All Hallows' Eve

[aka]

Halloween on 31 October is a coruption of the phase 'hallowed eve'. 

All Saints' Day is a holy day to honour all the saints and martyrs, both known and unknown.

It occurs each year on the 1^st of November.

On All Saints' Day, many Christians visit graveyards and cemeteries in order to place flowers and candles on the graves of their loved ones. Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans believe in the spirits of the dead as being alive and participating in events of this earth.

The evening before All Saints Day ( on All Hallows' Eve), certain religious Christian denominations traditionally believed that the veil between the material world and the afterlife thinned. In order to prevent recognition of a live human soul, people would don masks or costumes to disguise their identities for fear of being dragged into the spirit world. In N.America, this tradition is perpetuated through the practice of trick or treating

[aka]

Halloween's Pagan Origins Are Pretty Scary, Kids

By Richard N. Ostling
Associated Press
Saturday, October 28, 2000; Page B09

Is Halloween more than a goofy night for candy and costumes? Those evangelical Christians who bemoan it as a pagan holiday know what they're talking about.

The authority for that assertion is none other than proudly pagan Gerina Dunwich, a self-professed witch of 25 years' standing. Dunwich, of Los Angeles, explains the spiritual significance of Oct. 31 in her new paperback, "The Pagan Book of Halloween" (Penguin).

Much to the author's regret, Europe's "old religion" of pre-Christian times and worship of various nature deities--she lists 43 goddesses and 21 gods around the world--was supplanted over the centuries by devotion to the one God of the Bible. Or, as Dunwich would have it, "the Christians' patriarchal god."

Today, with networking assists from the Internet, the ancient creed is being reconstituted by seekers, occultists and feminists. In his Encyclopedia of American Religions, J. Gordon Melton catalogues dozens of groups, some defunct and none sizable, that practice "Neo-Paganism," "magick," witchcraft or Wicca, and related forms of worship.

Long ago, Dunwich writes, the church counteracted the pagans by Christianizing their old rituals. Since the pagans had their festival of the dead, the 7th-century papacy introduced All Saints' Day to honor early Christian martyrs. In 900, the date of All Saints' Day was switched from May 13 to Nov. 1, in line with the pagan date of Oct. 31.

For pagans, that was the holiest night of the year, the point when the connection to supernatural forces was strongest and the barrier between the living and the dead was weakest.

In the British Isles, Oct. 31 was the pagan Samhain, or "summer's end." For Christians, the night before All Saints' was Allhallows Eve, which evolved into "Halloween."

By Dunwich's account, virtually all our associations with Halloween are rooted in pagan ritual:

Nighttime in general; bats, cats, spiders, broomsticks, skeletons, ghosts, goblins, cauldrons and masquerades; trick-or-treating (recalling deeds of mischievous spirits); jack-o'-lanterns (to scare away earthbound ghosts); and bobbing for apples (drawn from an old divination rite). Even the black and orange color scheme is symbolically pagan: black for death and magic, orange for harvest time.

Dunwich says 19th-century Irish immigrants brought to America the pagan holdovers that constitute what we think of as Halloween. At the same time, other immigrants were introducing Santa Claus, decorated trees and other non-Christian add-ons to create the modern American Christmas.

For Halloween, the Irish drew upon lore of the pre-Christian Celtic peoples and their priestly caste, the Druids. Theirs was a lusty and sometimes sinister creed. Druids are thought to have burned to death prisoners of war and criminals on the holy night. Sometimes horses, oxen and especially cats would be roasted alive as sacrifices, too. The purpose was not just to appease the deity of the dead but also to foretell the future by the way victims died.

In one legend, every seven years a dark-skinned race stole children and sacrificed them to their god. Another said townspeople were required to surrender two-thirds of their children to a feared race of gods every Nov. 1.

Is that the inspiration for those Halloween slasher films? Perhaps, but Dunwich emphasizes that modern Neo-Pagans have not revived such ancient traditions.

As for lust, she writes that some Wiccans still perform "the Great Rite" at Halloween, sacred copulation between the high priestess and high priest of a coven. This rouses "magickal energy" and represents the sacred union of "the Goddess and Her consort, the Horned God," a masculine personification of "the Life Force" that dies each year on this night.

But Dunwich says the act "is normally carried out in private" and that many prefer instead to enact it symbolically.

And today's Neo-Pagans believe in Eastern religions' teaching of reincarnation, an endless sequence of lives with one's fate determined by karma, the accumulation of positive and negative deeds. For that reason, she reports, wise pagans no longer practice black magic.

© 2000 The Washington Post Company

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From the Website of Answers in Action

http://www.answers.org/Issues/Halloween.html

by Bob and Gretchen Passantino

(Excerpt from "What about Halloween")

Unfounded Rumors

It is not true that Halloween is the most important celebration for most contemporary satanists. Most contemporary satanists celebrate their own birthdays as their most important "unholi"-day, which is to be expected from adherents of a religion that is focused on self-worship, self-indulgence, and self-gratification. The actual incidence level of satanic-associated crime is very low, and on Halloween consists mostly of petty vandalism and desecration of graveyards and churches; satanic graffiti; raucous rituals including drug and/or alcohol use and sexual promiscuity; and very rarely sexual violence or animal killing. The most well-known documented criminal activity associated with Halloween are the "Devil's Night" fires that were rampant in the Detroit area. These destructive bonfires were not religiously inspired, but were a convenient excuse for out-of-control juveniles to act destructively, often in their own communities.

It is not true that satanists look for "Christian virgins" to rape during Halloween rituals. A young Christian is much more likely to be in danger of a drunk driver, or a party that gets out of hand with drug or alcohol use than of satanic abduction. Occasional anti-social, criminally committed individuals or small groups that also practice self-styled satanism commit crimes on Halloween, but they invariably betray a pattern of sociopathy at other times as well.

It is not true that poisoning or sabotaging of Halloween treats is a significant risk if parents take sensible precautions. Most horror stories are unsubstantiated rumors that quickly cross the country, gaining embellishments, and unnecessarily frightening parents. If parents are careful about restricting their children's treats to ones from people they know and trust, or from a formal program run by a church, community group, or merchant association, they should be fairly safe. In many communities, local hospitals and/or police stations will screen treats free of charge.

Christian Response

Christians should evaluate Halloween and determine an appropriate response for themselves and their own families. Christians should refrain from any participation that would compromise one's faith or bring dishonor to the Lord Jesus Christ. A good principle is to look for ways to become a positive, Christ-honoring voice in the midst of secularism and paganism. Each Christian must be persuaded in his own conscience about how he approaches Halloween.

Some Christians decide to have absolutely no contact with Halloween. They have the legally protected right to keep their public school children from participating in any potentially spiritually compromising activity, such as listening to ghost stories, or coloring pictures of witches. They may decide to completely ignore the holiday, not answer their door to trick-or-treaters, and instead have a family evening watching Bible story videos or playing family games. Parents who choose this course need to explain to their children why they have taken this stand, and give them strong encouragement, since their children will undoubtedly experience some teasing or ridicule from their friends and schoolmates.

Some Christians decide to have a limited, non-compromising participation in Halloween. Sometimes their activities can be creative and help to promote the gospel. One mother was planning to keep her son home from his public school's Halloween parade but he convinced her to let him go dressed as his favorite Bible character, David. He stood on the stage before his entire public school and told the story of how David trusted God and saved God's people from Goliath. Other families respond to trick or treaters by including a salvation tract with each treat. Many families restrict their children's trick or treating (this seems consistent with our continuing parental admonition "Don't take candy from a stranger!") and instead let them attend a community party or a party in the home of friends. Most Christian families restrict their children's costumes to exclude evil, pagan, or demonic costumes. Some insist on a biblical character’s costume.

Some Christians decide to "overcome" the pagan and secular trappings of Halloween in a manner similar to the way the Church "overcame" pagan festivals with All Saints Day. Many churches have "Harvest Festivals," where children may dress as farm animals or farmers. Others host "Reformation Festivals," where children may dress as their favorite Bible character or as a figure from church history. Some churches sponsor "Hell Houses" for older children and teenagers where the gospel is preached as the way to avoid the horrors of eternal punishment. One church youth group has a costume party (no evil characters allowed) where participants play games and have contests as part of preparing food baskets for the needy. They ring the doorbells of needy people in their community and "treat" them with the anonymous food baskets (including a personal message with the plan of salvation and an invitation to church). 

Regardless of the position you take regarding your family's response to Halloween, all Christians can rejoice that "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4); that we can "resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4:7); and that through the cross Christ has "disarmed principalities and powers," and "made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them" (Col. 2:15).
-end.

[aka]

This fact sheet on Halloween has been compiled to inform you of the satanic influences behind a seemingly innocent children's holiday.  While millions of Christians will permit their children to honour the devil on October 31, there is hope that this information will help someone make a different decision for how your child approaches October 31.

HALLOWEEN HISTORY

There were a people named the Celts who lived in what is now Great Britain, Ireland, and northern France.  Historians believe that the Celtic Festival of Samhain, which honoured Samhain, the Cletic lord of death, is the probable source of Halloween.

The celebration, organized by the Celtic priests, the Druids, was held to mark the beginning of the season of cold, darkness, death, and decay.  They believed that on this day, Samhain called together the wicked souls who had been condemned to inhabit the bodies of animals in the form of ghosts, spirits, witches, or elves.  The Celts also believed that on this one night of the year, souls of the dead returned to their original homes and that the wandering spirits terrorized those living in the house at the present time.

References:

Tract: "Halloween: Is it Really Satanic?" by John Brown, Christian Counter Attach, Columbus, OH

Article: "Halloween: Satan's Celebration" by Robin Wright

Encyclopaedia: "Halloween" World Book Encyclopaedia

HALLOWEEN CUSTOMS AND THEIR ORIGINS

 

1. Bonfire

A. Bonfires were used for exorcism of evil spirits.

B. Animal and human sacrifices were offered to appease the evil spirits.

C. Stones were cast into the fire to choose human sacrifices.

2. Trick or Treating

A. To free oneself and home from haunting evil spirits, Celts would give the demons a treat.  If one didn't, the demons would trick him by casting evil spells.

B. Going from house to house to beg fuel for the bonfire.

C. In Ireland and Scotland, it was the custom to go from house to house begging "soul cakes", a special cake made for the holiday.

3. Dressing in costume

A. People came to the celebration wearing costumes made of animal heads and skins.

4. Black Cat

A. Cats were considered sacred because cats were really human beings being punished for evil deeds.

5. Halloween Parades

A. People paraded to the bonfire dressed in animal heads and skins.

B. In Scotland, people paraded through fields and villages carrying torches to set bonfires that would drive away witches and other evil spirits.

C. In Ireland, people begged for food in a parade honoring another god named Muck Olla.

6. Jack-O-Lantern

A. Carved from large turnips and potatoes.

B. Ancient symbol of damned soul who could not enter Heaven or Hell, so had to wander with his lantern until Judgement Day.

C. Lanterns lit the way for wandering souls who had died in the sacred sacrifices.

D. Used to ward off evil spirits.

7. Bobbing for Apples

A. The Romans added a ceremony to honour a goddess of fruit and trees to the festival.

 

[aka]

 ......... thanks for flying on the same wave length with me, dougGrimm. 

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

Just as a matter of fact, there is very little known about the ancient Druids.  Much of what is now associated with Druids and the religions of ancient Celts is simply guesswork.  There is no evidence that "Muck Olla" was a Druid god.  In fact, Muck originated in folks stories from Yorkshire, England.

To avoid bonfires, apple bobbing, pumpkin carving, or wearing costumes simply because "evil" Celts supposedly used them in religious ceremonies is giving too much significance to *speculated* occurrences from hundreds of years ago.

I don't like Halloween / Samhain -- because it has more meaning to me than it does to most here.  But it doesn't have the capacity to infiltrate a Christian's armor of God.  Folks should be more concerned with the popular medieval festivals that are so common nowadays.  

[GayatfootofCross]

On 11/10/2015, 10:17:25, dgrimm60 said:

AKA

 thank you for  all  this  inforamtion

no  true  follower of  the GOD  OF  HEAVEN   should  have  any  thing to  to  with  Halloween

dgrimm60

I hear Christians say the very same thing about Christmas.

hmm...

God understands and knows the intent of each hearts regarding holidays.

All People don't.

BTW nice to see you.

May the Joy of the LORD be Your Strength.

[phkrause]

6 hours ago, GayatfootofCross said:

I hear Christians say the very same thing about Christmas.

Was thinking the same thing. And lets not forget about Easter!!

[Liz]

Bobbing for apples is really a nasty game to play, unless you are the first one to go. Then after that, bleck.

[CoAspen]