- Pastor Brian J. Edmonds
Let's Talk About It | Halloween
Many Christians wonder what they should do with Halloween. Many parents desire to dress their young kids up in costumes, and others are worried about their kids going out trick or treating. For anything that we celebrate, we should know the origins of it.
The word Halloween actually has Christian roots, but the holiday is far from a Christian celebration. An Ancient pagan festival was held Oct. 31-Nov. 2 that celebrated the final harvest, death, and the coming of winter. They believed that during this time the curtain between the living and the dead was lifted which allowed ghosts to haunt the earth.
Christians had been celebrating a day called All Saints Day when they praised God for all who had died for the faith. The day before All Saints Day was "All Hallow's Eve." Remember, hallow means holy. Therefore All Hallow's Eve was the evening before we celebrate the saints, or the holy ones. All Hallow's Eve was abbreviated: All Hallow's Evening = All Hallow's Even'n = Halloween. The Pope moved All Saints Day to November 1st to challenge the pagan festival, but the plan backfired. Christians began doing what the pagans did during their festival. Carving ugly faces in vegetables to repel the evil spirits, and even dressing up like ghosts. The pagans believed that "treating" evil spirits was supposed to make them go away, but if you didn't give them a treat, they might trick you by haunting your house..."Trick or Treat."
If we take our kids to Halloween events, we must make sure we know what we are getting into. While some festivities can be "harmless" and not have roots in pagan rituals, others are the enemies efforts to get us to take our eyes off of Christ. There are some who take this day very seriously and are "praying" for demonic activity. Let's be prayerful and careful about what we will do, and how we will help keep our children focused on Christ.
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