Celebration of Darkness and Death
Summer has come and gone in most areas of the United States. It is amazing how fleeting time and space truly are. The trees are starting to display their fall array of colors as the green leaves disappear and the transformation of autumn leaves appear. Orange, red, yellow and gold set the stage for a new season where the days light will be shorter and longer days of darkness; announcing winter to come forth as the leaves of the trees disappear, crumble and descend to the ground.
Many souls are getting ready with great anticipation to celebrate Halloween with their children. The stores are filled with scary creatures—skeletons, witches, goblins and dragons oh my! All eye catching and captivating wonderments of the pagan holiday appear. Costumes and alluring masks are everywhere. As it is the celebration time of transformation and the bewitchment of the soul. The season to indulge in the darkness of the underground. The enticements and deceptions come with children going door to door asking for and receiving candy (it is the time of trick or treat). How apropos to disguise the celebration of darkness and death all wrapped in sugar coated candy delights.
What child would not want to receive free candy and dress up as a goblin or witch? All so much fun and so harmless, right? Wrong! “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12) “And no wonder Satan himself masquerades (disguises himself) as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14). “This is the judgement the light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light, for their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)
Do you really know and understand what you are celebrating and taking part of? Let me open your eyes and heart to reveal the truth of Halloween. It is a sinister time rooted in superstitions of evil spirit acknowledgement, occult rituals and death. Now to muddy the waters, "All Hallows Eve" is the day before the early Christian holiday. The Catholic church introduced All Hallows Eve to honor martyrs, saints and the deceased.
Origins of Halloween
The Celtic word Samhain pronounced Sah-win, means summers ends [1]. Halloween is one of the oldest holidays in the world. It began as an ancient 3-day festival around 1200 BCE. It was a Celtic celebration and the druids were the Celtic priests. The Celts believed the eve of the New Year on November 1st, the dead returned as ghosts to mingle with the living. They would perform sacred rituals to the gods on the eve of October 31st and would also predict future events. The Druid’s offered gifts to their gods in return for heavenly rewards. These 'treats' included black cats and human beings who were imprisoned in wicker cages and sacrificed in fires. [2]
Druid's offered banquets on New Year’s eve, October 31st for the ghosts and spirits haunting their homes. After ‘treating’ the ghosts, villagers acting like souls of the dead dressed in costumes and masks would ‘trick’ the spirits into following them out of town and away from their homes. The wearing of morbid frightening costumes would be worn. The colors were orange and black that would be worn together. Orange represented the fall turning colors of the leaves while the black represented death, and winters chill arriving. These costumes were to chase away evil spirits and roaming ghosts. Their return brought destruction, that caused their crops many times to fail.
Jack ‘O Lanterns
The cutting out of the pumpkin and carving a scary face; lighting it from within to display the glow of a demonic face is part of legendary Irish folk lore. [3] It begins with a man named Jack O’Grady. According to legend, O’Grady was turned away from heaven because of his drunken ways. When he tried to trick the devil, he was banished even from hell. Somehow, Jack was able to trap satan. But satan offered Jack a deal. (As this is his mode of operation to make a contract to sell your soul). If Jack would release satan, he would not take Jack’s soul. Jack was too sinful to go to heaven; instead he would roam in purgatory. (Not biblical), but the Catholic church taught purgatory
was the in between place between heaven and hell. Therefore, poor Jack became a wanderer in middle earth. Jack then requested of satan to please give him light so he could see his way in the darkness. Satan in return gave Jack a flame of fire from Hades. Jack then carved a turnip (pumpkin) and placed the flame inside to make it into his lantern which would guide his soul. So he wanders the earth with a pumpkin lantern, visible only on Halloween. The Celts would have their Jack ‘O Lanterns placed outside their doors during harvest time to repel evil spirits. By the year 43 AD, the holiday was still traditionally pagan, but now the festival time became a mixture of Samhain combined with the Roman holiday "Feralia." (This festival was also about honoring the dead, showing tribute to the goddess of fruit trees). The name of the goddess was Pomona which was also the image for apples.
Bobbing for Apples
Bobbing for apples at celebration times had its origins in the Roman worship of Pomona, goddess of the fruit trees. Yes, Halloween is full of pagan superstitions and the recognition of giving honor to the occult and worshipping foreign gods. Bobbing for apples was all about love and superstitions.
The first soul to receive the bobbing apple in the cauldron would be next to marry. True love was achieved if your first effort or bite of the bobbing apple in the water was accomplished. Unfortunately, if you did not claim the apple, the superstition was, you would be fickle in love and not find true love. [4]
Witches and Crones
Witches and crones and their cauldrons were extra-large brewing pots which represented the womb of the earth. The stirring of the huge pot was believed to create souls that would be reincarnated, bringing new souls forth to the earth and old souls reborn. Witches had black cats they could turn into to avoid detection. Bats and spiders were also part of occult superstitions. Everything centered around evil spirits and death. The common attributes of Halloween are grave stones, bones, skulls, fire and blood. All being surrounded by mysteries, potions, and black and white magic. [5]
All of the Halloween pagan customs were introduced during the mass immigration of the Irish and English people that came to this country seeking a new life. Halloween was commercialized in the 1900s. The introduction of Halloween costumes had its birth in the 1930s. Today, Halloween is the largest commercial holiday after Christmas and has been marked in the United States for almost 185 years. This custom came to the US with Irish Catholics who emigrated to escape the potato famine of the late 1840s.
Warning For the Celebration of Darkness and Death
Christians should not take any part in Halloween as this is the time of year where witchcraft and satanic rituals take place. If you do, you will be bewitched. To celebrate Halloween is to take part in a satanic celebration of darkness and death. All of these pagan festivals give honor to modern-day Halloween. This is not pleasing to the Holy Spirit. If you are a believer, you are truly grieving the Lord. You are called to be children of the light and are never to celebrate darkness and death. “Do not turn to familiar spirits or seek wizards. (Do not engage in spiritual realms of darkness, it is not to be taken as a playground for the children of light) to be defiled by them (do not seek them out). I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:31) “The natural state of man that denies the holiness of God, is like the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness. Mans natural state is pride. It is like idolatry, (Self-absorbed) Image worship. (1 Samuel 15:23)
“But for the cowardly and the unbelieving, and the abominable and murderers and the immoral persons, and sorcerers, (glorifying in the celebration of darkness, Halloween defiles your soul). The idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8)
Take Heed
Unfortunately, todays Western progressive Christianity is mocking the truth of a Holy God and endorsing a worldly perspective that is not biblical. It is todays modern apostasy.
Conclusion
True believers should not be naïve. They should know better and not touch the occult world by glorifying darkness and the pagan holiday Halloween. No child of the light should be lured into believing a pagan holiday that celebrates evil and darkness is an acceptable practice and a harmless time to dabble in wickedness. We need to be true God-fearing believers and walk worthy of our calling. Parents are to be Godly examples to their children. Our Messiah, paid the ultimate price to redeem us. It is His precious blood that cleanses the soul. Halloween is of the underworld. It is also a time of blood sacrifices, but not for redemption. All children of the light must know that this is a total abomination to our Holy Holy God. We are amazed that the United States has unfortunately become a pagan nation. We must remember that judgement begins in the house of God. “For it is time for judgement to begin with the household of God." (1 Peter 4:17) If it begins with us first, what will be the outcome of those who do not obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ?”
References
[1] History.com Editors (2022). Halloween. https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween
[2] Ibid.
[3] L.A. Times Archives (1985). Human Sacrifices: Halloween was deadly serious for old celts.
[4] Halloween traditions around the world. Flowers, MaDonna. 28. June, 2011. Halloween Costumes Blog. http://www.halloweencostumes.com/blog/post/2011/06/28/halloween-traditions-around-the-world
[5] Halloween FAQ. Thomas, Patrick. 4 Nov. 1993. Rutgers University. 12 Oct. 2022. http://www.cs.rutgers.edu/pub/soc.religion.christian/faq/halloween
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