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“Trick?” or “Treat?” Unmasking HALLOWEEN Americans spend $2.5 billion on Halloween each year. It is the second largest holiday, after Christmas. What is the true origin of Halloween? Is it harmless fun—or something much different? How did it become a common practice? Should you observe Halloween? Page 2 RICK OR TREAT! When said by Ireland, Great Britain and Northern began. The Celts wore costumes of ani- children, these three words France. The Celts were pagan nature wor- mal heads and skins, and told each other Tbring back a flood of child- shippers who had many gods, including their fortunes. The next morning, they hood memories to most adults. the sun, which they believed commanded re-lit their cooking fires from the sacred their work and rest times. They believed bonfires, in order to free them from evil Memories of masquerading as the sun maintained the earth and kept it spirits—as well as to help protect them vampires, ghosts, witches, ghouls, beautiful, and caused their crops to grow. during the coming winter season. monsters and fairies. Memories The Celts observed their new year on “In ancient Britain and Ireland, of canvassing the neighborhood, November 1, which marked the end of the Celtic festival of Samhain eve was going door to door, shouting those the harvest and summer (“the season of observed on October 31, at the end of the sun”), as well as the beginning of the summer. (It) was the occasion for one of three little words, and watching cold, dark winter ahead (“the season of the ancient fire festivals when huge bon- their bags fill up with all sorts of darkness and cold”). fires were set on hilltops to frighten away candies, apples, nuts and other From October 31 to November 2, the evil spirits...The souls of the dead were goodies. Memories of parades, Celts celebrated a 48-hour festival, the thought to revisit their homes on this day, parties and playing “tricks,” like Vigil of Samhain (pronounced “sow-in”). and the autumnal festival acquired sinister They believed that Samhain, the pagan significance, with ghosts, witches, hob- soaping the neighbors’ windows, lord of the dead, assembled the souls of goblins, black cats, fairies, and demons “decorating” their trees with toilet those who had died during the previous of all kinds said to be roaming about. In tissue, or playing “baseball” with year and decided what form they would addition, Halloween was thought to be their roadside mailboxes. take for the next year. The souls would the most favorable time for divinations Yes, hearing the words “trick or either pass on to human bodies or would concerning marriage, luck, health, and be condemned to live within animals (the death” (Encyclopedia Britannica). treat” from little children can cause most evil of the bad souls or spirits would adults to wish they were kids again. take the form of cats). Hoping to coax Who Is the “Lord of the Dead”? “After all,” one might reason, “what’s Samhain into giving lighter sentences, the so wrong with Halloween?” Most believe Celtic worshippers tried to bribe him with Now what about Samhain, the so-called that it is just another harmless childhood gifts and prayers. lord of the dead? God tells us about “… indulgence—much the way they view The Encyclopedia Britannica says the him who had the power of death, that is, Christmas and birthday parties. Many following: “Samhain (Celtic: ‘End of the devil” (Heb. 2:14). Satan the devil was wonder, “What’s so wrong with having a Summer’), one of the most important and lord, or master, of the dead! The ancient little fun?” sinister calendar festivals of the Celtic Celts, who thought they were serving Besides teaching children that it is year. At Samhain, held on November God, were deceived into worshipping the alright to beg for something instead of 1, the world of the gods was believed god of this world, who is the father of lies earning it through work, and also turning to be made visible to mankind, and the and religious deception. We will see that them into extortionists (“trick or treat” gods played many tricks on their mor- this same being stands behind the mod- essentially means “give me a treat or I’ll tal worshippers; it was a time fraught ern-day festival of Samhain (Gal. 4:8; play a trick on you”), Halloween—its with danger, charged with fear, and full Rev. 12:9; II Cor. 4:4; John 8:44). spooky costumes, scary jack-o-lanterns, of supernatural episodes. Sacrifices and We have established that Satan once juvenile tricks and colorful parades—may propitiations of every kind were thought had the power over death—but he does look like clean, innocent fun. But its tradi- to be vital, for without them the Celts not anymore. So who is the lord of the tions, customs and practices are rooted in believed they could not prevail over the dead today? At this point, we need to a past far darker, far more sinister and far perils of the season or counteract the briefly consider several scriptures. more demonic than you may realize. activities of the deities. Samhain was an Notice Matthew 22:31-32, where Jesus Where did Halloween actually come important precursor to Halloween.” answers the Sadducees concerning the from? How did it originate? How did it On the night of October 31, the eve resurrection. “But concerning the resur- get to be so widely observed, especially of the new year, the Celts, after harvest- rection of the dead, have you not read that in the United States? And what does God ing their crops and storing them for the which was spoken to you by God, saying, think about it? Does He view Halloween coming winter, began their festival. First, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God as clean innocent fun? they extinguished the cooking fires in of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ God is To find the answers, we must look into their homes. Then the Druids (Celtic not the God of the dead, but of the living.” the history of Halloween. We will see that priests) met on hilltops in the dark oak Since the patriarchs are dead and God is it is filled with pagan customs, masquer- forests (they viewed oak trees as sacred), only the God of the living—the dead do ading as Christian traditions! and built huge sacred bonfires to frighten not serve God (Psa. 6:5, 115:17)—then away evil spirits and to honor the sun there must be a resurrection from the dead Halloween’s Pre-history god. Next, the people would burn crop so that they might live and serve Him. and animal sacrifices to their gods, danc- But in order to make the resurrection Let’s begin with the ancient Celts, who ing around the fires as the “season of the possible, “Christ died and rose and lived lived 2,000 years ago, in what is now sun” passed and the “season of darkness” again, that He might be Lord of both the Page 3 dead and the living” (Rom. 14:9). Christ time in the history of the Roman Empire, from May 13 to November 1—the same became the Lord and Master of the dead the pope, now backed by Roman civil day as Samhain—officially extending the through His resurrection, and gained the authority, had free reign to determine festival to the entire church. All Saints’ keys of the grave and death (Rev. 1:18). what was “Christian”—and what was Day became known as All Hallows Day, Jesus Christ will resurrect the dead back not. while October 31 became All Hallows to life so that they will serve Him and Throughout the early years of the Eve and, eventually, Halloween. God the Father in the soon-coming world Catholic Church, worshippers observed tomorrow. special anniversaries for martyrs who had More Festival Changes As the Encyclopedia Britannica been executed for their beliefs. Soon there states, “[The festival of] Samhain was an weren’t enough days in the calendar year But the white-washing process was important precursor to Halloween.” So to dedicate a specific day for each indi- not finished. In A.D. 988, the Catholic far, Halloween’s origins do not seem so vidual martyr, so the Catholics observed Church instituted another day—All Souls’ innocent. one feast day for all martyrs. Day—to commemorate “all the faithful “In the fourth century, neighboring departed, those baptized Christians who And Then Came the Romans dioceses began to interchange feasts, to are believed to be in purgatory because transfer relics, to divide them, and to join they have died with guilt of lesser sins on During the first century, the Roman in a common feast; as is shown by the their souls. It is celebrated on November Empire invaded Ireland and the British invitation of St. Basil of Caesarea (A.D. 2. Roman Catholic doctrine holds that Isles, conquering most of Celtic terri- 397) to the bishops of the province of the prayers of the faithful on earth will tory. The Romans ruled over them for Pontus. Frequently groups of martyrs suf- help cleanse these souls in order to fit hundreds of years, influencing Celtic fered on the same day, which naturally led them for the vision of God in heaven... and Anglo-Saxon customs and traditions. to a joint commemoration...[T]he number The date, which became practically uni- During this time period, two Roman of martyrs became so great that a separate versal before the end of the 13th century, festivals mixed in with the Celts’ festi- day could not be assigned to each.
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