Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Origins of Halloween Traditions

Halloween is only six days away. Because of that fact, I felt the need to spread awareness quickly!

I suppose it is no secret that the Church has adopted Halloween and embraced most of its traditions like the Jack-o-Lanterns, dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating, and games like bobbing for apples. It's all innocent fun! you say. It's tradition! Well, here is my question: Do we know the origins of these traditions? Ignorance is bliss so they say, but I, for one, do not want to be ignorant of the practices of Halloween. I do not want to be ignorant of what God has to say. I would rather know what I am participating in. I would rather know what I am allowing my children to join into. So here are, for your information, some origins of Halloween traditions. It is my prayer that we, as Christians and as parents, can take this information and make wise, honorable decisions that will glorify the God of light and truth.

       
       
  • Jack O'Lantern. The Druids (Celtic priests) carried large turnips with them and carved demon faces on it as their charm. There was a candle placed inside the turnip and the candle was made from human fat. It was believed that this charm contained a demon spirit that guided the priest. According to author Owen Rachleff. "The candlelit pumpkin or skull... served as a beacon for the sabbat and as a signal to mark those farms and homes that were sympathetic to the Satanists and thus deserving of mercy when the terror of the night (Halloween) began."
       
    It is believed that faces, rather than other images or symbols, were originally carved onto the pumpkin because they gave the jack-o’-lantern the look of a head. The Celts of ancient times believed that the head was the most sacred part of the human body, for it housed a person’s immortal soul. (Dunwich, Gerina. The Pagan Book of Halloween, p. 32)
            
    Carved and illuminated by a candle, they are symbolic of death and the spirit world. (Thompson, Sue Ellen. Holiday Symbols and Customs, p. 256)
      
  • SkullsAn interesting symbol, the skull . . . It is prominent in Witchcraft and Demon worship as a celebration of death. (Burns, Cathy. Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, p. 388)

                
  • Trick-or-Treat. In Ireland, which is where Halloween began, you were to set out a TREAT of food and fruit, and provide the wandering spirit with shelter for the night. If the demon was satisfied with your TREAT, it was believed that they would not TRICK you by casting an evil spell on you causing havoc. The Druids would go through neighborhoods on October 31 to collect offerings for Satan. They would carry lanterns, bags of money, and canes with very sharp points on the ends (currently known as leprechaun staffs, good luck horns, or fairies' wands). At each house, they would demand a specific amount. If the household would not or could not give the offering (penance or treat), the Druid would use the cane to maim, hurt, or disable the man or sometimes, take a human sacrifice (usually a virgin girl). Whoever refused them would be cursed and tormented. History shows that someone in the cursed family would die within a year. To this day, witches and Satanist will hide glass, poison, and such in candy to continue the ancient practice of sacrifice...as their "trick."
              
  • Costumes. In Ireland during the festival of Samhain, children would dress like IMPS and fairies to lead the evil spirits out of town after the feast of Samhain. Halloween is called by many the "Day of the Dead" and years ago, the Celts believed that the border between this world and the spirit world became thin on Halloween, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. They believed that they could ward off harmful spirits by wearing costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise themselves as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm.
          
  • Witches. Our country is consumed with witches, vampires, warlocks, and wizards (no doubt thanks to Harry Potter, True Blood, Twilight, The Vampire Diaries and the dozens of other movies and TV shows which are infiltrating this generation). Halloween is the high holy day for every witch and pagan in the world. They watch the moon and plan, all year, for the sacrifices and rituals they will perform. Much of today's kidnapping is in accordance with Halloween. If you’ve been lullabied by the gospel of Halloween that witches are harmless folks, wake up, witches worship the devil:
         
    The witches held a party at Hallowe’en and the women . . . sold their soul to the devil, would put a stick in their beds anointed with the fat of murdered babies. . .(Douglas, George William. The American Book of Days, p. 569)
       
    Although witches vigorously protest they have no dealings with the devil, under the heading, "A Witch’s God," the popular witch’s training manual, Witchcraft: Theory and Practice, plainly states: A Witch’s God. . . He is . . . Lord of the Underworld [Hell] . . . He is named . . . Baphomet . . . Lucifer . . . Baal. . . (Angeles, Ly de. Witchcraft: Theory and Practice, p. 60)
           
  • Monsters. In Druidism, the dead are raised as horrifying creatures of the night, hideous monsters, decaying skeletons, vampires, and so forth. They received not glorified bodies as Christ promises in our resurrection, but inhuman ones.
               
  • Bobbing for Apples. In A.D. 43 the Roman Empire was in solid control of the Celtic people. To honor their goddess of fruit trees, they would try to grasp fruit, floating in water, without the use of their hands.
            
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
Abstain from all appearance of evil."
  

While Halloween masquerades as childish and innocent fun, it’s serious business in the occult world. Witchcraft, Wicca, Satanism and paganism believe, on the night of Halloween, devils and spirits are unleashed. They perform their most hideous and potent rituals on the night of Halloween.

Samhain: This is the "Witch’s New Year" and the primary Sabbat from which all others flow. (RavenWolf, Silver. Teen Witch, p. 42)

Halloween is one of the four major Sabbats celebrated by the modern Witch, and it is by far the most popular and important of the eight that are observed. . . Witches regard Halloween as their New Year’s Eve, celebrating it with sacred rituals. . . (Dunwich, Gerina. The Pagan Book of Halloween, p. 120)

Halloween is also among Satanism’s most cherished days. Anton LaVey, founder of The Church of Satan and author of The Satanic Bible writes: After one's own birthday, the two major Satanic holidays are Walpurgisnacht (May 1st) and Halloween. (LaVey, Anton Szandor. The Satanic Bible, p. 96)
 
Satanic High Priestess Blanche Barton, on The Church of Satan web site, praises Halloween: It [Halloween] gives even the most mundane people the opportunity to taste wickedness for one night. They have a chance to dance with the Devil . . . I see Satanists all over the world meeting in small groups this night and Hallowe’ens 500 years hence, to raise a glass to the Infernal Hosts. . .
       
The Satanic Calendar decrees for Halloween: "One of the two most important nights of the year. . . Blood and sexual rituals. Sexual association with demons. Animal and human sacrifice—male or female." (www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/satanic_calendar.htm)

Former occultist Johanna Michaelsen reveals, "Halloween is also a prime recruiting season for Satanists." (Michaelsen, Johanna. Like Lambs to the Slaughter, p. 192)

Halloween is the most dangerous time of the year for our children. It is not child's play. Reports show that more small children turn up missing, injured, and are found dead from Halloween than any other time of the year. Farm animals and pets are often slaughtered by Satanists and they drink the animal and human's blood and urine and digest their entrails and perform orgiastic rituals.

Satan loves Halloween because it lures more kids into his fold and it's definitely paying off. Witchcraft is exploding amongst children and teenagers today and psychic hotlines are making millions of dollars everyday from adults! It is rapidly growing all over the world and we can see popular movies and TV shows (yes, even on the Disney Channel) that praise witchcraft and vampires.

We should educate ourselves on what Halloween really is and THEN ask ourselves this question: Am I going to participate and allow my children to participate in a holiday so vile and ungodly? Am I going to place my stamp of approval upon the Satan's holy day? Am I going to acknowledge it, recognize it, or support it in any way? As parents, we are responsible for what we allow into our homes and for what we allow our children to partake in. As for me and my house, we will give no place to the devil.

Jeremiah 10:2a
"Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen...."
   
In closing, here is an excerpt from an article in Moody Magazine by Joy A. Sterling called "We Should Unmask Halloween":

"We evangelicals cringe at the descriptions of Satan worship in books and shudder at occult rites. But we dress our children as witches and devils and send them out to trick or treat…. Whenever the apostles met persons connected with fortune-telling, witchcraft or the occult, the Holy Spirit dealt firmly and swiftly with them. When revival came to Ephesus, the occult books were the first to go (Acts 19:18-19). Anything that conjures up the spirits of evil has to go. And I believe that the symbols of Halloween do conjure up the spirits of evil. Not deliberately, not openly perhaps. But the devil never has been noted for working openly. He tries to convince people that he doesn't exist. And what better way to deny his power and identity than to tell children and their parents that witches, ghosts, fortune-tellers and devils are 'just for fun?'"


16 comments:

Anonymous said...

yes and Christmas is also a pagan holiday too Christians darn well should not be celebrating it either so get over yourself, good grief!

Anonymous said...

I have to disagree ,, i think you can find evil in anything if you are looking for evil ,, take these computers for an example ,, you can find evil EVERYWHERE in a computer just by the click of your mouse ,, if evil is what you are looking for !!

Beth said...

Anonymous #1

I will begin by saying that many of the seemingly "harmless" holidays we celebrate (like Valentine's Day and Halloween, for example) are far from harmless. Their roots are Satanic and their origin is pagan. And then there are holidays that pagan religions and nations have deliberately tried to steal Christ out of, and make pagan. In the case of Easter, instead of it being a time to dwell on the Feast of First Fruits and what that feast was really all about, instead of the day being all about Jesus and His Resurrection, we are now bombarded by Easter bunnies, eggs, and Easter egg hunts - ALL of which has a pagan and completely perverted origin.

As for Christmas, whether pagan traditions began before the time of Jesus or after, Satan has, again, used the time of Jesus' birth for himself. Personally, I believe Jesus was born on or around December 25, for many reasons, but no one knows for sure. However, we do know that Jesus observed Hanukkah (the Jewish Feast of Lights) and I personally believe He, the light that came into the world, was born around that time of the year. Of course, that is just conjecture. But we, Christians, celebrate Christmas in December. Yet now there is a fight to keep Christ in CHRISTmas. We are most often easily deceived into thinking something that is pagan is harmless for the Church. Not so. We, as Christians, must be aware. We must be watchful. Satan is steadily devouring the lost and, more disturbingly, the Church. Instead of celebrating the precious birth of Jesus, we are now force-fed Santa. But to dismiss Halloween which was birthed in evil and remains evil.... no. I, for one, will stand in the Word of God.

Beth said...

Anonymous #2

Please forgive me if I sound rude but that is a ridiculous argument. Of course, if you look around, you are most likely to find evil. That isn't the issue. Halloween was birthed in evil. As I wrote above, many times pagans have tried to steal something and make it pagan. In that case, it is our job to refuse and fight. But in the case of something that began pagan and always has been pagan and evil, we are to flee the appearance of it and have no fellowship with it. (1 Thessalonians 5:22, Ephesians 5:11)

Anonymous said...

Lol, you're kind of ignorant if you don't know that the pagan holidays came before the Christian holidays. You guys stole our holidays, thank you very much.

I would like to hear more about how easter bunnies and eggs are perverted. Can you please point me to the sources that support this claim?

Anonymous said...

Thank you for reminding me to hollow out my turnip so I can go out for Samhain. It's a tradition that I follow, being a Celt and all. Oh, and candles weren't made from human fat, but from the fat of sheep. But, as you are ignorant of Celtic traditions, I am not surprised you are ignorant of that.

Beth said...

Anonymous #1

I will post facts about all of the above, including Christmas, soon. Until then I must ask that you refrain from sarcastic remarks or I will have to delete your comments.


Anonymous #2

I have sources for what I posted. Do not post a rude comment again or it will be deleted.


See comment policy.

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Unknown said...

I whole heartily agree with every word you said! And I learned some new facts that I am very thankful to know. Thank you for boldy speaking the truth, Kristen!

Anonymous said...

You seem to really be good at explaining these holidays and what we should do. Could you do a post on Christmas and how it's being taken over by the gays and all that glitter?

Beth said...

Absolutely. I'm actually in the process of doing just that, including Valentine's day as well. Truth needs to be proclaimed.

Anonymous said...

Good! The gays just think they can have everything! I think we should them (and the Muslims) to Cuba! And let America be the way our founding fathers wanted it! I look forward to your post!

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