HALLOWEEN (some may say Hell-o-ween)
We are only days away
from this night of “fun for the kids”. A time of both adults
and children dressing up in scary costumes to frighten people and to practice
the ancient custom of, “trick or treat”.
Why do people spend
so much money on this fun night? Only
the Christmas event spins more cash than Halloween. What is the origin? How far
can we trace it back in history? Is it an event that God looks down on from
heaven and smiles at? Is it something that is much closer to the Devil’s way of
thinking and behaving than it is God’s?
These are just a few
of the questions that could be asked. Here are some answers for you to
consider.
- Earliest references trace Halloween to
the pagans in Britain 800 years BCE.
- It clearly pre-ceded the Christian
era.
- God told His people when they came out
of ancient Egypt and entered the new Promised Land …that they were not to inquire
after the gods of the nations that went before. “How did these nations
serve their gods? I will also do like wise.” You shall not worship the
LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He
hates they have done to their gods…Whatever I command you be careful to
observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.” That’s very clear;
there are behaviors that God detests.
- Samhain is a Celtic and Druid festival
that marks the Celtic New Year. It goes from October 31st to
November 1st and includes tricking and treating, apple bobbing,
visiting haunted houses. This weeks Boston Globe cited several places in
its “Sidekick Paper” that were
haunted spots of New England….A Beacon Hill Apartment, The site of the
Hanging Tree, Central Burial Ground, The Cutler Majestic Theatre and The
Fountain on Hanover St in the North End which expert Laurie Cabot tells us
that “Halloween is a grand affair for witches, and while Salem is the real
place for them to be on Tuesday night (31st), the North End
Fountain is a bewitching spot for the Cauldron set.” She says further on,”
It’s sacred; basically…It’s witches New Year. It’s a time to make
resolutions. You dress up in your finest.”
- Could the New England connection to the ancient pagan
rituals be any clearer?
- A former witch wrote to our offices
and said…” that churches can try to Christianize Halloween in any manner
really appalls me, because I am an ex-witch and know about the background
of many of these celebrations.”
- In the ancient world of the Celts and
Druids the people thought that the ‘souls’ of the dead would visit the
living….and so they prepared gifts or sacrifices for them… they disguised
themselves as goblins or ghosts to escape their evil tricks.
- The Jack ‘O Lantern is one of the
biggest fantasies going on in this modern world. Jack is so evil he can’t
go to heaven and because he tricks the Devil he can’t go to hell…so the
devil makes him wander the earth (in some sort of limbo-land) but is kind
enough to give him a piece of the coals from hell-fire to light his way
and Jack puts this in a carved out turnip and carries ahead of himself.
Can you really believe that adults believe this and mimic the
practice? What else do you think
the modern carved-out pumpkin with a lit candle inside represents then?
- There is nothing about the day of “All
Hallows Eve” which for modern Christianity precedes “All Saints Day” that
is truly either Christian or pleasing to God.
- Finally even music has been affected.
Hector Berlioz wrote Symphonie fantastique first performed in 1830. A
world renowned expert on Berlioz said the fifth movement was “real
Halloween music.” Berlioz “wants us to see in our minds eye a broken
graveyard, a ruined church, a stinking vapor rising from the ground,
vermin scurrying around, and in the middle of this churchyard a rude pine
coffin.” The 5th movement, as described by Berlioz: “Dream of a
Witches Sabbath: The beloved melody appears again, but it has lost its
character of nobility and shyness, it is no more than a dance tune, mean,
trivial, and grotesque. It is she coming to join the Sabbath___ a roar of
joy at her arrival. She takes in the devilish orgy: funeral knell,
burlesque parody of the Dies Irae,
Sabbath Round Dance.”
None of this can
possibly please our God. Halloween or Hell-o-ween is sadly a day of the god of
this world and true Christians would have nothing to do with it.
Please send for or
down-load our free booklet: Holidays or Holy Days does it matter which days we
keep?