Halloween: Trick or Treat? – Again! Part 1

Doresc prin acest articol ce va fi impartit in doua numere sa va invite din nou in a reflecta asupra acestei ,,sarbatori” numita Halloween sau sarbatoarea mortilor ori a tuturor sfintilor. Asa cum stim acest obicei este practicat annual in Statele Unite si nu numai. Chiar si in Romania se vede ecoul acestei ,,sarbatori.’’ Articolul este preluat de pe website-ul: www.exposingsatanism.com. Vi-l prezint in engleza pentru a fi mai bine inteles de cei tineri si familiile tinere. Din start credem ca halloweenul nu trebuie respectat. Noi vom avea in cadrul bisericii Vineri seara de la 6 o activitate pentru copii numita Harvest Time. Va rugam sa aduceti copiii dumneavoastra. Acum va invit sa cititi articolul pentru o mai buna intelegere a evenimentului anual din acest sezon.

Knock, Knock, Knock….. You open the door and there stands one or more children standing in some sort of costume, highly excited and all screaming at the top of their lungs….”TRICK or TREAT”, without knowing the meaning of what they are saying or doing.

As an adult, do you know what Halloween represents? Most people are ignorant of what Halloween is all about and for that matter they don’t care. I grew up trick or treating like most kids in America and never knew what it was all about. We even had a haunted house in the attic of the little country CHURCH I attended!!!! I was like most kids in the fact that all I wanted to do is get as much candy as I could and would do what I had to do to get it!! Including fighting with my brothers and sisters to be the first at the door….Every year I was the devil. I had the most evil, horrible, grotesque, rubber mask that was ever made. I had a pitchfork and my precious mother even sewed me a long pointed tail on my red suit.

We all have stories to tell of Halloween, but do you really know what it is all about?? If all you know of it is what I have described above, you may want to read a little further and find out more info about what you are celebrating. Now if you are a pagan you know exactly what it is, if a Christian you are involved in something God forbids and if you just a “good ole boy or girl” you don’t care.

Where did it begin?

It began over 2000 yrs ago with people known as the Celtics. They lived in what is today England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This was also the beginning of the Celtic new year, a time to give thanks to the sun god for the harvest.

What is it all about?

Halloween, All saints day, All hallows eve or All souls day is a festival. It was held to honor the Samhain the so called “lord of death”. 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.

It was a pagan belief that on one night of the year the souls of the dead return to their original homes, there to be entertained with food. If food and shelter were not provided, these evil spirits would cast spells and cause havoc toward those failing to fulfill their requests.

Sacrifices were offered on this night to the dead spirits because it was thought they visited their earthly dwellings and former friends.

There was a prevailing belief among all nations that at death the souls of the good men were taken possession of by good spirits and carried to paradise; but the souls of the wicked men were left to wonder in the space between the earth and the moon, or consigned to the unseen world. These wandering spirits were in the habit of haunting the living…But there were means by which ghosts might be exorcised.

To exorcise these ghosts, that is to free yourself from their evil sway, you would have to set out food and provide shelter for them during the night. If they were satisfied with your offerings, they would leave you in peace. If not, they were believed to cast an evil spell on you.

In modern day Satanism and Witchcraft covens, this is the day when Satan himself comes to “fellowship” with his followers. Many changes have occurred over the centuries, but one thing ha stayed the same, the practice of giving an “offering” has stayed the same. Oh we do it under the name of fun but what is the real meaning? Is it still the same as in the old days? I say the answer is YES.

The Christian Connection

The celebration in the Roman Catholic Church, which was later to merge with Samhain, was known as All Saints’ Day. All Saints’ Day originated in the 7th century when the Pantheon at Rome was wrested from the barbarians, made into a cathedral, and renamed the Church of the Blessed Virgin and All Martyrs. Thus, from honoring “all gods” (which is the meaning of the Greek word “pantheon”) the Pantheon became the center for glorifying all saints.

This day that honored all the “hallowed” saints was first observed on the evening of May 13, and was known as the All hallows festival. The day was officially authorized in 835 by Pope Gregory IV after it was moved to November 1 to coincide with Samhain. It began on the evening of October 31, which was called All Hallows Eve.

Thus, without forcing the pagans to drop their pagan practices and accept Christianity, the Roman Catholic church merely made room to accommodate the barbarians.

Just as it confiscated the pagan Pantheon for its own uses, this church incorporated the customs of Samhain to further its mission to convert the known world to Catholicism.

The two celebrations made strange bedfellows: one in respect of evil spirits, the other honoring “saints.”

Nevertheless, the joining of the two celebrations produced a hybrid of beliefs about what was supposed to happen in the spirit world. Souls in purgatory appeared as witches and toads to persons who had wronged them. Halloween fires took on a new meaning and now were used to comfort souls in purgatory as people prayed while holding burning straw in the air.

Even the idea of trick-or-treating by evil spirits took on an acceptable church flavor: costumed children went around on All Souls Day offering to fast for the departed souls in return for money or an offering.

As the Celts converted to the new religion, they did not forget their stories of the dead traveling to the afterworld on Halloween. Rather, exhibitions of this night became more evil and the observance adopted even more malicious overtones. To be continued…