Halloween: Definitely not a Christian holiday
COLUMN
Posted By THOMAS CZECH
Posted 3 months ago
Halloween, which is the witches' New Year, originated among the ancient Druid priests from Britain and France. This pagan holiday is held to celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of the Celtic year.
The festival is named after Samhain (sah-ween), the God of the dead.
The druids believed that on this night the spirits of the dead would come back and walk amongst the living to terrorize and harass them, some even possessing the bodies of animals.
Also, during this time human and animal sacrifices are common, the blood spilled believed to open the gates to the dead, releasing them. To ward off these evil spirits the druids dress up as witches, demons or in other evil costumes, some participating in satanic rituals.
These rituals are completely contradictory to the Christian faith.
To counter this evil pagan night, Pope Boniface IV in the year 834 moved the celebration called "All Saints Day" from May 13 to November 1, and renamed it "All Hallows' Eve," from which we get the name Halloween.
The evening of October 31 was set aside as a Holy evening in remembrance of those who had suffered martyrdom for their belief and faithfulness to Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately this evening became anything but holy, twisted by Satan's desire to draw people away from Jesus.
When a child goes door to door yelling "trick or treat" he/she is re-enacting the ancient rituals; being dressed up roaming from door to door as the demonic spirits did in hopes of receiving treats, and if they do not get any, a trick is played on the home (which sometimes consists of vandalism). In ancient times it was thought as long as the living set out treats such as bowls of fruit for the demonic spirits, witches and ghosts they would pass over the home, leaving it untouched.
Take a look at a carved pumpkin. A pumpkin with a face of a demonic spirit carved in it is symbolic of the mocking spirit that laughed at the fate of its victims. The candle-lit pumpkin known as a Jack-O-Lantern also symbolized that the occupants of that house were sympathetic to the evil spirits and would hope to receive mercy and favour. Some people would use a skull which was lit by a candle in the same way as a pumpkin.
We are told in scripture to abstain from evil, so why would we try to justify Halloween by taking part in it? For a bag of candies?
Many churches and Christians today are compromising their faith by participating and allowing their children to take part in this satanic celebration.
Safety is also an issue. We teach our children not to talk to strangers, go to strangers' homes or even take food from strangers, so why do people say it is OK to do this on October 31?What kind of a message are we sending to our children?
We have never participated in Halloween when I was a child, and our children do not take part in it either. I did not feel left out as a child and my boys do not feel left out either. We do something as a family, such as play board games, tell stories or watch a movie.
It is better to stand firm on the word of God than to conform to the world and the ways of the un-godly.
Deuteronomy 18:9-12 clearly states: "When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 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."
Next week: Colleen Farrell
The opinions expressed in these columns are those of the writers only, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of The Daily Observer or its senior editorial staff.
