"Trick?" or try?" - debunking Halloween (2023)

Yes, hearing the words "trick or treat" from small children can make adults wish they were children again.

"After all," one might think, "what's wrong with Halloween?" Most believe it's just another harmless gift from childhood, much like how they view Christmas and birthday celebrations. Many ask themselves, "What's wrong with having a little fun?"

Halloween not only teaches kids that it's okay to beg for something rather than earn it with work, but it also turns them into blackmailers (“trick or treat” essentially means “give me a gift or I'll play a trick on you”). , their spooky costumes, spooky pumpkins, youthful stunts, and colorful parades, can seem like clean, innocent fun. But their traditions, customs, and practices are rooted in a past that is much darker, much more sinister, and much more demonic than you might think.

Where does Halloween really come from? How did it happen? How did it get so much attention, particularly in the United States? And what does God think about it? Do you see Halloween as pure and innocent fun?

To find the answers, we must investigate the history of Halloween. We will see that it is full of pagan customs disguised as Christian traditions!

historia de halloween

Let's start with the ancient Celts who lived in what is now Ireland, Great Britain, and northern France 2,000 years ago. The Celts were pagan nature worshipers who had many gods, including the sun, which they believed dictated their hours of work and rest. They believed that the sun nourished the earth and kept it beautiful and their crops growing.

The Celts celebrated their New Year on November 1, which marked the end of harvest and summer ('the season of the sun') and the beginning of the cold, dark winter to come ('the season of darkness and cold'). '). ).

From October 31 to November 2, the Celts celebrated a 48-hour festival called the Vigil of Samhain (pronounced "Inseed"). They believed that Samhain, the pagan lord of the dead, gathered the souls of those who had died the previous year and decided what form they would take the next year. The souls would either transition into human bodies or be doomed to live in animals (the most evil of souls or evil spirits would take the form of cats). Celtic believers tried to bribe Samhain with gifts and prayers, hoping to persuade Samhain to give him less punishment.

HeBritannica Encyclopediareads as follows: "Samhain (Celtic: 'end of summer'), one of the most important and sinister holidays in the Celtic year calendar. On Samhain, which took place on November 1, it was believed that the world of the gods would it had made mankind visible, and the gods played many tricks on their mortal worshippers; It was a time full of danger, full of fear, and full of supernatural occurrences. Sacrifice and atonement of all kinds were considered vital, for without them the Celts believed they could not overcome the dangers of the seasons or counteract the activities of the deities. Samhain was an important precursor to Halloween."

On the night of October 31, New Year's Eve, the Celts began their festival after they had harvested their crops and stored them for the coming winter. First they put out the fires to cook in their homes. Then the druids (Celtic priests) would gather on the hills in the dark oak forests (they considered oak trees sacred) and erect huge sacred bonfires to drive away evil spirits and honor the sun god. Next, the people burned crops and sacrificed animals to their gods and danced around the bonfires as the "time of the sun" passed and the "time of darkness" began. The Celts wore costumes made from animal heads and skins and talked to each other about their future. The next morning, they relit their fires to cook on the sacred bonfires to rid them of evil spirits and protect them during the upcoming winter season.

“In ancient Britain and Ireland, the Celtic festival of Samhain Eve was observed on October 31, at the end of summer. (It was) the occasion of one of the ancient fire festivals where huge bonfires were lit on the hills to drive away evil spirits. It was believed that the souls of the dead would return to their homes on that day, and the Autumn Festival took on a spooky significance. Ghosts, witches, goblins, black cats, fairies, and demons of all kinds are said to roam there. In addition, Halloween was considered the most auspicious time for divinations on marriage, happiness, health and death" (Britannica Encyclopedia).

Who is the "Lord of the Dead"?

Now, what about Samhain, the so-called Lord of the Dead? God tells us that "he who has the power to kill is the devil" (Hebrews 2:14). Satan the devil was the master or lord of the dead! The ancient Celts, thinking that they were serving God, were tricked into worshiping the god of this world who is the father of religious lies and deceit. We will see that the same being is behind modern day Samhain (Galatians 4:8; Revelation 12:9; 2 Corinthians 4:4; John 8:44).

We have established that Satan once had power over death, but no longer does. Who is the lord of the dead today? At this point we need to briefly consider some scriptures.

Notice Matthew 22:31-32 where Jesus responds to the Sadducees regarding the resurrection. "But as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, when he said: 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." Since the patriarchs are dead and God is only the God of the living—the dead do not serve God (Psalm 6:5, 115:17)—there must be a resurrection from the dead so that they may live and serve Him.

But to make the resurrection possible, "Christ died, and rose again, and rose again, to be Lord of the dead and of the living" (Romans 14:9). Christ, by his resurrection, became Lord and Master of the dead and obtained the keys of the grave and of death (Revelation 1:18). Jesus Christ will raise the dead to serve Him and God the Father tomorrow in the world to come.

As theBritannica Encyclopediahe states, "[The festival of] Samhain was an important precursor to Halloween." So far, the origins of Halloween don't seem so innocent.

And then the Romans came

In the first century, the Roman Empire invaded Ireland and the British Isles and conquered most of the Celtic territory. The Romans ruled them for centuries, influencing Celtic and Anglo-Saxon customs and traditions. During this period, two Roman festivals were interspersed with the Celts' Samhain festival: Feralia and Pomona Day. Several American cities bear the pagan name of Pomona and unknowingly endorse "Pomona Day".

Feralia, observed on February 21, was a Roman holiday meant to honor the dead, but essentially it amounted to drunkenness and mass orgies, not unlike other Roman holidays.

Pomona Day, celebrated on November 1, was a festival honoring Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruits, trees, and fertility. The sacred symbol of her was the apple.

Over the next three centuries, the customs of the Samhain festival were mixed with the practices of the days of Feralia and Pomona. That is, until they were "washed" and "purified" by another religious power.

Then came the Catholic Church.

In the first, second, and third centuries, all professing Christians, both true and false, were regularly persecuted by the Roman Empire, which considered all forms of Christianity an illegal religion. But in AD 313, that changed for some. The Roman Catholic Church, which began with the sorcerer Simon Magus mentioned in the eighth chapter of Acts, found favor with the Emperor Constantine. (For more information, read our bookwhere is the true church and its incredible history!) For the first time in the history of the Roman Empire, the Pope, now supported by the Roman civil authorities, had a free hand to determine what was "Christian" and what was not.

In the early years of the Catholic Church, believers celebrated special anniversaries for martyrs executed for their faith. Soon there were not enough days in the calendar year to dedicate a separate day to each martyr, so Catholics celebrated a single holiday for all the martyrs.

“In the 4th century, neighboring dioceses began to exchange feasts, transfer relics, divide them, and participate in a common feast; as can be seen in the invitation of Saint Basil of Caesarea (397 AD) to the bishops of the province of Pontus. Often groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which of course led to a common commemoration... [T]he number of martyrs became so great that it was not possible to assign a separate day to each. But the Church, believing that every martyr should be venerated, decreed a common day for all" (Catholic Encyclopedia).

Therefore, the Catholic Church, with the support of the government, decided to "wash" a Roman holiday. Pope Boniface IV, tired of admonishing the Romans for engaging in drunken celebrations as a pretext for honoring the dead (and desiring more converts), proclaimed Feralia Christian in AD 609. Instead of honoring all the dead, they should now only honor the "holy" dead. Instead of drunken celebrations, it would be a day of prayer and meditation. Instead of calling it Feralia, he changed it to All Saints' Day. And he changed the date of his celebration from February 21 to May 13. "On May 13, 609 or 610, Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon of Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the Martyrs and ordered an anniversary" (ibid.).

Then Pope Gregory III, who reigned from 731 to 741, "dedicated to all the saints a chapel in St. Peter's Basilica and fixed the anniversary for November 1" (Catholic Encyclopedia). He expanded "the feast [of All Saints] to include all the saints as well as all the martyrs" (Britannica Encyclopedia).

Meanwhile, the Celts still celebrated the Samhain festival in one form or another. The Catholic Church took note of this and Pope Gregory IV (827-844) tried to replace it by moving All Saints' Day from May 13 to November 1 -the same day as Samhain- and making the holiday official to the entire Church. extended. All Saints' Day became known as All Saints' Day, while October 31 became All Saints' Eve and eventually Halloween.

More changes in festivals

But the laundering process was not yet complete. In the year 988 AD. C., the Catholic Church instituted another day, the Day of the Dead, to commemorate "all believers who have died, those baptized Christians who are believed to be in purgatory due to the guilt of minor sins who died in their souls”. It is celebrated on November 2. Roman Catholic teaching holds that the prayers of the faithful on earth will help purify those souls to prepare them for God's vision in heaven... This date became virtually universal before the end of the 13th century when it was commemorated chosen in All Day of a saint. After the Church on earth has celebrated the Feast (All Saints' Day) of all the members of the Church who are believed to be in heaven, the next day proceeds to the commemoration of the souls who are believed to be in heaven. Suffering in purgatory" (Britannica Encyclopedia).

Now all the souls of the departed had their own day of worship: saints, martyrs, and even ordinary believers who were not worthy to be called saints or martyrs.

As with the Samhain festival, the Catholic faithful celebrated with huge bonfires, parades, and costumes dressed as dead saints, angels, and demons. Collectively, All Saints' Day (October 31), All Saints' Day (November 1), and All Souls' Day (November 2) were combined into Hallowmas, a reflection of the Celtic vigil of Samhain! ! What was proclaimed as Christian, clean and healthy grew out of drunken festivities, pagan superstitions, and false teachings dating back to the Garden of Eden.

The festival of Halloween, and Halloween in particular, was so popular that in 1517 Martin Luther chose Halloween night to post his 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany (effectively starting the Protestant Reformation). He chose tonight because he knew there would be huge crowds in the streets that night!

Pagan customs come to America

When European immigrants began to settle in the United States when it was in its infancy, they brought with them customs, traditions, superstitions, and religious practices, including Halloween, from their home countries.

Halloween's greatest influence in America came with the millions of Irish settlers who immigrated to America after fleeing famine in Ireland in 1846. Halloween, like Christmas, soon became a secular holiday for everyone. The day's celebrations included parades, parties, costumes, treats, and mischief.

And so today's Halloween customs—black cats, parades, dressing up as ghouls and witches, parties, bonfires, tricks and mischievous pranks—which most people take for granted point directly to the vigil of Samhain, the false lord of the dead hin, Roman pagan festivals full of immoral celebrations and the sanctuaries of the Catholic Church.

Given its historical pagan origins, can we honestly think of Halloween as an innocent childish treat? Is that the kind of tradition we want to pass on to our children?

Human nature will always argue, "Wait a minute, I don't worship the sun or pray to any pagan 'lord of the dead'." I like Halloween because it's fun. What's wrong with that?"

What is God thinking? how does it workEsVer Halloween?

Lost in false teachings

Let's check. We have established that Halloween has its origins with the Celts, who worshiped nature, creation, and not the one true God who created nature and everything in it.

The apostle Paul wrote: “Because they knew God, but did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful to him, but were puffed up in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” They pretended to be wise, but they became fools, and changed the glory of the immortal God into an image made like corruptible man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. Wherefore also God gave them up to filth in the lust of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies one to another, which exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served [the creation] instead of the Creator." (Romans 1:21-25, NKJV throughout).

They had trusted that the sun as their god would provide them with enough crops to survive the winter and they rejected God as their provider. “'…don't worry about your life, about what you are going to eat or drink; nor of your body, what will you wear. Is not life more than food and the body nothing more than clothing? ... Do not worry and say: "What will we eat?" or ... "What will we wear?" Because these are the things that the pagans look for. Because your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all this will be added to you ”(Mt 6, 25-33).

They had relied on "sacred bonfires" to ward off evil spirits instead of trusting God as their protector. "HeSeñorhe is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my strength. I will call youSeñorworthy of praise; That way I will save myself from my enemies... Because through you I can fight against a troop and through my God I can jump over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word ofSeñorit is proven; He is a shield for all who trust in him. For who is God but thatSeñor? And who is a rock but our God? ... It is God who comes to me and subdues the nations under me; He redeems me from my enemies. You also exalt me ​​above those who rise up against me; You delivered me from the violent man” (Psalm 18:2-3, 29-31, 47-48).

The Celts believed in the immortality of the soul, a false doctrine taught to man by Satan in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:1-5), and which has deceived the entire world ever since (Revelation 12:9). ).

God says if you die, you die, period. There is no entrance to heaven (John 3:13; Acts 2:29, 34). Do not wander the land and haunted houses. Do not spend eternity in purgatory or any other man-made place: “For those who live know that they must die; but the dead know nothing, and have no more reward" (Ecclesiastes 9:5). "Behold, all souls are mine... the soul that sins shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4). Sin is breaking the God's law (1 John 3:4) "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), not eternal life as most professing Christians mistakenly believe Halloween arose out of direct opposition to the truth of God.

god's point of view

Notice what God says about pagan customs, traditions, practices, and beliefs in general: “Learn not the way of the Gentiles, nor be afraid of the signs of heaven; for the Gentiles are troubled by them. For vanity are the customs of the people” (Jeremiah 10:2-3, NIV).

God took a nation of slaves, Israel, and freed them from their cruel Egyptian masters. When he brought them out of Egypt, he commanded them, saying: 'Do not do as it was in the land of Egypt, where you dwelt; And according to the works of the land of Canaan, where I will take you, you shall not do; neither shall you walk in his statutes” (Leviticus 18:3). God commanded the Israelites not to defile themselves with the customs and customs of neighboring nations (verses 24-29). "Therefore you must obey my command, so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs that were committed before you, and so that you are not defiled by them: I am heSeñor"your God" (verse 30).

God gave Israel his laws, statutes, and judgments. He gave them a way of life totally alien to humanity; a path that, if followed diligently and wholeheartedly, will bring peace, joy, and prosperity—all the good things he desires to share abundantly with all mankind (John 10:10). God told the Israelites that if they carefully obeyed his laws, they would be blessed beyond human imagination (Leviticus 26:3-13). And that they would be grievously cursed if they rejected him and substituted pagan customs, practices, and traditions for their ways, no matter how innocent or harmless they seemed (verses 14-39).

But despite God's warnings, Israel did not listen. Even after God sent them servant after servant in his tumultuous history, they would not repent and turn to Him with all their hearts. "And theSeñorThe God of their fathers sent them warnings through his messengers, getting up early and sending them because he had compassion on his people and his dwelling. But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his words, and mocked his prophets ”(2 Chronicles 36: 15-16). Because of their spiritual adultery and their affinity with pagan practices, which called them holy even though God called them profane (Ezekiel 22:26), God had no choice but to punish Israel. And unfortunately, the descendants of Israel today - the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Israel and others - will soon be severely punished for their inability to distinguish between the sacred and the profane (Jeremiah 30:4). -7; He is. 24:13-14).

The one true God—Creator, Teacher, Lawgiver, and Judge—does not take pagan practices lightly!

Satan blinds the world

Most people don't believe that Satan the Devil exists, and that fits better with his plan. His goal is to keep the people of his world, his society, blind to his lies and deceit (2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 12:9). He even uses false servants who appear to be servants of light but are actually Satan's servants of darkness.

Paul wrote: “And rightly so! Because Satan himself becomes an angel of light. So, it is not strange if his ministers also become ministers of justice” (2 Corinthians 11: 14-15). Satan wants us to get so involved in the customs and customs of this world, his world, that when presented with the plain truth about Halloween, we shrug and say, "I'm just celebrating for fun." - What's that?' The big deal?'

Throughout the turbulent history of humanity, Satan has always managed to find a way to separate man from God (Isaiah 59:1-3), leading him to various sins and false ideas that may seem right, that may seem innocent and harmless, but they are in direct opposition to God! Jeremiah said, "Oh!SeñorI know that the path of man is not in himself; It is not in the man who walks to direct his own steps” (10:23), and “The heart is above all deceitful and hopelessly wicked; Who can know? (17:9). Even as the Roman Catholic Church tried to cover up the strange pagan practices of the Celts and Romans, they instituted their own false and satanic teachings and passed them off as Christian. Halloween is full of deceit and falsehood.

However, even after all the historical evidence and Biblical knowledge has come to light, there will still be those who continue to view Halloween as just another harmless children's custom. Nothing will convince them otherwise. Like a gleaming whitewashed tomb (Matthew 23:27), Halloween may shine on the surface, but in God's eyes it is filled with every filthy, unclean spiritual thing imaginable, a fetid stench in his nostrils (Isaiah 65). :5).

No human being or religious organization has the power to "wash down" Halloween and declare it Christian. God is exposing Halloween and seeing it exactly as it is!

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