In recent years, Halloween has been gaining particular popularity in some countries.
On this day, people put on various scary costumes and have fun, but can a Christian celebrate a holiday like Halloween? Keep reading to find out!
The Origin of The Holiday
This modern holiday has ancient roots. On the night of October 31 to November 1, the ancient Celts celebrated the harvest festival, which was called Samhain, which means the end of summer.
The Celts divided the year into two parts – dark (winter) and light (summer). They believed that the dark part of the year began in late October – early November.
At the same time, the harvest was coming to an end, so it was a big holiday. Because of the beginning of the dark part of the year, it was also associated with dark forces, death, and all sorts of supernatural things.
Samhain
Samhain was celebrated by all people of the British Isles. On Samhain, it was customary to jump over bonfires, this ritual symbolized purification by fire.
Also on that day, druids predicted the future from the burnt bones of animals, on which the flames left bizarre drawings. It was a purely pagan holiday dedicated to agriculture and mysticism.
With the arrival of Christianity in the British Isles, the pagan holiday passed into Christian traditions. On Samhain, people began to celebrate All Saints’ Day. Such reassignments of holidays were supposed to help in the Christianization of Northern Europe.
Thus, Samhain merged with All Saints’ Day, which the Catholic Church also celebrates on November 1.
At the same time, Samhain, which was common in Ireland and Scotland, was considered a dark pagan holiday associated with death.
All Saints’ Eve received a new name in the 16th century, as a Scottish abbreviation of the English phrase All Hallows Even (All Saints’ Evening, where even is an abbreviation of evening).
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All Saints’ Day
In Orthodox churches, the celebration of All Saints’ Day is on the first Sunday after the Day of the Holy Trinity, in Catholicism it’s celebrated on November 1, as well as Halloween.
On this day, Christians think about whether they will appear before the Lord on the day of the universal resurrection of all saints. It’s based on the expectation of the upcoming Council of All Saints, described in the “Revelation of John the Theologian”:
«After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb. All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”» (Apocalypse 7:9-12).
A Modern Holiday
In Western culture, this holiday has lost its original meaning. For ordinary people, it’s just fun associated with the arrival of evil spirits in our world.
This combination occurred because of the pagan roots of the holiday, which is celebrated on the first of November in the West.
In fact, it’s not just a holiday, but a time of rethinking and repentance for Christians.
The modern Western holiday in the form that we imagine has nothing in common with All Saints’ Day, so Christians aren’t obliged to take part in it, especially Orthodox Christians who celebrate All Saints’ Day on a completely different day.
Halloween is a deformed Christian holiday. This often happens in Western culture, because by rethinking the holidays, some people can benefit from them.
Thus, Christmas in the West has become only a day for gifts, which even atheists celebrate, Easter has also completely lost its real meaning.
The Essence of Halloween
Halloween is a holiday covered with occultism and the worship of evil spirits.
Although there is no official ban on celebrating Halloween in Orthodoxy, the clergy oppose it, calling this holiday and the traditions associated with it satanic.
If a person believes in God and strives for peace in his soul, he shouldn’t wear costumes of evil spirits, witches, vampires, ghosts, demons, maniacs or try on the image of a person with physical injuries. All this is an imitation of evil and a mockery of human nature.
People celebrate Halloween in different ways, for some it’s just a game for children who ask for candy from neighbors, for others it’s an excuse to make their house or apartment look like a cemetery.
In any case, at its core Halloween remains an event celebrating the dark, gloomy and scary side of life.
The Victory of Good Over Evil
In ancient times, during this holiday, people dressed in costumes that were associated with evil, and at the end of the evening, the costumes were burned.
The idea was that in the end, good wins over evil. People tried to rethink ancient pagan traditions with the help of Christianity.
But there is no such hint in modern Halloween, everything looks like the victory of evil over this day, which ends in nothing and awaits its continuation in a year.
This isn’t an idea that Christians and the whole world should accept.
Why Shouldn’t Christians Celebrate Halloween?
Despite the attitude to this holiday, most people agree that society should teach children to take care of people, respect themselves and their ancestors, distinguish between good and evil.
But while this point of view exists, there is a contradiction, because in some countries there is a holiday that shows children that evil isn’t so bad, offers to try on images of evil, shows children artificial skeletons, and so on.
A Christian should choose the first point of view, that is, take care of the child’s psyche, show him what good and evil are, and not participate in the celebration of fun with demonic attributes.
Also, many Christians do not celebrate this holiday not only because it has a pagan origin, but also because Halloween is absolutely unpopular in their countries.
Halloween is of Celtic origin and therefore was common only in the British colonies. If some country has recently started celebrating this holiday, then it has come under American or British influence.
Halloween is a celebration of praising everything that is contrary to God. Christians shouldn’t take any part in this blasphemy. “…For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14)
Christians don’t celebrate such holidays because they bring the soul closer to the dark forces. The Bible speaks of a life with abundance, of true happiness and joy, while Halloween shows horrors and sorrow. “…Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” (Romans 12:9).
” Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11).
Interesting Facts
The officially registered American Church of Satan has openly proclaimed Halloween as its main holiday.
For them, the purpose of the celebration, which ends with the most important black mass of the year, is to demonstrate their worship and devotion to the devil.
Halloween has gained global fame only in the last 20-30 years and it is considered a fruit of American pop culture.
Research by scientists has proved that celebrating Halloween is really dangerous – it can have devastating consequences for the child and adolescent psyche.
Final Thoughts
It can be concluded that Halloween is a local holiday of the British Isles, which has become widespread in some countries. It has a pagan origin but coincides in date with Western All Saints’ Day.
However, in the modern world, this holiday has completely lost any religious meaning. It glorifies the dark forces and destroys people’s understanding of what evil is.
That’s why Christians shouldn’t celebrate Halloween.
Charalampos
Charalampos is an Orthodox Christian who wants to help others learn about Christianity. His main goal is to help people understand the Bible and how to apply its teachings in their everyday lives. He also enjoys spending time with his family, playing sports, and hiking.
Connecting with God is essential to praying effectively and receiving answers. Our FREE cheat sheet will help you build a strong relationship with God and create an effective prayer life.
