of those activities. The following information on the origin and meaning of Halloween is to help those who want to know the • How did this holiday begin? truth and live by it. This historical information can easily be found on the internet, in an encyclopedia or at any public library. • What is the harm in participating? Halloween, its traditions and its associated objects, are not and have • Isn’t it just an innocent way for children to have fun? never been even remotely related to true Christianity. As you will see, the origin of this holiday predates the Church by many centuries. 2000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, in the Celtic countries of “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because Ireland, England, France and Germany, savage primitive festivals were you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being celebrated under the direction of Druid priests. The Druids were being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of satanic priests whose origins go back to Old Testament days. The night of October 31st was the chief festival, the Festival of Samhain. Samhain was your God, I also will forget your children.” Hosea 4:6 none other than Satan himself, their lord of death. It came at the end of summer when all the leaves and vegetation were dying and cold weather was coming. Their god of darkness was winning out over the god of “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who summer and light. It was the beginning of their new year. On that night, hates reproof is stupid.” Proverbs 12:1 Samhain assembled the souls of all those who had died during the year. Because of their sins, they had until that night been confined to the bodies of lower animals. During the festival of Samhain, their sins would be forgiven and their souls were allowed to enter Druid Heaven. The festival consisted of a large bonfire and burnt offering sacrifices to Samhain. These sacrifices were intended to appease their lord of death so he would not deal harshly with them during the long winter season. Human and animal sacrifices were suspended over the fire in wicker buckets until consumed. While this was taking place the people danced and chanted to the beat of Druid music. Most were dressed in animal costumes. As the fire subsided, fortunes were told over the remaining bones. Because of their satanic powers, the Druid priests were greatly feared by all the people. The people participated because the priests would go to the castles and villages asking for Trick or Treat. The treat was giving them a virgin to be sacrificed. The trick was placing a hexagram on the door of the castle or house if no virgin was given. The hexagram would call in evil spirits to kill someone inside. We get the saying of placing a “hex” on someone from this practice. To protect those who provided a virgin for sacrifice, the Druid priests would leave a lantern carved out of a turnip or potato, with a grotesque face and a candle made of human fat. This lantern was placed by the door or in the window to ward off the evil spirits. In some areas, the local people rounded up all known criminals each year to be offered as human sacrifices. Horses, cows and black cats were also offered up to Samhain. The wicker or thatch cages were often shaped in the form of recognition to become saints. The October 31st Festival continued and was renamed All animals or giants. In 43 AD, Rome conquered the area and in 61 AD Roman law forbade Hallows’ Evening Festival... later shortened to Hallows’ Even... Hallow’en... and finally the practice of human sacrifice. However, the other burnt offerings continued. Halloween. The Roman Catholic Church thus took in a pagan festival and declared it The Romans celebrated two fall festivals that were quickly combined with the Festival of Christian, just as Rome had declared it’s people Christian. The sacrifices were allowed to Samhain. One was the Festival of Feralia, which honored the dead. The other festival was continue as “harmless customs”. The Church established a policy of “incorporating these the Festival of Pomana, the goddess of fruits and harvest. Part of this festival centered on harmless pagan folk ideas into church activities.” apples, which were thus incorporated into the October 31st combined Festival of Death. For the next 500 years, October 31st, Halloween remained the biggest and best These basic festival practices continued under Rome’s rule. attended festival of the year. It drew much larger crowds than Christmas and Easter. In 313 AD, Emperor Constantine The Great issued the famous Edict of Milan giving Wittenburg Church in Germany was a popular place on Halloween because it housed over Christians the right to practice their religion openly. Later he and his entire army were 5,000 relics belonging to saints of the Church. Faithful Catholics for miles around would baptized to signify that Romans were now Christian. But, the Festival of Samhain still pilgrimage to the church on October 31st to pay homage to the saints and participate in continued with its heathen customs and practices. Halloween. Since this was the most notable night for the church and would see the largest Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) sent a letter to the Archbishop in England instructing crowd, Martin Luther in 1517 chose this as the time to post his 95 Theses. Among other the Church to take over all the Druid temples, to destroy their idols and to turn the temples things, he was protesting the sale of indulgences by the church in order for sins to be into Christian churches. This was done, yet the Festival on October 31st continued with forgiven. This practice was not much different than the Druid practices started 1700 years horses and oxen being led down the church aisles in preparation for sacrifice. True before. Soul cakes were also sold on Halloween. The Souler would be paid for his cakes Christianity is a change of heart, not an edict! The pagan rituals now continued within the so he would pray for a departed loved one in order to get them out of purgatory or shorten Christian church. The people came to the church on October 31st to have their Festival of their time there. This idea came directly from the punishment of Samhain, sending souls Death. into animal bodies (purgatory) before getting into heaven. Pope Gregory IV felt it would be good to honor all the saints of the church and their Each of the surrounding countries added their flavor to the festival. Scotch and Irish religious relics, so in 834 AD he established November 1st as All Saints’ Day. It soon people incorporated elves, fairies and witches. They believed that all evil spirits flew about became known as All Hallows’ Day. Two hundred years later the Catholic Church declared that night and lit bonfires to protect themselves from harm. November 2nd, as All Soul’s Day to honor all martyrs who may not have received the (Continued on page 4) The curse of fear, torment, anxiety, pain, What Does the Bible Say? apprehension and distress only comes in when a door is opened. There is a cause for each. It doesn’t just There can be no justification for being involved in the ways of the heathen. God’s happen, it comes when an avenue is opened up for the Word is emphatic about the abomination of participating in such things. enemy to send it in. Halloween is based on fear and torment! he Word of God clearly teaches us not to We should also be careful not to let these things If we are to cast off the works of darkness, not yield learn the ways of the world and to keep away enter our home through the medium of television, with our physical bodies as instruments of unrighteousness, T from any evil practice. The Festival of movies, TV programs and cartoons that depict ghosts, not defile the temple of God, not fashion our actions Samhain (now Halloween) was and is godless in every monsters, witches, super heroes, magic, violence or according to former ignorant desires, but are to be Holy, aspect. God warns us not to bring any objects astrology. separated unto God, how can we have anything to do associated with those evil practices into our homes. Participation in Halloween is instruction in the ways with Halloween and its glorification of Satan and his Whether it is a costume, ugly mask, carved pumpkin, of Halloween to your children. We are teaching them devices? We are to be lights in this dark world. We are picture of a witch or mutilated body, it is an evil thing heathen customs that are vain. There are no Christian to set ourselves apart from heathen practices. We are and we should utterly detest and abhor it. These things values of any sort associated with Halloween. They are to abstain from all appearance of evil. We are to train are cursed and if we bring them into our homes we godless traditions and customs that God commands us our children (by example and word) the ways of God.