HALLOW WHAT?
INTRODUCTION:
Excited children masquerading as witches, pirates, devils, ghosts, Dracula and other creatures bounding through the neighborhood, going from door to door shouting, "Trick or Treat" the party at school or a friend’s house where they tell ghost stories, bob for apples or tell fortunes the visit to the community "haunted house" and homes decorated with witches, skeletons and eerie looking grinning Jack O Lanterns...IT MUST BE HALLOWEEN! Sounds like harmless fun, doesn’t it? But there is THE DARK SIDE TO HALLOWEEN YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT . . .
I. WHAT IS HALLOWEEN?
A. Funk & Wagnalls --- The evening of October 31, preceding the Christian feast of All Saint's Day. The observances connected with Halloween are thought to have originated among the ancient Druids, who believed that on that evening, Saman, the lord of the dead, called forth hosts of evil spirits. The Druids customarily lit great fires on Halloween, apparently for the purpose of warding off these evil spirits.
Among the ancient Celts, Halloween was the last evening of the year and was regarded as a propitious time for examining the portents of the future. The Celts also believed that the spirits of the dead revisited their earthly homes on that evening.
After the Romans conquered Britain, they added to Halloween features of the Roman harvest
festival held on November 1 in honor of Pomona, goddess of the fruit of trees.
B. Britannica Encyclopedia --- The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day,
and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins, black cats,
fairies, and demons of all kinds are said to be roaming about. It was the time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health, and death. It was the only day on which the help of the devil was invoked for such purposes.
C. The World Book Encyclopedia says, "Halloween is a festival that takes place on October 31st. In
the United States, children wear costumes on Halloween and go trick-or-treating. Many carry
jack-o-lanterns carved out of pumpkins. At Halloween parties, people enjoy such activities as
fortune-telling, hearing stories about ghosts and witches, and bobbing for apples."¹
D. The Dictionary of the Occult and Paranormal,² states "Halloween was originally a pagan
festival of darkness, fire, and death. All Hallows Eve was celebrated by the Celts of northern
Europe... Halloween was also an important date for the witches' calendar."
E. The Satanic Bible describes Halloween as follows: "Originally, All Hallow's Eve was one of the great fire festivals of Britain at the time of the Druids. In Scotland it was associated with the time when spirits of the dead, the demons, witches, and sorcerers, were unusually active and propitious. The youths of the villages carried on with much merry-making and sensual revelry, but the older people took great care to safeguard their homes from the evil spirits, witches, and demons who had exceptional power that night." Pulpit Helps: 'Tis The Season To Be Evil Oct, 1999
F. According to witchcraft organizations, witches have eight major festivals throughout the year. Four
are the solar festivals: one at both equinoxes, and one at both solstices. The other four occur almost midpoint between the Solar festivals; the most famous of these are Samhain (Halloween to
non-witches) and Beltane (May day). Samhain, or Halloween, is the beginning of their new year,
and is the time when they claim that they can most effectively communicate with the dead.
II. WHO ARE THE DRUIDS?
The Druids originated Halloween. For several hundred years before Christ, the Celts inhabited what is now France, Germany, Scotland and Ireland. Celtic priests were called Druids. These people were eventually conquered by the Romans.
Information about the Celts and Druids comes from Caesar and the Roman historians, Greek writings from about 200 B.C., and very early records found in Ireland. Greek and Roman writings about the Druids dwell heavily on their frequent and barbaric human sacrifices. The ancient Irish texts say little about the human sacrifices, but detail the Druids' use of magic to raise storms, lay curses on places, kill by the use of spells, and create magical obstacles.
By 47 A.D., Rome finally defeated the Druids in England and outlawed human sacrifices. The few remaining Druids went underground.
Today, a growing number of people claiming to be of direct Druid descent, still practice their religion, including human sacrifice. www.chick.com/seasonal/halloweenhistory.asp
III. WHERE DID HALLOWEEN COME FROM?
A. According to Gloria Phillips Halloween: What It Is From A Christian Perspective
www.wbzonecom.com/ccn/cults/issu37.txt
The custom of Halloween is traced to the Druid festival of the dead. At that time the Roman Pantheon was built by Emperor Hadrian in 100 A.D. as a temple to the goddess Cybele and other Roman deities. It became the principle place of worship. Roman pagans prayed for the dead. Rome was captured and the Pantheon fell into disrepair. Emperor Phocas captured Rome and gave the Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV in 609. He reconsecrated it to the Virgin Mary and resumed using the temple to pray for the dead, only now it was "Christianized", as men added the unscriptural teaching of purgatory.
[ Irish records tell of the fascination the Catholic monks had with the powerful Druids, and Druids soon became important members of their monasteries. Pope Gregory the Great decided to incorporate the Druids' holiday into the church. He made the proclamation, "They are no longer to sacrifice beasts to the devil, but they may kill them for food to the praise of God, and give thanks to the giver of all gifts for His bounty." Pope Gregory III moved the church festival of October 31st to November 1st and called it All Hallows or All Saints' Day. Pope Gregory IV decreed the day was to be a universal church observance. The term Halloween come from All Hallows Eve. www.chick.com/seasonal/halloweenhistory.asp]
In 834 A.D. Gregory IV extended the feast for all the church and it became known as All Saint's Day, still remembering the dead.
Samhain, a Druid god of the dead was honored at Halloween in Britain, France, Germany and the Celtic countries. Samhain called together all wicked souls who died within the past year and that were destined to inhabit animals.
This celebration of the dead honored the god of the dead on this particular night. Druids believed that souls of the dead returned to their former homes to be entertained by the living. Bonfires were built atop hills so they might find their way. Suitable food and shelter was provided for theses spirits or else they would cast spells, cause havoc, steal infants, destroy crops, kill farm animals and create terror as they haunted the living. The spirits demanded placating by giving them a type of worship or offering. This is the action that "Trick-or-Treat" emulates today.
The Samhain celebration used nuts, apples, skeletons, witches and black cats. Divination and auguries were practiced as well as magic to seek answers for the future. During this festival supernatural beings terrified the populace. Even today witchcraft practitioners declare October 31st as the most conducive time to practice their arts.
The Christian church tried to eliminate the Druid celebration by offering All Saint's Day as a substitute. As Christianity spread over Europe and the British Isles, it attempted to replace the pre-existing pagan cult worship of Apollo, Diana, or Ymir, but to no avail.
B. According to Richard Cavendish
Author, Richard Cavendish, in the encyclopedia Man, Myth, and Magic,³ states "All Hallows Eve,
or Halloween, was originally a festival of fire, the dead, and the powers of darkness. It's the evening
of 31 October, the night before the Christian festival of All Hallows Day. All Hallows Day
commemorates the saints and martyrs, and was first introduced in the seventh century. Its date was
changed from 13 May to 1 November in the following century, probably to make it coincide with
and Christianize a pagan festival of the dead. All Souls Day in the Roman Catholic calendar is 2
November. It is marked by prayers for the souls of the dead. It is only in recent times that
Halloween was reduced to a minor jollification for the children."
Cavendish continues, "The Druids were pagan priests of an early Celtic religion. Druids are
mentioned by name in thirty references in Greek and Roman writers between the second century
B.C. and the fourth century A.D. They were a barbaric order, dreaded for their power and
blood-thirstiness. They certainly appear as lawgivers, and as being directly concerned with animal
and human sacrifices..."
"They were, of course, the sole interpreters of religion. They determined all disputes by a final and
unalterable decision, and had the power of inflicting the punishment of death. And, indeed, their
altars streamed with the blood of human victims. Men, women, and children were often given as
human sacrifices."
Irene Park, a former witch and authority on the history of Halloween says, "The Druids in Ireland
would go through the neighborhoods and countryside on the eve of October 31 to collect offerings
for Satan. They would carry lanterns, bags for money, and canes with very sharp points on their
ends (known as leprechaun staffs, good luck horns, or fairies' wands). At each house they would
demand a specified amount. If the household would not, or could not, give the offering (Penance or
treat), the Druid would use his cane to castrate the male human or one of their prize animals."³
Park says, "The guisers went from house to house, singing and dancing. Their blood-curdling masks and grotesque costumes may have been meant to keep evil at bay, or more likely, were a visible
representation of the ghosts and goblins that lurked in the night. These masks have now been
transferred to the children, who in the United States, visit neighbors for the food offering which once
belonged to the dead - or play tricks akin to the legendary destructiveness of witches and imps
abroad on the night."
C. According to Tom Sanguinet, former high priest in Wicca.
Halloween is a "religious day" but it is NOT a Christian day. Tom Sanguinet, former high priest in the Celtic tradition of Wicca (witchcraft) said "The modern holiday we call Halloween has its origins
in the full moon closest to November 1, the witches’ New Year. It was a time when the "spirits"
(demons) were supposed to be at their peak power and revisiting the earth planet." He went on to
say, "Halloween is purely and absolutely evil, and there is nothing we ever have or will do that
would make it acceptable to the Lord Jesus."
The origin of Halloween is the Celtic Festival of Samhain, lord of death and evil spirits. Long before Christ (at least 2000 years), Druids in Britain, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany and other Celtic countries observed the end of summer by making sacrifices to Samhain. The Celts considered November 1st as being the day of death because the leaves were falling, it was getting darker sooner and temperatures were dropping. They believed Muck Olla, their sun god was losing strength and Samhain, lord of death, was overpowering him. Further, they believed that on October 31st Samhain assembled the spirits of all who had died during the previous year. These spirits had been confined to inhabit animals’ bodies for the past year, as punishment for their evil deeds. They were allowed to return to their former home to visit the living on the eve (Oct. 31) of the Feast of Samhain. Druid priests led the people in diabolical worship ceremonies in which horses, cats, black sheep, oxen, human beings and other offerings were rounded up, stuffed into wicker cages and burned to death. This was done to appease Samhain and keep spirits from harming them.
How were these sacrifices obtained? Druid priests and people would go from house to house asking for fatted calves, black sheep, and human beings. Those who gave were promised prosperity and those who refused to give were cursed and threatened. In addition, it was likely that all of the "wandering spirits" would get hungry. If you set out a treat for them, they would not trick or curse you. Hence we have THE ORIGIN OF TRICK OR TREAT. "Trick or Treat is a reenactment of the Druidic practices. The candy has replaced the human sacrifices of old, but it is still an appeasement of those deceptive evil spirits. The traditional response to those who do not treat is to have a trick played on them.
D. According to Jean Claude Boulenaz
In Australia today we are seeing a tradition which has been accepted overseas for many years
creeping into our way of life with an alarming acceptance. It is becoming an event which is becoming
popular on the social calendar. The evening of 31st October will see many young Australian children
going from door to door calling "trick or treat", not knowing that such a ritual was practiced by the
Druids and their followers in medieval times.
The Druids went from castle to castle doing exactly the same thing. They also demanded a 'treat',
however, this demand was for a young woman who could be offered as a human sacrifice in a
Satanic ritual. The Druids were known as men of Oak and they demanded blood sacrifices. These
men were so controlled by Satanic forces that they had strange and frightening powers.
If the 'treat' (the young woman) pleased the Druids, they would light a candle made of human fat
and insert it in a Jack-O-Lantern to protect those inside the castle from being killed by demons.
When some of the families could not meet the demands of the Druids then it was time for a 'trick'. A hexagram was drawn on the front door of the dwelling, and it was said that Satan or his demons
would kill someone in the household through fear that night.
The spellbinding beat of the druid music would fill the night as the ceremony began. The men would assault their victim and then brutally sacrifice her to their gods.
IV. WHO ARE SOME OF THE HEROES OF HALLOWEEN?
A. The Witch --- The oldest known illustration of a witch date back to the pre-Columbian era. The drawing shows the pagan goddess Tlazolteolf naked, wearing a pointed hat and riding a broomstick. Where you find witchcraft, you will find nudity, divination, gross immorality and occultic practices just to name a few.
B. Dracula --- Vampires
Did you know he was a real person? He lived from 1431 to 1476. During his six year reign this demented maniac massacred 100,000 men, women and children in the most hideous ways. He devised a plan to rid his country of the burden of beggars, handicapped, sick and aged. He invited them to a feast at one of his palaces. He fed them well and got them drunk. Then he asked them, "Do you want to be without cares, lacking nothing in this world?" They yelled "YES!" Dracula then ordered the palace boarded up and set it on fire. No one escaped. This tragic event was the original House of Horror.
V. WHAT DO SOME OF THE SYMBOLS OF HALLOWEEN MEAN?
A. Jack-O-Lantern
1. The carved face in the pumpkin called the "Jack-O-Lantern" is a symbol of an ancient damned soul. A man named Jack was supposed not to be able to enter heaven or hell, and was doomed to wander around on earth with a lantern illuminated by a burning coal from hell (Book of Holiday Festivals, pp. 125-126).
2. In the book Occult Conceit the author says on page 190, "The candlelit pumpkin or skull served as a signal to mark those farms and homes that were sympathetic to the Satanists and thus deserving of mercy when the terror ("trick or treat") of the night began." Further, an old edition of The World Book Encyclopedia says "The apparently harmless lighted pumpkin face of the Jack-O-Lantern is an ancient symbol of a damned soul."
B. Costumes
1. "And wearing costumes made from the heads and skins of other animals, they would tell one another's fortunes for the coming year" World Book Encyclopedia, Vol. 9. pp. 24-25).
2. What about COSTUMES? They originated with these terrible Druid death rites also. As people
and animals were screeching in agony while being burned to death the observers would dress in costumes made of animal skins and heads. They would dance, chant and jump through the flames in hope warding off the evil spirits.
C. Bobbing for Apples
1. The tradition of bobbing for apples and giving out nuts came from a Roman addition to the Druidic New Year's Eve. The Romans worshipped Pomona who was the goddess of the harvest. They combined their harvest festival to Pomona with Halloween.
www.chick.com/seasonal/halloweenhistory.asp
2. The goddess of the harvest would give of her bounty to those who would bow to her and from that comes bobbing for apples (Folklore, P.11).
Pulpit Helps: 'Tis The Season To Be Evil Oct, 1999
3. In some witchcraft covens, the closing ritual includes eating an apple or engaging in fertility rites. In the Bible (Genesis 3), eating a piece of fruit brought sin and death into the world. In witchcraft, eating an apple is symbolic of bringing life. The practice of bobbing for apples brings
together two pagan traditions: divination and the fertility ritual.
Ten Reasons Christians Should Not Celebrate Halloween by J. Kerby Anderson
D. Bonfires
"It was the Celts who chose the date of October 31 as their New Year's Eve and who originally intended it as a celebration of everything wicked, evil, and dead. Also, they would gather around a community bonfire (a fire of burning bones) and offer as sacrifices their animals and crops and sometimes humans." Pulpit Helps: 'Tis The Season To Be Evil Oct, 1999
VI. WHAT DO MEMBERS OF THE OCCULT SAY ABOUT HALLOWEEN?
Members of the occult and devotees to the true satanic traditions of Halloween are ecstatic by the
widespread acceptance and participation in their sacred festival. They view society's celebration of
Halloween as an enormous public relations victory, and believe it's a time when their dark powers
are greatly intensified, due to the unity of the masses which magnify and exalt the forces of evil. With thousands focusing their energies upon traditions of Satan, they feel this strengthens his influence in the affairs of the world.
VII. WHAT DOES A SATANIST SAY ABOUT HALLOWEEN?
Anton Szandor LaVey, founder and high priest of the Church of Satan in San Francisco, says he is glad that Christians let their kids worship Satan at least one day each year. He continues, "I know that the Christian Church thrives on hypocrisy, and that man's carnal nature will win out."
Pulpit Helps: 'Tis The Season To Be Evil Oct, 1999
VIII. WHAT HARM IS CAUSED BY HALLOWEEN?
A. It displays Satan and evil as a game to be played.
Most people and children who participate with modern Halloween festivities, usually do so
innocently, without any intention of associating themselves with the occult or other satanic traditions. However, the great tragedy is that it domesticates the occult and the powers of darkness. It creates a "tongue-in-cheek" attitude that the forces of evil are not to be taken
seriously — that devils, witches, and goblins are considered merely make-believe, plastic masks, with child-like impotence. It also tends to promote an acceptance and friendliness toward dark traditions and occult beliefs; that Satan is not really so bad, witches are really not evil, demons are not really dangerous.
The uninformed Christian has no idea that there are truly demonic spirits which are contacted and activated as people call out to them in jest or in seriousness. Halloween: What it is
B. It is focused on violence.
In January of 1988 I stopped at a restaurant to pick up a bite to eat before my next appointment. I
picked up a paper on the way in. As I was eating I came across Ann Landers’ column entitled
"Parents must tackle violence." The parent wrote "I heard something today that made my hair stand
on end...Last October, the teacher of a fourth-grade class asked her students to write a short essay
on what they would like to do most to celebrate Halloween. Eighty percent of her 9 year-olds
expressed the wish to "kill somebody." Where do children get such ideas?" she asked.
The answer is a simple one. Halloween accentuates mutilation, murder, blood, guts and gore. It
even glorifies it! I well remember seeing the large picture in the newspaper of a mutilated corpse in a
blood stained bathtub. It was utterly repulsive. The accompanying article lauded a community
organization’s youth work using this "haunted house."
C. It emphasizes fear.
An article in The Milwaukee Journal entitled "Haunted house fun: It could become a nightmare for kids." It started out "IT’S JUST FOR FUN, you know that. But to a young child, a trip through a "haunted house" created for Halloween could be a nightmare." Fear is no joke. Fear is a powerful and often damaging emotion. The writer of the article quoted developmental psychologist Marvin Berkowitz of Marquette University. Berkowitz said "Some haunted houses can frighten an adult." Children must "go in with the right mental set. Make sure they know it’s going to be a fun scare, not a real scare." The article went on to say, "even the most careful parents can misjudge their child’s reaction. If the child is horrified, if the kid’s traumatized and shrieking, you hold him and comfort him. Give him physical security." The question is, why expose your child to such traumatizing influences? They serve no useful purpose. In fact long lasting emotional problems can develop as a result of the frightening experiences that are encountered at Halloween activities, such as going through a "haunted house."
D. It focuses on the occult.
The two most frequent ways children are introduced into the occult are through rock music and
Halloween. Halloween is one of the two Holidays that public schools celebrate. They choose Halloween (and Valentine’s Day) because supposedly there is no "religious" significance. How wrong they are about Halloween. To be sure, there is no Christian significance to Halloween but it is obviously a religious day.
Our forefathers recognized Halloween’s association with the occult. The Pilgrims banned celebrating Halloween in America. The ban lasted until 1845. At that time multiplied thousands of Irish
emigrants flooded into New York because of the Irish Potato Famine of 1845-46. They brought
Halloween with them and gradually it spread throughout the rest of the country.
The founding fathers of America refused to permit the holiday to be observed because they knew it was a pagan holiday. Halloween was not widely celebrated in the U.S. until about 1900. In the 1840's there was a terrible potato famine in Ireland which sent thousands of Catholic Irish to America. They brought Halloween with them. www.chick.com/seasonal/halloween/halloweenhistory.asp
E. Property and lives are damaged.
The widespread problem of harmful substances such as razor blades, drugs, poisons, needles, etc. being placed in the Halloween treats here in America is no accident. Testimonies of several ex-Satanists show that these children killed and injured by the "treats" are sacrifices to Satan (or Samhain). Satanists throughout the world continue to perform human sacrifices on Halloween. Is this something you want your child to participate in? www.chick.com/seasonal/halloweenhistory.asp
IX. WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT HALLOWEEN?
A. Do we really need any scripture after the previous information?
B. There are no scriptures which mention Halloween directly, but plenty scriptures teach against the basis for and the practices of Halloween.
1. Deut 18:9-14
v.9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
v.10 There shall not be found among you [any one] that maketh his son or his daughter pass through the fire, [or] that useth divination, [or] an observer of times, or an
hanter, or a witch.
v. 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
v. 12 For all that do these things [are] an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
v. 13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.
v. 14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so [to do].
Necromancing is the delving into contacting the dead. God said all such practices was an abomination to Him.
2. To pray for the dead is against scripture. There is no purgatory. There is no 2nd chance.
II Cor. 5:6 "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord."
3. Fear is not of God.
II Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
I John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
Halloween has everything to do with fear and death -- ghosts, witches, skulls, tombstones,
graveyards -- and nothing to do with life. Jesus said, "I come to give you life ..."
4. I Thes. 5:21-22 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
Abstain from all appearance of evil.
5. Death is not good. Jesus came to destroy him that had the power of death.
Hebrews 2:14-15 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had power of death, that is, the devil;
v. 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
6. Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. I Cor 10:31-32
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
v. 32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
CONCLUSION
Halloween has its roots in witchcraft and everything related to Satan. Therefore, Christians should shun any involvement in it. We are called to be "holy" ("separate" from the world and from evil), and have no part in such things. by Diane Dew
