A Great Evil -Part 2 Thursday |
In my last blog I wrote about the fact that not every Christian believes that participating in Halloween is an act of compromise. Leaders such as James Dobson and Jack Hayford have written and spoken about this subject in detail. I also asked which is the greater evil, darkness becoming more dark or lights that refuse to shine in that darkness.
In this blog, I wanted to go into a little more detail about the history of the holiday and why Christians' tendency to point to its origins as a reason to not participate is not sound in light of other holidays that we do participate in.
Before the time of Christ until about 900 years after His death, most of the Celtic people (Scotland, Ireland, and Britainn) celebrated a festival called Samhain. October 31st marked a new year in the Celtic calendar when seasons changed and light of day grew less. It was also believed that all of the souls of those who passed during the previous year woke and walked the earth. Some believed that in order to attract good souls, food would be left at the doorway of their homes and in order to keep evil souls away, the Celts would get dressed as something evil themselves. Predating the time of Christian missionariess, the Druids would also sacrifice animals and people to appease evil spirits. Jack-o-latterns came along many, many years later from folklore and was included into the festival, although Europeans carve faces into squash as pumpkins are a unique American gourd.
Most of these practices were either changed into Christian practices or dropped all together as Christianity spread throughout Europe. In the year 998, a French monastery started the observance of All Souls Day, which honored God and the memory of those servants who once lived, on November 1st. Halloween (literally means the eve of the saints or those who are hallowed), became an important Christian celebration and preparation for the holiday that would follow. The new Christian holiday, however, did not cancel out all of the customs of the previous Pagan festival and the holiday became a mix of both practices.
While the practices of the pagan festival, Samhain are evil and may even be recognized as demonic, it is important to make mention of two points. First, the Celtic people were not aware that it was evil. This was before missionaries reached them with the Gospel and most of what they did was out of the fear that they lived in. Once they heard about Christ, they quickly turned to Him. Secondly, although the customs had their roots in paganism, it is what we make of them today as Christians that matter.
For example, Halloween was not the only Christian holiday to be instituted in the stead of a pagan festival, nor is it the only Christian holiday to carry with it some of the pagan symbols. Before the times of Christ until the 4th century, Romans celebrated a festival called Saturnilia, in which they honored the ancient god of agriculture and honored the winter solstice. This took place around December 25th and included exchanging of gifts. Also during this time, many pagans worshipped Mithra, a Persian god of light, who they believed was born on December 25th. Mistletoe was believed to be a magical plant that had powers of fertility and protection. Meanwhile, the evergreen tree played an important role in a pagan celebration called Yule, which also took place during this season, and during which early Germanic tribes sacrificed slaves and hung their bodies on the branches of the trees.
Although some believe that Christ was not born until the spring time (the Bible simply does not say), the Roman Catholic church instituted Christmas on December 25th, to replace the pagan festivals. This allowed many of the converts to the faith to keep their traditions, although now, they took on a Christ-centered meaning. This is to say nothing of Eastre, which was a festival to celebrate the goddess of fertility, by that name, and which included colored eggs in its celebration.
My point is obvious: The pagan origins of Halloween are not all that different from the pagan origins of Christmas and Easter. And like those holidays, Christians can boldly step in and make it our own, using much of the same symbolism that was once intended for evil for something Christ-centered. Christians can carve the name of Jesus into a pumpkin and light it on Halloween night along with a few happy faces on other pumpkins to speak to others of the light of Christ. We can allow our children to get dressed up into hero costumes and use it to talk with them about great heros of our Christian faith. We can meet with and bless our neighbors with candy and maybe a tract or church invitation. Halloween is what we make of it. Would Christ go into hiding, or would He walk among and love his Neighbors?
In my next blog, I will write about the present darkness that none the less, does presently exist and more ideas on how to shine in the midst of it.
In this blog, I wanted to go into a little more detail about the history of the holiday and why Christians' tendency to point to its origins as a reason to not participate is not sound in light of other holidays that we do participate in.
Before the time of Christ until about 900 years after His death, most of the Celtic people (Scotland, Ireland, and Britainn) celebrated a festival called Samhain. October 31st marked a new year in the Celtic calendar when seasons changed and light of day grew less. It was also believed that all of the souls of those who passed during the previous year woke and walked the earth. Some believed that in order to attract good souls, food would be left at the doorway of their homes and in order to keep evil souls away, the Celts would get dressed as something evil themselves. Predating the time of Christian missionariess, the Druids would also sacrifice animals and people to appease evil spirits. Jack-o-latterns came along many, many years later from folklore and was included into the festival, although Europeans carve faces into squash as pumpkins are a unique American gourd.
Most of these practices were either changed into Christian practices or dropped all together as Christianity spread throughout Europe. In the year 998, a French monastery started the observance of All Souls Day, which honored God and the memory of those servants who once lived, on November 1st. Halloween (literally means the eve of the saints or those who are hallowed), became an important Christian celebration and preparation for the holiday that would follow. The new Christian holiday, however, did not cancel out all of the customs of the previous Pagan festival and the holiday became a mix of both practices.
While the practices of the pagan festival, Samhain are evil and may even be recognized as demonic, it is important to make mention of two points. First, the Celtic people were not aware that it was evil. This was before missionaries reached them with the Gospel and most of what they did was out of the fear that they lived in. Once they heard about Christ, they quickly turned to Him. Secondly, although the customs had their roots in paganism, it is what we make of them today as Christians that matter.
For example, Halloween was not the only Christian holiday to be instituted in the stead of a pagan festival, nor is it the only Christian holiday to carry with it some of the pagan symbols. Before the times of Christ until the 4th century, Romans celebrated a festival called Saturnilia, in which they honored the ancient god of agriculture and honored the winter solstice. This took place around December 25th and included exchanging of gifts. Also during this time, many pagans worshipped Mithra, a Persian god of light, who they believed was born on December 25th. Mistletoe was believed to be a magical plant that had powers of fertility and protection. Meanwhile, the evergreen tree played an important role in a pagan celebration called Yule, which also took place during this season, and during which early Germanic tribes sacrificed slaves and hung their bodies on the branches of the trees.
Although some believe that Christ was not born until the spring time (the Bible simply does not say), the Roman Catholic church instituted Christmas on December 25th, to replace the pagan festivals. This allowed many of the converts to the faith to keep their traditions, although now, they took on a Christ-centered meaning. This is to say nothing of Eastre, which was a festival to celebrate the goddess of fertility, by that name, and which included colored eggs in its celebration.
My point is obvious: The pagan origins of Halloween are not all that different from the pagan origins of Christmas and Easter. And like those holidays, Christians can boldly step in and make it our own, using much of the same symbolism that was once intended for evil for something Christ-centered. Christians can carve the name of Jesus into a pumpkin and light it on Halloween night along with a few happy faces on other pumpkins to speak to others of the light of Christ. We can allow our children to get dressed up into hero costumes and use it to talk with them about great heros of our Christian faith. We can meet with and bless our neighbors with candy and maybe a tract or church invitation. Halloween is what we make of it. Would Christ go into hiding, or would He walk among and love his Neighbors?
In my next blog, I will write about the present darkness that none the less, does presently exist and more ideas on how to shine in the midst of it.