The Ups and Downs of Tricks and Treats

Fall is upon this place...it echos in the colorful wood, vibrates in the field, and lends the entire world an air of mystery. In a few days, millions of people will be celebrating a 'holiday' commonly labeled 'Halloween.' In the minds of most, it is but an innocent foray into the realm of make-believe and merriment. Costumes are sought and purchased, candies of all shapes and sizes grace the shopping carts of the average American family, all in anticipation and preparation for one night, the 31rst of October, Halloween. I used to really enjoy the day and the celebrating, I embraced the world of the unknown, glimpsing a realm both foreign and now I must say, spiritually enticing. However, these days it is quite a different story. You will not see me dressing up as some colorful character, nor will you glimpse me at a Halloween party sampling the blood-red punch. I have reached a point in my life where I know things I would be happier not knowing, but they are things that I absolutely cannot in good conscience ignore. I will not take part in Halloween because it is a day dedicated to the Devil, lock, stock, and barrel, and those who outwardly follow him have no qualms about hiding that truth. The following is a quote from the renowned witch, Doreen Valiente:

"Halloween is one of the four Great Sabbats of the witches that everyone has heard about. To witches, Halloween is a serious occasion, however merrily celebrated. It is the old Celtic Eve of Samhain. With the coming of Christianity, the Church tried to Christianize the old festival by making the 1rst of November 'All Saints Day', or 'All Hallows' as the old term was. Thus Samhain Eve became All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. But attempts to discourage the pagan celebrations were so unavailing that the festival was eventually banned from the Church calendar. It was not until 1928 that the Church of England formally restored All Hallows to its calendar, on the assumption that the old pagan associations of Halloween were at last really dead and forgotten; a supposition that was certainly premature."

It might be tempting to say, "So what? Just because a few crackpots view Halloween as a sacred pagan festival doesn't mean I have to...To each his own after all, and I am free in Christ." But such an excuse cannot stand if one is to acknowledge the serious manner in which the scriptures deal with pagan rituals and practices. I guess to get really radical one might quote, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Exodus 22:18), if only to illustrate God's hatred for witchcraft, sorcery, etc. In the Old Testament he gives specific instructions to his people concerning disposal of satanic religions:

Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place (Deuteronomy 12:2-3).

As one can read, occult religions and practices were utterly detestable to God--something which certainly did not change with the arrival of the New Covenant. Though Christians are not called to build a physical holy nation upon the earth, and so therefore are not to go about violently eradicating works of witchcraft, we are nonetheless told to separate ourselves from such things:

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove [them]. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret (Ephesians 5:11-12).

How is a Christian having fellowship with darkness if he or she and the family are simply engaging in innocent fun on Halloween? What many churchgoers do not realize is that supposedly 'harmless' practices like 'trick or treat' have their origins in satanic ritual. While the specific custom of children asking for and receiving candy on October 31rst could possibly be no more than one-hundred years old, the pagan Druidic roots of the practice are clear. In olden times, Halloween was associated with an outpouring of evil spirit activity, necessitating an 'appeasement' of those entities with gifts of food or by human/animal sacrifices. The modern Christian parent who permits his/her child to partake in trick or treat is unconsciously allowing them to carry on a ritual whose lineage is rooted in devil worship and occult superstitions. The carving and lighting of a pumpkin can also be traced to an ancient practice of forming demon faces in gourds and pumpkins to frighten off evil spirits, while the candles placed within them represented the souls of the departed.

Whether the modern Christian chooses to acknowledge these occult associations or ignore them and pretend they do not matter is irrelevant. I believe the question Christians should be asking is, "What does Satan think about it?" Do we not think that Christ's enemy will use everything and anything within his power to corrupt us? Does he not take delight in the fact that we are sending our little children out into the dark to mimic (albeit 'innocently') the rituals of satanic cults? Will he not take advantage of the ties with the demonic that many Halloween traditions possess? If one is honest, they must acknowledge the truth of the issue, which is: Halloween is a day dedicated to the Devil and his demons, not only in ancient pagan practice, but in modern witchcraft/satanism itself. While your more mainstream witch or satanist might not engage in animal/human sacrifice on Halloween, there are many other inconspicuous types who do. Though the common churchgoer will doubtless scoff at that statement, I can only point to the countless reports given by ex-hardcore satanists and even by children within this country's foster care system who were forced to participate in and witness brutal rituals. It might be an ugly truth and one that most will choose to ignore, but the responsibility required in possessing the knowledge stands and each one of us will be held accountable for it one day. It is my belief that Christians have a moral obligation to severe all attachments to Halloween, and that includes any 'replacement' rituals a church might put on--celebrating at all on Halloween is consciously setting the day apart to be remembered and is therefore communing with the Devil and his servants who view the day as theirs and theirs alone.

My prayer is that we Christians will choose the higher path. The Christian life is not all innocent fun and games, we are in the midst of a pitched spiritual war, and attempting to brush evil aside as if it does not exist is only inviting its influence to grow--May we remember that the next time we are tempted to put little plastic devil horns on a child and send them off into the shadows to dance with demons.

*I did not even hit on the outwardly disgusting elements of modern Halloween celebrations that have been embraced with open arms by many American families--Those would include the glorification of killing and death, blood and gore, things which your average parent would shun and be repulsed by all the other days of the year. In a world where serial killers and violence are a very present reality, it truly shows the utter blindness cast by the Halloween spell when an average Christian will suddenly go from despising murder and violence to plopping fake bloody eyeballs into their bowl of blood-red punch!

Some References:

http://www.believersweb.org/view.cfm?ID=614 (Halloween's Occult Connections)

http://www.ra-info.org/resources/ra_cases2.shtm (Satanic Ritual Abuse Cases)

http://www.realwitches.com/id25.htm (The Perspective of Witches)