This week I interrupt the series on hope in order to look at halloween. This festival is celebrated on 31 October and its name means hallowed or holy evening, Allhallows’ Eve, because it takes place the day before All Saints Day. Each year schools and shopping centres promote halloween. For many unsuspecting people, halloween is regarded as clean innocent fun for the kiddies!
The practice originated from an old Druid custom of sacrificing children during the autumn festival called samhain . There were many superstitious beliefs and pagan customs connected with halloween. For instance the Druids of England believed that on halloween, ghosts, spirits, fairies and witches came out to harm people. They believed cats were sacred and had once been human beings who were changed to animals because of their evil deeds.
The Irish have a tale about the origin of jack-o’-lantern. Jack was unable to enter heaven because of his miserliness. He could neither go to hell because he had played practical jokes on the devil, and as a result he had to walk the earth with his lantern made of human fat until judgement day.
Should your children and grandchildren practice halloween? Definitely not. It is the most sacred day of witchcraft and occultism. It encourages belief in mediums and psychical powers as children dabble in things like demons and poltergeists (mischievous ghosts or spirits). Scripture warns us not to imitate that which is evil, 3 John 11, Deut. 13:9. We are called upon to abstain from what is evil, 1Thess.5:22, Rm. 12:9 and cling to what is good.
In the eighth century the Roman Catholic church tried to neutralise halloween by combining it with All Saints Day on November 1. Yesterday evening a number of churches in the city combined to provide top-class alternative celebrations, at Bryanston High School, for young believers to worship Christ. The two thousand or so participants were informed on the historical and current implications of Halloween, and time was set aside to pray for those affected by the occult and related issues such as addiction.
Shalom,
Moshe.
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