What About Halloween

In order to understand Halloween, it is important to understand the history of this fall holiday. Halloween stems directly from Irish, Scottish, Welsh and British folk customs. It was celebrated as the autumn festival of an order of priests who worshipped nature instead of the God who created it. These priests, called Druids, were accomplished magicians and wizards who were at the height of their influence some 200 years before the birth of Jesus.

This holiday was originally celebrated on October 31 to honor a false god named Samhain, who was known as “the lord of the dead.” The Druids only observed two seasons of the year: summer and winter. October 31 was the end of the summer, including the time of harvest. It was followed by the beginning of winter – the cold, dark season when nothing grew. Because the Druids closely observed and worshipped nature, this time of the year symbolized death to them. They believed that on this date, Samhain called all the wicked souls who had died and had been condemned within the last year to live in the bodies of animals, to be released in the form of spirits, ghosts, fairies, witches and elves. According to the tradition of the Druids, these souls of the dead were allowed to roam on this one night and return to haunt the homes where they once lived.

The phrase “trick or treat” grew out of this tradition. Current occupants of the house could only free themselves from being haunted by laying out food and giving shelter to the spirit during the night. If they didn’t, the spirit would cast a spell on them. In other words, they would be tricked if they didn’t lay out a treat.

The jack-o’-lantern was also part of this belief system. The carved pumpkin symbolized a damned soul named Jack. According to the tale, Jack was not allowed into heaven or hell. So, he wandered around in the darkness with his lantern until Judgment Day. Fearful people hollowed out turnips (and later, pumpkins in the United States), carved an evil face on them, and lit a candle inside to scare Jack and other evil spirits away.

The Druids had other outlandish beliefs which have since turned into tradition. For example, they were afraid of black cats because they believed that when a person committed evil, he would be turned into one. Black cats were thus considered to be evil. To scare them away, the Druids decorated their homes with witches, ghosts and the like. They also decorated with cornstalks, pumpkins and other goods in offerings of thanks and praise to their false gods.

October 31 had additional significance to the Celts and Anglo-Saxons besides honoring Samhain. It was also their New Year’s Eve. To celebrate, they built huge bonfires on hilltops to frighten away evil spirits, and often offered their crops and animals to the evil ones as a sacrifice – sometimes they even offered themselves or others.

When the Romans began the conquest of the Celts around A.D. 43, eventually ruling much of what is now the United Kingdom, two Roman autumn festivals were combined with the Celtic festival of Samhain. The first, called Feralia, was held in late October to honor the dead. The second festival honored Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The practice of bobbing for apples became associated with Halloween because of this festival.

Although many Halloween traditions began with the Druids, the name Halloween came from a Catholic church observance. For this reason, some people have thought that Halloween’s only significance was as the evening before All Saints’ Day, a festival of the Catholic church honoring all Christian saints. The Mass said on All Saints’ Day was called Allhallowmas. The evening before became known as the Eve of All Saints, the Eve of All Hallows, All Hallows Eve, or Hallow Even, which has given us the name Halloween.

Although All Saints’ Day contributed to the naming of Halloween, All Saints’ Day itself did not exist until A.D. 700 when it was instituted by Pope Boniface IV. Originally, it was celebrated in the spring on the first Sunday after Pentecost. Its date was changed to November 1 by Pope Gregory III (reigned A.D. 731-741) in an attempt to add a Christian influence to the traditional pagan customs still being celebrated on October 31 by Celtic converts. When sending missionaries to covert native peoples, the Catholic church encouraged the redefinition of local customs into Christian terms and concepts. Because All Saints’ Day and Halloween both involved reverencing the dead, they were unified.

The combination of these customs eventually became the traditional celebrations we call Halloween. It is important for parents to consider these “harmless gestures of enjoyment” and the distorted images they make in a child’s heart. We must realize Halloween is a holiday centered around fear and death.

Modern day witches and wizards believe this night to be the most suitable night of the year for magic and demonic activity. In Deuteronomy 18:10-11, God forbids us to participate in any kind of occult practices or witchcraft. Further, in the New Testament, we are told to abstain from all appearance of evil (I Thessalonians 5:22).

As Christians, we should not celebrate Halloween, rather we should recognize October 31 as the day the Lord has made – a day we can rejoice in (Psalm 118:24). And we don’t need to be fearful, for God has not given us a spirit of fear (II Timothy 1:7).

Parents should teach their children faith in God. Children can have just as much fun on a Halloween centered around the Word of God and family fellowship. Make a commitment today to give your children the Word of God instead of the fairy tales the world offers – it will help them grow in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

Here is a prayer for safety you can pray over your family on Halloween:

Prayer References: Jeremiah 1:12; Psalm 91:1-2 & 10-11; Psalm 34:7; Proverbs 22:6; Psalm 112:7; Proverbs 3:23-24; Isaiah 26:3; Psalm 3:5, 4:8, 127:2, 149:5; Isaiah 49:25.