Halloween is by definition "All Hallow's Eve" meaning the day before (eve of) "All Saint's Day". Now, the thought of a day for celebrating all the saints sounds quite holy (hallowed) and that would be the complete opposite of what pagans believe; so, what are they to do? They would celebrate their socks off the day before.
On this day, the souls of the dead were suppose to revisit their homes. It was a time for the living to placate the demonic supernatural powers that came with the dead souls with lavish displays of food. While the dead wreaked havoc on the living, they did so with masks and disguises to keep their identity a secret.
Another version goes like this:
In Ireland especially, people thought that ghosts and spirits roamed after dark on Halloween. They lit candles or lanterns to keep the spirits away, and if they had to go outside, they wore costumes and masks to frighten the spirits or to keep from being recognized by these unearthly beings.Trick-or-treating has its roots in Druid history, too. The Druids (pagan priests) would use a candle in a gourd to light their way when they went to ask for materials for their great bonfire or food. If you gave them what they wanted, the priests would be on their merry way. But if you didn't comply, they would leave the gourd on your doorstep and someone in that house would die before the next Hallowed Eve. That sounds like fun, don't you think!
There are many versions and opinions about this holiday. Churches have alternate parties on the day. Some churches hand out tracts instead of candy. Are they right? I don't know.
I can only tell you my opinion, which is based on the contradictions of the Bible vs the holiday. God's laws concerning witches is very clear.
“You shall not permit a sorceress to live." - Exodus 22:18He wants us to rely solely on Him--that means not knowing what tomorrow will bring or what dead relatives have to say. Witchcraft is about knowing the future and changing what you don't want; diametrically opposed to what God wants.
As far as I am concerned, this day we dress our children up as characters that God wanted struck down, has nothing to do with Christianity, no matter how you spin it.
Disclaimer: This is my blog and my opinions. You are allowed to disagree with me but I will not publish comments that are not civil.
3 comments:
Well said, Betty.
Very interesting to hear about the history of Halloween. Here it usually passes by without us noticing as in Holland we don't celebrate Halloween and in NZ not that much either
I love fairy storys like that especally the druid bit. Some one would die before the next hallowed eve, more like some one was killed off to prove a point.
The cristians just adopted it.
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