HALLOWEEN
Did you
know that Halloween is now the singular most popular celebrated holiday of the
year within the United States? And with us knowing this, let’s take a short
look and see where our history of Halloween comes from.
The
HISTORY of Halloween / Trick or Treat
Experts
say that our modern-day Halloween Celebration comes from the ancient
celebration from a Celtic festival of Samhain.
The
Celts lived from around 750 BC to 12 BC and their New Year began on November 1st.
Their festival of celebration always began on the previous evening (October 31)
which honored Samhain, the Celtic’s ‘lord of death’. Samhain was pictured much
as our ‘Angel of Death’ or the ‘Grim Reaper’. It was this celebration
which marked the beginning of the season of cold, darkness, and of death decay
and naturally became associated with human death. The Celts believed that
Samhain, the lord of death, would release and allow the souls of the dead to
return to their earthly homes on this one particular evening. On the evening of
October 31, the Druids, who were the priests and teachers of the Celts, wore
their white robes and hoods.
They
would send out an order to all of the people within their land to extinguish
all of their home fires. This would include the fires which warmed their homes
as well as the fires which they cooked from. It was on this evening when The
Druids, who were also known as “The Men of the Oaks,” would build a huge New
Year’s bonfire made from oak branches. Today experts believe this is
where our today tradition of celebrating around bonfires originated from. But for the
Druids, the Oak trees were considered to be very sacred. So, for them to only
use Oak branches for this fire, deepens our understanding of the importance
this celebration meant to them.
They
would parade themselves through the streets, going from house to house
requesting/demanding grain and animal offerings as well as young maidens as
sacrifices. If a family would not surrender their young females for this
offering, the Druids would paint an inverted 5-pointed star on their house. The
Celts believed that this would identify the homes which Samhain would be
directed to come and visit, releasing him to take the life of whomever he
wished from within the family.
Throughout
the evening, privileges would been taken upon the young maidens and afterwards,
they too would be offered and burned alive in the bonfire along with all of the
other grain and animals as sacrifices to Samhain, the ‘lord of death’.
And it
was during this celebration when the people of the land would honor Samhain by
wearing costumes made out of animal heads and skins.
Throughout
this celebration the so called “readers” (psychics) of the group would go
around and cast out predictions, drawing in and reading of the remains from the
live sacrifices which were offered by each individual family. And as a
conclusion to the night of celebration, each family would take a flame from the
dying New Year’s bonfire home with them to relight the fires within their own
home.
The
History of the Jack-O-Lantern
Now the
Jack-o-Lantern had a different beginning. We find its origin from an Irishman
named Jack. Jack loved to play pranks on the Devil. Legend has it that upon
Jack’s death, he was made by the devil to wander the world carrying a lantern
to light his way. And with no rest and never going to either heaven or hell.
By
having a hollowed-out pumpkin by your door with a candle lit inside it was
believed to scare the evil spirits away from your doorstep.
All
Saint’s Day (November 1st)
And
then somewhere within the 800’s AD, the Church
established All Saints’ Day on November 1 in hopes to redirect the church
followers into a much more Christian type of celebration. And it has been
within these last 1200 years, the celebration costumes which people wore
went from dressing up to look like Christian martyrs in celebration of the All
Saints Day to what we have today, everything ranging from the evilest of evil
all the way to the innocence of the day, Princesses, My Little Ponies,
Spiderman, and Superman.
The
Devil counts on fear to underwrite his illusions of power. When we refuse to
fear, but instead stand up to his ultimately unsuccessful attempts to claim
October 31 as ‘his’ day or for any other day as that goes, then we—by the grace
of God—join in the undermining of Satan and those who would follow him,
knowingly or unknowingly.
We can
stand up to Satan by celebrating on October 31 in ways that let Satan know that
we do not accept nor do we fear his attempt to claim that day.
We can
stand up to Satan by celebrating on October 31 in ways that lift up Jesus
Christ and share the light of Christ within the world.
·
Do not be overcome by evil, but instead overcome the evil with
good.
·
Celebrate if you will, but celebrate in a way that GLORIFIES God
and lifts up Jesus Christ.
·
Celebrate if you will, but celebrate as children of the Light.
Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather exposing
them to all for what they really are.
·
Celebrate if you will, but celebrate in a way that SHARES the
Light of Christ.
·
Celebrate if you will, but celebrate in a way that does not seek
your own good but rather the good of others.
The Scripture & God’s Word
used in our Lesson Today:
Micah 6:8 (NLT) People, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he
requires of you: To do what is Right, To Love Mercy, and to walk humbly with
your God.”
Ephesians
2:8-9
Micah
6:1-8
Genesis
2:16-17
Romans
6:23
Exodus
20:3 “You must not have any other god but me.”
Matthew
22:36-40
Exodus
20:2-3
Exodus
20:5
