The original celebration was among the ancient Celtic people. They observed the end of the summer with sacrifices to SAMAN (Shamhain) He was “the lord of death and evil spirits.” This marked the beginning of the Celtic New Year.His holiday was called “The Vigil of Saman” (pronounced so-wein). The pagan god was shown as a ghostly, skeleton holding a sickle in his hand. The grim reaper.
The Celts considered November 1st as being the day of death because the leaves were falling, it was getting darker sooner and temperatures were dropping. Their sun god Muck Olla was losing strength because Samhain, lord of death, was overpowering him. They also believed that on the 31st October that Samhain assembled the spirits of all who had died during the previous year. They had been confined to inhabit animals bodies for the past year as punishment for their evil deeds. They were allowed to return home on the 31st October. Druid priests would sacrifice in order to appease Samhain and keep the spirits from harming them.
Druids – Occult practitioners, witches of sort. They would meet in a grove of trees or in stone circle to worship (Stonehenge). Around Stonehenge there is over 350 funeral mounds that contain the remnants of countless human sacrifice. Read Jeremiah 32:35
One-time witch of our day, Tom Sanguinet, former high priest in the
Celtic tradition of Wicca (witchcraft) said, "Halloween is purely and absolutely evil, and there is nothing we ever have or will do that would make it acceptable to the Lord Jesus."
The Origin of the Name, "Halloween"
Where did the name Halloween come from? Originally this Druid Holiday was called "The Vigil Of Saman." In early Britain it was called Samhain, which is pronounced Sowein. But, here is how we got the name Halloween. It came from an attempt to "Christianize" this pagan worship day. In A.D. 800 the Roman Catholic Church moved "ALL SAINTS DAY" from May to November 1st. The new day was called All HALLOW'S DAY and it soon became the custom to call the evening before ALL HALLOWE'EN. It was shortened and called HALLOWEEN.
Dr. John MacArthur said "First of all, dressing up like witches, ghosts, or
goblins is incompatible with a Christian's testimony. Furthermore, many of the customs of Halloween are associated with the worst kinds of pagan beliefs and ceremonies; they are usually sinister things such as demons, witchcraft and superstition."
He further stated, "If we as Christian parents simply disregard the unchristian aspects of such practices as mere fantasy or superstition and then encourage our children to participate in them, we run the risk of communicating the message that the spiritual battle waged by the rulers of darkness (Ephesians 6:10) is not to be taken seriously."
Origin of Costumes
How did the practice of wearing costumes at Halloween develop? The early origin of costumes is repulsive. On the evening of October 31st, the Druids, who were the occultic priests and teachers of the Celts, ordered the people to put out their hearth fires. The Druids built a huge new year's bonfire of oak branches, which they considered sacred. They burned animals, crops and human beings as sacrifices to their sun god Muck Olla and Samhain, their god of death. During this diabolical ceremony the PEOPLE WORE COSTUMES made of animal heads and skins. They then practised divination, looked for omens in the struggle of the victims sacrificed in the fires, jumped over the flames or dashed through them, danced and sang. All of this was done to frighten the evil spirits away.
TRICK OR TREAT
Now, just by chance if you had forgotten to dress up or could not fool the demons by dressing in animal skins or other disguises, there was a way to exorcise them. 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.
JACK-O-LANTERNS
Jack-O-Lanterns, what is their significance? The World Book Encyclopedia, 1977 edition, volume 9, page 24-26 says, "The apparently harmless lighted pumpkin face of `Jack-O-Lantern' is an ancient symbol of a damned soul."
According to an article I read by Dr. John MacArthur, Jr. according to folklore "Jack-O-Lanterns were named for a man called Jack, who could not enter heaven or hell. As a result, he was doomed to wander in darkness with his lantern until judgement day." With this in mind, people began to hollow out pumpkins and turnips, placing candles inside to scare evil spirits from their houses.
There was another purpose for Jack-O-Lanterns 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." (The Occult Conceit; page 190).
Heroes of Halloween
Witch
1 Samuel 28 - The witch of Endor
Exodus 22:18
Deuteronomy 18:9-14
Galatians 5:20
Revelation 21:8
How should we respond – Read Acts 19:18-19
DIVINATION -- Seeking to know the past, present or future by astrology; horoscopes; channeling; tarot; etc. This can include animal or human sacrifice.
SORCERY or MAGIC(K) -- Seeking to control or manipulate reality for ones own purposes. This can include animal or human sacrifice to accomplish that end.
SPIRITISM -- Seeking to communicate with the dead or other entities through a medium.
What they believe
ANIMISM -- The belief that all objects (rocks, trees, wind, plants, mountains etc.) are alive and have a soul.
PANTHEISM -- The belief that everything is divine (god). Divinity is inseparable from and immanent in everything such as nature and humanity. In fact we are divine or gods.
POLYTHEISM -- Belief in many deities (gods). They also believe in multi-levels of reality.
DRACULA
Another classic Halloween character is COUNT DRACULA. If you watch you will see a number of these black caped, fanged toothed monsters running around this Halloween. But if you want to have your socks knocked off read DRACULA, A Biography of Vlad the Impaler, 1431-1476, by Radu Florescu and Raymond T. McNally. Dracula was a real person. He was maniac monster, the Hitler of his day. During his six year rule it was estimated by a reliable source that Dracula massacred 100,000 men, women and children.
Information taken from http://logosresourcepages.org/Holidays/halloween.htm
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