Satan’s High Holy Day?
Halloween
– Innocent Fun or Ghoulish Horror?
Is Halloween merely innocent merry-making or a celebration
of the “dark side” -- sinister forces and occult powers that exist
on the earth? What is the truth about this fascinating holiday
and people’s captivation by it? Where did it come from?
Should God’s people celebrate it today?
William F. Dankenbring
What is the truth about “Halloween”? Is it really so innocent and full of fun? Why does the whole western world celebrate this day – second only to Christmas in popularity?
Take a good look at the present day celebration of Halloween. The whole theme one of darkness, death, fear, threats, destruction and evil. There are witches, broomsticks, bats, owls, ghosts, skeletons, death, and monsters. People dress up their children as demons and witches and ghouls and monsters and werewolves and send them out into the street in the darkness to “trick or treat.” But where did this custom come from?
At Halloween there are parties where people masquerade, dress up as bizarre monsters, freaks, or weird figures. There is apple bobbing, divination, fortune telling, haunted houses, candles lit and spirits called up. There will be seances and ouija boards in the name of “fun” and excitement.
And,, on the part of some, there will be sacrifices of dogs, cats, rats, chickens, goats and – believe it or not – even humans!
The Mystery of
Halloween
October 31 is the most important day in the satanic year. [Some say it is known as the devil's birthday.] It marks the Celtic new year. It was the end of the growing season. It became a festival of death. On this day, the god of the Celtics was to have called up the spirits of the wicked dead who had died during the past year. At the same time, other evil spirits arose and went about the countryside harassing the people. On October 31, the Celtics expected to be harassed by ghosts, evil spirits and demons; and it was no fun and games to them. They would light bonfires to guide the spirits to their own town and to ward off evil spirits.
We
read in USA Weekend,
“Rooted in pagan traditions
more than 2,000 years old, Halloween grew
out of a Celtic celebration
marking the onset of winter’s gloom.
Called
Samhain (pronounced sow-in
or sow-een), it combined the Celt’s harvest
and New Year festivals, held
in late October and earlly November by
people in what is now
This ritual was tied to the
seasonal cycles of life and death, as the last crops
were harvested and livestock
were brought in for winter or for slaughter.
“The Celts saw Samhain as a
fearful time, when the barrier between the
world of the living and dead
broke and spirits walked the Earth.
Going
door-to-door, children
collected wood for a sacred bonfire that provided
light against the growing
darkness. During this fiery festival,
the Celts
wore masks, often made of
animal heads and skins, hoping to frighten off
spirits. As the celebration ended, families carried
home embers from
the communal fire to relight
their hearth fires.” (“Don’t Know Much
about
Halloween,” Kenneth
The author continues:
“Christianity took a dim
view of these ‘heathen’ rites, attempting
to replace the Celtic
festival of the dead with a church-approved
holiday, the seventh-century
Pope Boniface IV designated Nov.1
All Saints’ Day to honor
saints and martyrs. Then, in 1000 A.D.,
the church made Nov. 2 All
Souls’ Day, a day to remember the
departed and to pray for
their souls. Even still, people
continued
to celebrate holy days like
Samhain, costumed as angels and devils,
with bonfires and
parades. Together, the three
celebrations (All
Saints’ Eve, All Saints’ Day
and All Souls’ Day) were called
Hallowmas, and he night
before came to be called All-hallows
Evening, eventually
shortened to ‘Halloween.’
“Merged with Christianity,
these Celtic rituals held sway in
for centuries. And when millions of Irish and Europeans
emigrated
to
“Halloween, in other words,
is deeply rooted in myths – ancient
stories explaining the
seasons and the mysteries of life and death”
(ibid.).
The World Book Encyclopedia states, under “Halloween,”
“HALLOWEEN is a festival that takes place on October 31. In the
treating. Many carve jack-
o’-lanterns out of pumpkins. At Halloween
parties, people enjoy such
activities as fortunetelling, hearing stories about
ghosts and witches, and
bobbing for apples.
“Halloween developed from
ancient new year festivals and festivals of
the dead. In the A.D. 800's,
the church established All Saints' Day
on November 1 so that people
could continue a festival they had cele-
brated before becoming
Christians. The Mass that was said on this day
was called Allhallowmas. The
evening before became known as All Hallow
e' en, or Halloween.
“The Celtic Festival of Samhain is probably the
source of the present-
day Halloween celebration.
The Celts lived more than 2,000 years ago in
what is now
began on November I. A
festival that began the previous evening honored
Samhain, the Celtic lord of death.
The celebration marked the beginning of
the season of cold, darkness,
and decay. It naturally became associated
with human death. The Celts
believed that Samhain allowed the souls of
the dead to return :to their
earthly homes for this evening.”
What is the real truth about “Halloween”? Why does the whole western world celebrate this day – of witches, ghouls, goblins, demons, and skeletons? Why is it second only to Christmas in popularity?
Obviously, Halloween is not Christian in origin nor is it mentioned directly anywhere in the Bible. On October 31, the druids went from house to house demanding certain foods, and all those who refused were cursed. The people were tormented by means of magic. As they went, the druids carried large turnips which they had hollowed out and on which they had carved demon faces as charms. Each one was believed to contain the demon spirit that personally led or guided that priest: his little god.
Continuing
in the Worldbook Encyclopedia::
“On the evening of the
festival, the Druids, who were the 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
bummed animals, crops, and possibly even
human beings as sacrifices.
Then each family lit its hearth fire from the
new year’s fire. During the
celebration, people sometimes wore
costumes made of inimal heads
and skins. They told fortunes about the
coming year by examining the
remains of the animals that had been sacrificed.
“The Romans conquered the Celts in A.D.
43 and ruled what is now
autumn festivals were
combined with the Celtic festival of Samhain. One
of them, ::alled Feralia, was
held in late October to honor the iead. The
other festival honored
Apples probably became
associated with Halloween because of this festival.
“All Saints’ Day. Many of the customs of the
Celts survived even after
the people became Christians.
During the 800’s, the church established
All Saints’ Day on November 1
(see ALL SAINTS' DAY). The people made
the old pagan customs part of
this Christian holy :lay. The church later began
to honor the dead on November 2. This day became
known as All Souls’
Day.
“Regional Halloween Customs developed among various groups of Celts.
In
honored Muck alla, a god. The leader of the parade wore a white robe
and
a mask made from the head of an animal. In
paraded through fidds and villages carrying torches. They lit
huge bonfires on hillsides to drive away witches and other evil spirits.
In
The people believed that if a person’s stone was missing the
next morning, he or she would die within a year.
“In
Apple Night. Families sat by the fire and
told stories while they ate apples
and nuts. an All Souls' Day,
poor people went a-souling (begging).
They received pastries called
soulcakes in exchange for promising to say
prayers for the dead” (Worldbook
Encyclopedia, vol.9,
p.25).
Origin of
Halloween
David J. Meyer, a former witch who
converted to Christianity, writes of Halloween:
“Where
did it all come from? October 31st is a day of ghosts, witches,
goblins, and
grotesque creatures. It is also a day of orange and black, of candles and jack-o-lanterns.
Costume parties and strange customs occupy the
minds of western civilization, and all of this seems to be intensifying every
year. Children wearing every kind of costume imaginable, and some unimaginable, have been going for
door to door for years at the end of October
saying ‘trick or treat’ and collecting bags full of treats. In recent years, many people have
been decorating their yards as cemeteries and making their houses look spooky.
Even churches have Halloween parties and
set up "haunted houses" as fund raising projects. Where did it all
come from, and what does it all mean?
Most people would say it is all harmless fun.
Some would venture to say, ‘If there is any witchcraft in it, it is white witchcraft.’ In order to truly answer
both of the questions where did it come from
and what does it mean, we must go clear back to the origin of it all.”
“Halloween has its
origin in the
“Eight times
each year, the witches celebrated a sabat and the ritual work and spell casting was always done on
the eve of the sabat. The sabats are Imbolc
on February 2nd, the spring equinox on March 22nd, Beltaine on May 1st, the summer solstice
on June 22nd, Lugnahsaid on July 31st, the fall
equinox on September 22nd, Samhain on October 31st, and the winter solstice on December 22nd, which is also
known as Yule.
“Witches have special ways of celebrating
for each sabat, and even though they do not believe in Satan, it is Satan who
gives them the experiences they have
and deceives them into thinking it is the forces of nature they are tapping into. Halloween is the most
important of the eight sabats in witchcraft and is known to the witches by the
Scotch-Gaelic word ‘Samhain’, which is pro-nounced ‘SOW-EEN.’ It is believed that on that night, the
barrier between this world and
the next, known as the astral plane, becomes very thin. The witches believe
that this allows spirits of departed ones to travel freely back and forth
between the earth and the spirit realm. Thus, Halloween is the highest day in
Wiccan witchcraft. On that night for many centuries, witches would work their
magic and then have wild parties all through the darkness of that night. They
would play games, such as bobbing for apples, because witches regard the apple
as sacred. The witches would also tell stories from their personal diaries of
spells known as their ‘book of shadows.’ These ghost stories would start when
the hosting High Priest or Priestess would say, ‘A witches’ tale and a cup of
ale for the host of our guests unseen.’
“In those early
days in
“As darkness set
in on October 31st, the clan of Druids would put on their white robes and hoods. They would carry sickles and
Celtic crosses as they began a torchlight
procession. At the beginning of the procession, a male slave was killed and dragged by a rope fastened to his
left ankle. The Druids would walk until they
came to a house or a village where they shouted the equivalent of ‘trick or treat.’ The treat was a slave girl or any
female to be given to the Druids. If the people
refused to a girl as a "treat", blood was taken from the dead slave
and used to draw a hexagram or
six-pointed star on the door or wall of the village. Spirits of the ‘horned hunter of the night’ were
invoked by the Druids to kill someone in that
house or village by fear that night.
“If the house or
village gave a girl as a "treat", the Druids put a pumpkin with a face carved in it in front of
the door or gate of that place. Inside the pumpkin was a candle made of human tallow to keep
evil spirits away. Thus, the Jack-O- Lantern
was and is a sign that you have cooperated with Satan.
‘The treats or
female victims were taken to
Should We Celebrate Pagan Customs?
Clearly, Halloween is a pagan holiday, pagan
to its rotten core! It is a filthy
abomination to God and no Christian should have anything to do with this
Satanic holiday!
Halloween is not mere harmless fun or
merry-making! It’s roots are far ore
sinister than that!
The apostle John declared, “that
serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan . . . deceives the WHOLE WORLD”
(Rev.12:9). He wrote, “The whole world
lies under the sway of the wicked one” (I John
Satan has people in our modern era
mimicking the witches and Druids of old. We live in a time when witchcraft is
being revived. Movies are filled with witchcraft and
numerous television programs are teaching witchcraft to millions. The
Harry Potter books are furthering the cause of Satan!
Halloween is not harmless fun! This evil
holiday has its roots in Satanic practices and should be no part in the life of
a Christian. The Roman Catholic Church tried to “baptize” this evil day and
make it “Christian,” but you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear!
What does Almighty God say about
observing such days, or participating in their frivolities? Should
Christians today celebrate this ancient festival? Many today may think it is all right, but the
opinions of men are not our standard or authority. What does the Word of God itself say about
this matter? It is a very serious
question.
Is it all right in the sight of God for men to
take pagan customs and traditions, and to observe them, calling them
“Christian”? Is it all right to merge
and combine PAGAN practices with
the truth of God?
According to the prophet Malachi,
God does not change (Mal.3:6). His laws
and commandments are eternal (Psa.111:7-8).
Does God say it is all right to observe the traditions and customs of
the pagans?
God commanded ancient
God hates idolatry! He detests it with vehement passion. He tells us, “. . . Be careful not to be
ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve
their gods? We will do the same.’ YOU must NOT WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD IN THEIR
WAY, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of DETESTABLE
THINGS the LORD HATES” (Deut.12:29-31).
God’s Word thunders: “Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. Even the land was defiled, so I punished it for its sin, and the land VOMITED out its inhabitants . . . Anyone who does any of these DETESTABLE THINGS -- such persons must be cut off from their people. Keep my requirements and do NOT follow ANY OF THE DETESTABLE CUSTOMS that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God” (Lev.18:24-30).
God tells us plainly: “Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord, LEARN NOT THE WAY OF THE HEATHEN, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the CUSTOMS of the people are VAIN [futile, empty, useless, worthless]” (Jeremiah 10:1-3).
Truly, the whole world has been
deceived by Satan the devil and his clever masquerades and machinations
(Rev.12:9). God Almighty thunders: “Wherefore say unto the house of
Jesus Christ and the early Church
never observed Halloween, or anything remotely resembling it!
Jesus Christ said to His disciples,
“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will KNOW THE TRUTH, and the truth
will set you FREE” – free from the shackles of error, superstition,
mythology, and pagan deception! (John
8:32, NIV).
Christ also warned about observing
“traditioins of MEN.” He declared, “Why
do you transgress the commandment of God because of your TRADITION?”
(Matt.15:3). He warned, “These people
draw near to Me with their mouth,, and honor Me with their lips, but their
heart is far from Me. And IN VAIN they
worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (verses 8-9).
Search through the Bible and you
will find no evidence that either Christ, the apostles, or the New Testament
Church ever observed “Halloween”! It is
a HUMAN custom, a “tradition of men,” and even worse – it is connected closely
with WITCHCRAFT, and the Word of God condemns ALL “witchcraft”!
The prophet Samuel declared to king
Saul, “Behold to OBEY [God’s law] is better than sacrifice, and to HEED than
the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the
sin of WITCHRAFT, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (I Samuel
Halloween celebrates witchcraft,
demons, familiar “spirits,” and the occult forces of darkness. God declares in His Holy Word: “Give NO REGARD to mediums and familiar
spirits [demons]; do NOT seek after them, to be DEFILED by them: I am the LORD your God” (Lev.19:31).
God warns severely, “And the person
who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I
will set My face against that person and CUT HIM OFF from his people”
(Lev.20:6).
God commands His people, “And you
shall be HOLY to Me, for I the LORD am holy, and have SEPARATED you from the
peoples, that you should be MINE” (Lev.20:26).
King Solomon was
inspired to write: “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end
thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs
Taking pagan
practices and celebrating them as “harmless fun” is making light of these
serious warnings of God, and tantamount to inviting the devil into your house
and home – and heart! You cannot justify
observing pagan practices and calling them “Christian”! If you say, We are delivered to do these
things,” then the Word of God says He will cut you OFF from among His true
people!
“The wages of
sin is DEATH” (Romans
Should you
simply go along with the crowd and celebrate this popular holiday of Halloween?
God says: “Do NOT be unequally yoked together with
unbelievers. For what fellowship has
righteousness with lawlessness? And what
communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an
unbeliever? And what agreement has the
God sent ancient
The question is
whether or not we are willing to trustfully obey God, even if we do not fully
understand why He tells us to do something. To learn this kind of obedience
based on faith is of decisive importance not only for our life here and now,
but also for all eternity.
Whether or not
we observe pagan customs labeled “Christian” makes a great deal of difference
to God. Therefore, let's get back to the pure, unaltered and unadulterated
faith which was once delivered to the saints.
Halloween is utterly pagan. There is no doubt about it.
The question is: What are you going to do about it? May God help you to make the right decision,
so you can inherit eternal life, and reign with the saints forever
(Rev.2:26-27;
HALLOWE’EN
Trick?
or Treat?
Millions of people
observe Hallowe’en as a time to have fun,
kick up their heels, go
to costume parties, dress up as ghosts,
mass murderers, goblins,
ghouls, witches, warlocks, demons,
and send their children
“trick or treating.” But WHY? What
is behind this major
holiday, whose commercial importance
grows year by year? Is it all so innocent as millions assume?
What does the Word of
the Living God say about it?
William F. Dankenbring
According to the comic strip “Cathy,” in the
Good questions!
Where did Hallowe’en come from, anyway?
Why do so many people enjoy it, and dressing up in bizarre, ghoulish,
and grotesque costumes? Is it all just
innocent fun and games, and nothing to worry about? Or is there an occult, sinister, dark side to
Hallowe’en that few people today suspect, or know anything about?
In the November issue of a religious magazine called The
Plain Truth (I call it the “Plain Trash”), there is an article on
Hallowe’en in a section called “Questions.”
The question they attempt to answer is:
“How should a Christian view Halloween?”
Notice how they tippy-toe around this question in their answer. First of all, they admit:
“Halloween, or All Hallows’ Eve, falls on Oct.31. It immediately precedes
All Saints’ Day
on Nov.1. All Saints’ Day celebrates the
memory of Christian
martyrs who
suffered and died for the sake of the gospel [sounds like they are
endorsing its
observance, doesn’t it?]. . . the Roman Catholic Church did not
order the
UNIVERSAL OBSERVANCE of All Saints’ Day on Nov.1 until
the ninth
century.
“In ancient
pagan Celtic
festival of Sambain (sic, it should be “Samhain”). . .
“At Sambain (sic),
the souls of the dead were thought to come back and visit
their
homes. Bonfires were lit to scare evil
spirits. Sinister figures -- witches,
ghosts, goblins,
and demons -- supposedly roamed about” (p.10).
It
almost sounds as if they are admitting that the origin of Hallowe’en is
distinctly PAGAN. But they also seem to
be admitting that it is a “Christian holiday,” now, and assert, “The pagan
practices gradually swayed the celebration of All Hallows Eve.” Is it all right, therefore, for Christians to
observe it? Or should all people steer
far clear of this pagan celebration? The
article concludes, in a weak-kneed, insipid, compromising stance, giving no
advice whatsoever and never answers the original question! Rather, the magazine says:
“Because of the pagan elements that long ago became attached to
the
evening, many
devout Christians choose to avoid trick or treating and
other Halloween
customs. Christian parents often
steer their children
away from taking
part is what they see as a celebration of darkness and
mischief”
(emphasis mine, throughout).
How
quaint. How sweet. The implication, of course, is that the
decision is yours to make -- that God’s Word says nothing really about it one
way or the other. The article concludes,
“A dedicated Christian will not knowingly celebrate evil. With this in mind, many Christians
avoid participation in the dark practices associated with the celebration of
Halloween” (ibid.).
Really? Is that
all there is to it? The idea seems to be
that you can celebrate it if you wish, so long as you avoid any purely “evil”
or “dark practices” connected with it, whatever they may be. The message I receive from this is that you
can go ahead, and have fun, but just “remember Christ” and don’t do anything that
would constitute a “dark practice.” I
suppose that means, don’t murder, rape or kill somebody, dismember, or hurt
anybody.
I found the Pasadena Star-News article far more
informative and helpful, in exposing the true origin of this popular holiday. In an article “Unmasking Halloween
traditions,” Christopher Nyerges writes:
“The roots of Halloween go back to the Celts. To the ancient Celts, there
were six
significant fire ceremonies during the year.
The greatest of these
were Beltane,
the first of May, and Samhain, the last day of October.
“The feast of
Samhain (meaning ‘summer’s end’), marked both their Feast
of the Dead and
the Celtic New Year. This time of the
year, half-way between
the autumnal
equinox and the winter solstice, was a time of decay and death
on the earth.
“Samhain ushered
in the darkest and most barren time of the year, a time fraught
with ghosts,
witches, demons, and fairies.
“Fire rites,
during which HUMAN AND ANIMAL SACRIFICES were made,
were performed in the belief that they’d
protect the crops and flocks from demonic
influence”
(Saturday, October 28, 1995).
The
Celts believed that on the Feast of Samhain, the spirits of their ancestors
would rise up from the cold fields and graves and come into the warm homes and
cottages of the people, and had to be greeted with decorations and festivities,
parties and acceptance, in order to get “protection” for the household from
evil spirits during the coming winter months.
Offerings were made to protect the household from malicious spirits or
demons. Says Christopher Nyerges:
“Thus, in its origin, the Feast of Samhain was a rite designed to
protect humans
from the ‘evil’
activities of the dis-incarnate. It was,
if you will, a BARGAIN
WITH THE DEAD so
they’d stay away and cause no trouble during the next year.”
The
World Book Encyclopedia describes the origin of this holiday in these
words:
“The Celtic Festival of Samhain is probably the source of the
present-day
Halloween
celebration. The Celts lived more than
2,000 years ago in what
is now
November 1. A festival that began the previous evening
honored Samhain,
the Celtic lord
of death. The celebration marked the
beginning of the season
of cold,
darkness, and decay. It naturally became
associated with human death.
The Celts
believed that Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to return to
their earthly
homes for this evening.
“On the evening of the festival, the
Druids, who were the 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 possibly even human beings as SACRIFICES.
Then each family
relit its hearth fire from the new year’s fire.
During the
celebration,
people sometimes WORE COSTUMES made of animal heads and
skins. They told fortunes about the coming year by
examining the remains of
the animals that
had been sacrificed” (article “Halloween,” p.25).
This
Celtic holiday entered the
Says the Encyclopedia Britannica, eleventh
edition, of Hallowe’en:
“Hallowe’en and its formerly attendant ceremonies long antedate
Christianity.
The two chief
characteristics of ancient Hallowe’en were the lighting of bonfires
and the belief
that of all nights in the year this is the one during which ghosts
and witches are
most likely to wander abroad. Now on or
about the first of
November the
Druids held their great autumnal festival and lighted fires in
honor of the
SUN-GOD in thanksgiving for the harvest.
Further, it was a
Druid
belief that on
the eve of this festival, Saman, LORD OF DEATH, called together
the wicked souls
that within the past twelve months had been condemned to
inhabit the
bodies of animals. Thus it is clear that
the main celebrations of
Hallowe’en were purely
Druidical, and this is further proved by the fact that in
parts of
Shamhna, ‘Vigil of Samhan.’ On the Druid ceremonies were GRAFTED some
of the
characteristics of the Roman festival in honor of
end of November,
in which nuts and apples, as representing the winter store of
fruits, played
an important part. Thus the roasting of
nuts and the sport known
as
‘apple-ducking’ -- attempting to seize with the teeth an apple floating in a
tub