Halloween is a holiday that rolls in my mind for weeks leading up to it. In all aspects of life I want to be sure that I'm not doing things to bring shame upon God. So, a few days ago when I received a podcast from a Facebook friend that labeled Halloween as nothing but a satanic holiday I began to question again. Mike and I have had many a discussion about this holiday--he loves everything about it and I'm kind of indifferent, however I love the fun for the children. And so I did a little research of my own. I truly believe that you can find anything on the Internet to back up what you want to believe so instead of looking for something to back up the fact that I wanted someone to tell me Halloween is okay, I googled phrases such as, 'halloween and christians,' 'history of christian halloween,' and just plain 'halloween,' etc. Most of the websites I read sadi that Halloween actually does have a Christian origin. One article on allaboutgod.com was written very plainly and was easy for me to read and understand...
It starts by clarifying that Halloween actually comes from the Celts and was two-fold in nature...it was a celebration on the Eve of Nov 1st to commemorate deceased relatives and to ward off evil spirits by dressing as witches, goblins, etc.
This seemed and little satanic in nature to me and when I read it I though, "uh, oh...what am I going to do with all of the candy I bought?"
Then I kept reading....
Christian History of Halloween – Missionary Involvement
The Lord had different plans for the Celt’s and during the second century He sent a few missionaries to England and Ireland to convert the people to Christianity. When the Christian missionaries journeyed from Europe and arrived in the land of the Celt’s, the Druids, after hearing the Gospel, became eager for all their people to become Christians and to denounce their pagan gods and practices such as superstitiously appeasing and cast off evil demon spirits. In time, they adapted and combined the tradition of their feast on November 1 and “all Hallows Eve” together with the Gospel. The Christian monks decided it would be an effective way to share the Gospel and to dispel and lay to rest the Celt’s superstition about ghosts and evil spirits. That Christ, their Creator and Savior, defeated Satan, death, and evil at the cross and through Him alone, evil demons were powerless and would flee.
Halloween and the Samhain Feast also provided an opportunity to be reminded of or learn about Christian heroes and martyrs along with the Celt‘s continuing to officially recognize and commemorate the souls of their blessed dead who had been declared saints.
Many scholars agree that the commemoration of saints on November 1 first originated in Ireland, spread from there to England, and then to the continent of Europe with the rise of Christianity. By the ninth century, the Roman Catholic Church adopted the Celt’s Halloween tradition and Pope Gregory IV sent out an official letter of notification urging that Halloween be observed in harmony with All Saints Day throughout the Roman Empire.
Halloween is derived from the term All Hollows Eve and "Hallomass," meaning Holy evening.
http://www.allaboutgod.com/christian-history-of-halloween-faq.htm
And I realized that inevitably Halloween can be what you make it. You can make it a satanic day of worship, or you can learn about the real meaning behind it & choose to celebrate and give thanks to the Christian heroes and martyrs who have gone before us and paved the way for us.
And so, in our house, we'll be teaching Natalee the meaning behind Halloween, just as we teach her the true meaning of Christman, and we'll be allowing her to participate as long as she likes.
(for allaboutgod.com Halloween Parenting Tips click HERE)
As parents we've made the decision that she won't be dressing as a satanic symbol at any age--witch, goblin, etc., lest someone question our beliefs, but that there is no harm in dressing as a princess, an angel, a favorite Disney character, Bible character, or (like this year) a ladybug. Next year we may consider a more Christian "treat" to hand out to those who come to our door, but we will be handing out treats.
Like I said...it can be what you make it and at our house--as with all things we do--we'll strive to make it as God focused as we can. Will little ghosts & goblins come to our door tonight? Of course. And so I'll pray that they know the Lord and I'll continue working to reach every one of them through the church's children program.
And as for me and my house...we will serve the Lord. And they'll know we are Christians by our love...
6 comments:
The word Samhain as in the article "Halloween and Sanhain Feast" Samhein is just a different name for Satan. Secondly, the all about God website is a secular Christian website. Biblically speaking, God specifically warns against celebrating Pagan holidays. Just because something starts as a pagan holiday and then is sugar coated doesn't mean it's ok to celebrate it because they've changed a few of the details. The underlying reason for the holiday being created was still Satanic. Trick or treat is a practice from the satanic version of the holiday.
Some thing that start evil cant be changed to good, really your still involving yourself in a once pagan holiday. Of course many different people will come up with the it isn't bad now thing because turning away is alot harder than finding away to be a part of sin.
My family will no longer take part in the pagan created holidays.
way to go! :) sounds good to me!! it didn't happen for us this year, but i'm thinking we'll do a pumpkin patch family outing on treat night every year or something the like. since we don't do candy either... :/ i pray for the right words and wisdom to teach lizzie the reason why we do things. *sigh* it's gets trickier and trickier the older they get. :D
Jenn- I had this conversation with a friend this past couple of weeks. I believe as long as we are teaching our kids the right values and morals to live by, it is OK. We wrestled with this issue for a long time. We use it as a night to have fun and teach them skills of using manners, courtesy, and giving. Go with your gut and know you're doing your best. I agree, we will never do any of the satanic representations, but it's fun for the imagination to be something else for the evening. We love superheroes at our house. Love the picture of Natalee in her costume. Too Cute!!!
LOL
Laurie
Thanks for sharing, Jenn! Isn't this a hard one? We have evaluated this holiday every. single. year. How do we know if we're just desensitized to something because we've 'always done it' or 'other people do it' or 'we don't want our kids to miss out' or whatever?! Personally, we don't have a problem with it. But we always ask ourselves the question: "What if someone sees us t/t 'ing and says 'oh, I thought they were christians????" We would never want what we do to cause someone to stumble. So MANY professing christians are so anti-Halloween it sort of makes us feel like we should be too. No answers here, just more self-evaluation! lol
I think if you teach your kids to do the right things and the right reasons for thing they'll be fine. Kids know what you tell them. Once there old enough maybe you explain that some people see Halloween as a Satanic Holiday and then explain how you believe differently.
I think deciding what is right for your family is a personal decision and it's upsetting that people use those decisions to attack a fellow christian. Doing so anonymously shields you from the criticism you so nonchalantly dish out. There are ways to express a differing opinion without judging and attacking people. Jenn, I'm proud of you for sharing your decision and reasoning with us. It's takes courage to share something you know may not be popular and open yourself up to criticism. I found your post informative and helpful.
Identifying Samhain as a Celtic Death God is one of the most tenacious errors associated with Halloween.
Almost all stories about the origin of Halloween correctly state that Halloween had its origins among the ancient Celts and is based on their "Feast of Samhain." However, a writer in the 18th century incorrectly stated that Samhain was named after the famous Celtic "God of the Dead." Many religious conservatives who are opposed to Halloween, Druidism, and/or Wicca picked up this belief without checking its accuracy, and accepted it as valid.
No such God ever existed. By the late 1990's many secular sources such as newspapers and television programs had picked up the error and propagated it widely. It is now a nearly universal belief, particularly among conservative Protestants.
Modern-day Samhain is the day when many Wiccans believe that their God dies, later to be reborn. [Wicca is a Neo-pagan, Earth-centered religion.] Thus, Samhain is not a God of death; it is actually began as a yearly observance of the death of a God.
This information was taken from the following source http://www.religioustolerance.org/hallo_sa.htm
Post a Comment