Along with Fall comes this very well known holiday. It has many names such as, Hallows Eve, Halloween, and All Saints Day just to name a few. There are many traditions that we are born into without much thought of why we celebrate or participate in them. Many times we participate simply because everyone else does. Sometimes we may know the original meaning or purpose and choose to alter details to suite our beliefs or wants. For our family, we want to be informed on what we are teaching our son and how what we are participating in lines up with God’s word. Sometimes it seems that we care more about what is in our child’s food, medicine, and environment than what is going into their growing minds. We are instructed to … “be ye separate, saith the Lord…” (2 Corinthians 6:17) We are not to conform to the practices of this world. The origin of Halloween starts with Celtic pagan rituals and beliefs. It’s original name was Samhain, a time that the Celts believed the dead/spirits came and dwelled among the living. Some of the rituals included burning fires to help the dead make their way, various sacrifices through bonfires (crops, animals, and likely human), practices of divination, disguising themselves with costumes to blend in or hide from the spirits, and going house to house dressed as the spirits asking for food. If the household did not offer food it was thought to bring them misfortune from the spirits. Faces carved in pumpkins were meant to represent the heads of the spirits. Does any of this sound like it is biblical to you? Instead of standing up against these practices the early Catholic church attempted to christianize the practices and thus the name was changed. Why would a church have any business dealing in such practices that clearly go against every core truth of God’s word? As time went on the practices remained the same in the church and in the pagan world as well. To this day participants in this holiday dress up in disguises and go door to door asking for a treat in order to avoid that house being tricked for not providing what is asked for. Children are allowed to dress as witches, vampires, devils, ghosts, and other evil influences. It is said to all be in good fun and innocent entertainment. Christians are still trying to christianize it by changing the name and making the activities seem less evil. What are you celebrating? “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” (Ephesians 5:11) Satan is the father of deception. He has been disguising himself from the very beginning in the garden of Eden as he displayed the first trick or treat game on Adam and Eve. He hasn’t changed. He wants our children’s minds to be molded from birth to accept the evil things that are said to be in good fun. He starts with television shows that show evil things like witches and vampires as cute and funny so that children become accustomed to them and the stepping stones to more and more evil become easier and easier. For me Halloween is one of the many tools that the devil uses against families to blur the line of good and evil. He wants evil to be viewed as good. He doesn’t want us to know the truth. He wants us to just follow in the steps of the generations that have continued to participate in evil practices unawares and unconcerned. There is a spiritual war going on whether you realize it or not. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12) We need to make a decision of whom we are serving. “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24) I don’t know about you, “…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15) Church we need to stand up and stand apart. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2) I would like to encourage you to do some research on your beliefs and use the Holy Word of God as your main source of truth. (John 14:6)
“Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.” (1 Corinthians 10:21)