The word “Halloween” is a shortened form of “All Hallows’ Eve.”
It is often called “All Saints’ Eve” by Catholics and other churches who celebrate
it as part of a three-day observance for honoring saints and praying for
the “souls” of recently dead people.
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But All Hallows’ Eve actually dates back centuries earlier than the founding of
the Catholic Church, or even the birth of Christ.
“The earliest Halloween celebrations [in Britain] were held by the Druids
in honor of Samhain, Lord of the Dead, whose festival fell on November 1?
(Ralph Linton, Halloween Through Twenty Centuries).
“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” (Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., Vol. 12).
These druids believed that All Hallows’ Eve was the night when the souls of
the evil people who had died during that year would leave the bodies of animals
they had been stuck inside and return to their former homes.
If food was not provided for them at these homes, they believed the spirits would
antagonize and cast spells on the residents. Many historians also say that, to
appease the evil spirits, the druids would also offer animal and even human sacrifices.
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When the Catholic Church came onto the scene and began working to convert
the various civilizations of the world, it integrated many pagan observances into
its liturgy. By this method, the church was able to appease great numbers of pagans
and thereby gain more converts.
The Catholics first added All Saints’ Day to their observances in the year 609,
but it was celebrated on May 13. In 835, in response to pressure from Celtic
and Germanic peoples, Pope Gregory iv switched it to November 1
—the same day as the ancient Samhain festival.
A look into the Bible shows how outrageous it is that Halloween a
festival of darkness and death—was integrated into the liturgy of
a church calling itself “Christian.” a worlds powerfull church
“God is not the God of the dead, but of the living,” Jesus Christ said
“In [Jesus] was life; and the life was the light of men,” wrote the Apostle John.
Halloween’s themes of death and darkness are the very antithesis of true,
Bible-based Christianity. The spike in violent crimes surrounding this holiday
should be a wake-up call to any defending Halloween as “Christian”
or claiming that the holiday is harmless fun.
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- Luke 9:60 (KJV)
Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead:
but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.