Halloween: Demonic ritual or just good fun..??!!

Halloween, also called the "Christian feast of Hallowmas", "Allhallows", or "All Saints day". It is a time for Ghosts, Skeletons, Pumpkins, and of course Candy. A holiday generally accepted as secular in nature and a time for partying and harmless fun. But is that all there is to Halloween? There is some concern among parents' whether to allow children to participate in Halloween festivities based on the holiday’s history. So, is Halloween just a commercialized holiday, or is it really a “Celebration of the Dead”? To make an informative decision, one has to look at the relevant history.

Halloween is connected all the way back to the ancient Druids. The Druids believed that on this evening the lord of the dead called upon hosts for evil spirits. To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

Halloween can also be traced back to a pagan holiday called the “Festival of Samhain”, which was celebrated by the Celts of Great Britain, Ireland, and France. It was believed that on October 31st, Samhain, the Celtic God of the Dead, would allow the souls, evil and good, of those who had died to return to their dwellings. To keep the evil spirits away, the ancient Celts would light bonfires and wear masks. The devils, witches and demons were also believed to be moving about at the height of their powers.

Later in 7th century AD, Pope Boniface IV established All Saints’ Day on May 13th which was later moved to November 1st to provide a Catholic alternative to the pagan festival. The evening before All Saints’ Day became a “hallowed” (holy) eve, from which we derive the name “Halloween”. Thus, today’s secular holiday started off with religious roots. For early American colonists, the celebration of Halloween was banned, but it was slowly accepted in the 19th century, when there was a large wave of Irish immigrants settling in the United States. By the 20th century, Halloween had become one of the principal state holidays.

Our celebration of Halloween is wholly different than what October 31st meant to the Celts. To them it was their religion, their belief, their life, and they were serious about it. They depended on the natural world and to see the predictions of the future. To do things to help them through the winter was important to them. In America Halloween maybe somewhat similar to the practices of a false religion or cultic practice, in reality, it is not the same. Is what we do at Halloween wrong? Is it the practice itself or the meaning behind it? For instance, they dressed up to attempt to tell each others fortunes during a festival in which they were sacrificing animals to a false god. We dress up and go door to door collecting candy and having fun. It seems to be there is a big difference in those two things. To Americans it is a fun holiday. Things like pumpkins, ghosts, ghouls, monsters actually entertain us.

The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.

TRICK OR TREAT

So how did this buisness of "trick or treat" become a tradition in the United States?

The American tradition of "trick-or-treating" probably dates back to the early All Souls' Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives. The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as "going a-souling" was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money.

HALLOWEEN WITCH

Witches have had a long history with Halloween. Legends tell of witches gathering twice a year when the seasons changed, on April 30 - the eve of May Day and the other was on the eve of October 31 - All Hallow's Eve.

The witches would gather on these nights, arriving on broomsticks, to celebrate a party hosted by the devil. Superstitions told of witches casting spells on unsuspecting people, transform themselves into different forms and causing other magical mischief.
It was said that to meet a witch you had to put your clothes on wrong side out and you had to walk backwards on Halloween night. Then at midnight you would see a witch.
When the early settlers came to America, they brought along their belief in witches. In American the legends of witches spread and mixed with the beliefs of others, the Native Americans - who also believed in witches, and then later with the black magic beliefs of the African slaves.
The black cat has long been associated with witches. Many superstitions have evolved about cats. It was believed that witches could change into cats. Some people also believed that cats were the spirits of the dead.
One of the best known superstitions is that of the black cat. If a black cat was to cross your path you would have to turn around and go back because many people believe if you continued bad luck would strike you.

THE WICKER MAN

During the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, from which Halloween was derived, Druids burned huge sacrificial wooden effigies known as wicker men atop sacred hilltop sites. The wicker men were sometimes filled with animals, prisoners of war, criminals, and other sacrifices to Druid deities.

The Halloween Story:

It is said that many Paranormal events have all began after the Halloween phase has began, the phase where the spirits cross paths from the underworld and enter our world. Coincidence or Truth..?

What do you think about Halloween? Demonic ritual or just good fun? Let me know in the comments below...