Where
did it begin?
It began over
2000 yrs ago with people known as the Celtics. They lived in what is
today England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This was also the
beginning of the Celtic new year, a time to give thanks to the sun
god for the harvest.
What
is it all about?
Halloween, All
saints day, All hallows eve or All souls day is a festival. It was
held to honor the Samhain the so called "lord of death".
It was a Druidical belief that on the eve of this festival Samhain,
lord of death, called together the wicked spirits that within the
past 12 months had been condemned to inhabit the bodies of animals.
It was a pagan
belief that on one night of the year the souls of the dead return to
their original homes, there to be entertained with food. If food and
shelter were not provided, these evil spirits would cast spells and
cause havoc toward those failing to fulfill their requests.
Sacrifices were
offered on this night to the dead spirits because it was thought
they visited their earthly dwellings and former friends.
There was a
prevailing belief among all nations that at death the souls of the
good men were taken possession of by good spirits and carried to
paradise; but the souls of the wicked men were left to wonder in the
space between the earth and the moon, or consigned to the unseen
world. These wandering spirits were in the habit of haunting the
living...But there were means by which ghosts might be exorcised.
To exorcise
these ghosts, that is to free yourself from their evil sway, you
would have to set out food and provide shelter for them during the
night. If they were satisfied with your offerings, they would leave
you in peace. If not, they were believed to cast an evil spell on
you.
In modern day
Satanism and Witchcraft covens, this is the day when Satan himself
comes to "fellowship" with his followers. Many changes
have occurred over the centuries, but one thing ha stayed the same,
the practice of giving an "offering" has stayed the same.
Oh we do it under the name of fun but what is the real meaning? Is
it still the same as in the old days? I say the answer is YES.
The
Christian Connection
The celebration
in the Roman Catholic Church, which was later to merge with Samhain,
was known as All Saints' Day. All Saints' Day originated in the 7th
century when the Pantheon at Rome was wrested from the barbarians,
made into a cathedral, and renamed the Church of the Blessed Virgin
and All Martyrs. Thus, from honoring "all gods" (which is
the meaning of the Greek word "pantheon") the Pantheon
became the center for glorifying all saints.
This day that
honored all the "hallowed" saints was first observed on
the evening of May 13, and was known as the All hallows festival.
The day was officially authorized in 835 by Pope Gregory IV after it
was moved to November 1 to coincide with Samhain. It began on the
evening of October 31, which was called All Hallows Eve.
Thus, without
forcing the pagans to drop their pagan practices and accept
Christianity, the Roman Catholic church merely made room to
accommodate the barbarians.
Just as it
confiscated the pagan Pantheon for its own uses, this church
incorporated the customs of Samhain to further its mission to
convert the known world to Catholicism.
The two
celebrations made strange bedfellows: one in respect of evil
spirits, the other honoring "saints."
Nevertheless,
the joining of the two celebrations produced a hybrid of beliefs
about what was supposed to happen in the spirit world. Souls in
purgatory appeared as witches and toads to persons who had wronged
them. Halloween fires took on a new meaning and now were used to
comfort souls in purgatory as people prayed while holding burning
straw in the air.
Even the idea of
trick-or-treating by evil spirits took on an acceptable church
flavor: costumed children went around on All Souls Day offering to
fast for the departed souls in return for money or an offering.
As the Celts
converted to the new religion, they did not forget their stories of
the dead traveling to the afterworld on Halloween. Rather,
exhibitions of this night became more evil and the observance
adopted even more malicious overtones.
Where
do Witches, Black cats and Jack-O-Lanterns fit in?
In America it's
a pumpkin, but in Europe it was often a turnip, large beet, potato,
rutabaga or even a skull with a candle in it. The fearsome face of
the jack-o-lantern was representative of the god of the dead, Shamin,
who would drive off less powerful evil spirits abroad that night.
As glimmering lights flickered over an English marsh or an Irish
bog, people imagined dead souls had returned to earth. They would
place the jack-o-lantern on posts and in windows to ward off the
spirits of the dead on Halloween.
The word
jack-o-Lantern is an abbreviation of "Jack of the
Lantern." Jack is another name for joker or Satan. In the Irish
tale, a man named Jack was fond of playing tricks on the devil.
Annoyed, the devil tossed Jack a burning coal from hell. With the
coal in his "lantern" Jack was condemned to walk the earth
forever searching for rest.
The
jack-o-lantern is a Halloween idol that keeps alive an ancient
symbol of demonic superstition.
Witches
and Black Cats
A pagan
practice that was not eradicated upon the coming of Christianity was
witchcraft. The word "witch" comes from the Anglo-Saxon
Wicca, or "wise one." Witches were thought to be
possessors of magic.
Witches, who
worship the deities of nature, have living talismans or symbols
through which they derive their dark powers. They invoke evil
spirits to enter the bodies of their talismans. Some have dogs,
owls, snakes or swine for their talismans, but the most common are
cats.
The broomstick
is a symbol of the male organ, on which the witch mounts and leaps
high around the fields to "teach" the crops how high to
grow. The notion of flying witches relates to the fact that witches
believed they could fly great distances to their feasts by smearing
their bodies with ointments containing drugs. The drugs gave them
psychedelic "trips" making them think they flew.
Witchcraft is
demonic worship in diametric opposition to the worship of the
Heavenly Father Yahweh. Yahweh minces no words about it. He told
Israel through Moses, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to
live" (Ex. 22:18). He says in Deuteronomy 18:10, "There
shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his
daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an
observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch."
Cats have been
closely associated with mystery religion from the Egyptians to the
Norse. But the Celts had a particular fear of cats, believing they
were humans who had been changed into feline form by evil powers.
The black cat particularly was connected to demonic powers.
Black cats are
the chief idol of the goddess of Wicca, Diana. In legend, she turns
into a black cat to commit incest with her brother, Lucifer.
Eventually the Druids themselves came to be regarded as witches.
Witch hunting during Halloween became almost a national pastime in
the colonial years of our nation. But that was yesterday. Halloween
is regarded as the high "Sabbath" for practicing witches
today.
Orange, black,
and red, the devil's colors, are the colors associated with
Halloween. Black prefigures black magic and demonic influence. The
black of night is when these forces of evil are busiest, using the
cover of darkness for their sinister works.
Skulls
and Skeletons
The skeleton is
a form of the god of the dead, the witches' "horned god."
The Dictionary of Satanism by Wade Baskin says this about skulls and
skeletons under "skull worship": "Skulls play an
important role as sacred relics and as objects of worship among
primitives. Among Polynesians and Melanesians, skulls of ancestors
are worshiped in order to establish connections with the spirits of
the dead. Like the head of Osiris in Egypt, the skulls of ancestors
may also serve as tutelar deities. The head or its parts, each of
which may stand for the whole, can be used as magical food or as a
means of increasing the fertility of the soil." Under
"Skull," the Dictionary of Lore and Legend says,
"Symbol of death, often with crossed bones beneath."
Fire
Rites
Being that
Halloween is a Celtic new year's festival, many of its surviving
rituals trace to the Celtic feast. The fire rite was practiced in
many areas around the world on the night before the new year. The
old fire was allowed to go out and a new one was kindled—usually a
sacred fire from which the fires of the village were relit. The
fires were thought to rejuvenate the waning sun and aid in banishing
evil spirits. The Druids built hilltop fires to celebrate important
festivals. Ghosts and witches feared fire, it was thought, and so
fire became the best weapon against evil spirits. Witchcraft was
punished by burning at the stake, fire being used as a means
purification. The light that fires gave off was a sign of
sacredness.
Apple
Bobbing
Popular at
Halloween parties is apple bobbing. It was a means of divination
among the Druids and survives in cultures influenced by the Celts.
Because the apple is also a common love charm, the practice of
ducking for apples seems to have been associated with the selection
of a lover. Apple bobbing was originally a fertility rite deriving
from the Christmas observance, which was replete with various
fertility rites.
Is
Halloween a TRICK or TREAT?
Most absolutely
a TRICK. As you can see from all the above the real meaning of
Halloween has been watered down. It is Satan's objective to get all
to worship him. God tells us to not have any thing to do with this.
Peter
I 5:8 Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the
devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour.
1Thessalonians
5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
1Timothy
4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later
times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons.
If you are
a professing Christian, you have no reason to be part of this holy
day of Satan. Don't use the old cop out "well every body does
it". No everybody is not doing it. God will hold you
responsible for what you do this Halloween. Will you go ahead and
participate in it? Or will you pass along the word and let someone
know what the real meaning is.
