Halloween
by Mike James
One of our primary concerns for having issues with worldly holidays like Halloween is the belief that these days are used to obfuscate and hide the true holy days of God. Halloween is a great example of this with its timing right after the time of the Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day.
Many argue about what is the harm in letting kids go out and gather candy from neighbors. On its face this does not seem like a problem since we are not worshipping God on this day and obviously most of those who celebrate are not worshipping any false gods consciously. But by putting so much money and energy into days like Halloween our culture makes it easy for people to miss God’s plan and holy days.
Halloween has become the second biggest spending holiday of the year with over $10 billion in sales. This is an incredible rise from about $3 billion in 2003. About two-thirds of US adults reportedly take part in this holiday each year. Obviously, its popularity is increasing. Some argue it is the second most important holiday in the United States after Christmas.
God told ancient Israel not to observe the things other nations did in worshipping their false gods. Notice this in Deuteronomy 12:8, 30-32: “Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes…Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
Obviously, we want to think about the things we do and why we do them. Should we just follow along with our culture when it is influenced by the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) rather than the true God?
One of the biggest influences on our present Halloween was Samhain, a Gaelic or Celtic festival that occurred on November 1. Since the Celtic day began and ended at sunset, the night of October 31 began the celebration. The early literature says Samhain was marked by great gatherings and feasts and was when the ancient burial mounds were open, which were seen as portals to the Otherworld. Some of the literature also associates Samhain with bonfires and sacrifices. Some say the sacrifices were not just of animals, but sometimes of humans.
Samhain was a festival in which a connection to the other world of spirits was opened. During this time of transition between summer and winter a threshold could be broken. The spirits that roamed about at this time were believed by scholars to be remnants of former pagan gods.
Think about that for a moment. Ages ago the ancients worshipped gods that were not gods—due to the influence of Satan, I believe. We continue to popularize this time of the year despite the fact not many people today believe in these ancient pagan gods. But I should preface that by acknowledging that new age religions and Wiccans have made Halloween a primary holy day within their religions for those very reasons.
Samhain also had an element of worshipping dead relatives. This made sense at this time of the year because all the vegetation was dying. The souls of the dead were believed to revisit their homes at this time. This idea flouts the truth of the Bible which teaches the dead are dead and unconscious until a time of resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23; Psalm 6:5; Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10).
Over time the Christian celebrations of All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2) began to be celebrated at the same time as the ancient pagan festivals that commemorated, among other things, the souls of dead people.
Our modern practice of “trick or treating” may have had its origins in what was known as “souling.” People would go around from door to door asking for food in return for a prayer for dead loved ones. The people doing this would walk around at night with hollowed out turnips with a candle inside representing the soul of a loved one stuck in purgatory. Obviously, this is very similar to our modern practice of hollowing out pumpkins and placing candles in them.
Another scary (pardon my pun) aspect of our modern fascination with Halloween is the association of this holiday with the macabre. Violent slasher movies, Satan, demons, ghosts, goblins, witches, and the like all play a part in this holiday. Isn’t it ironic that the second most popular holiday in our country pays respect to the god of this world? Just a coincidence? I think not.
Sources: Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, by Nichoas Rogers, New York: Oxford University Press, 2002
“Samhain,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain
Occult Holidays or God’s Holy Days – Which? by Fred R. Coulter, Hollister: York Publishing Company, 2006