Halloween

As the temperatures begin to drop and the colors of the leaves begin to change, our minds begin to shift into the mode of the approaching holiday seasons. By mid August we see the stores have already stocked their shelves with candy, costumes and decorations for Halloween; a night full of ancient traditions and superstitions. 

But what is Halloween really? Is it a night of harmless fun or a day for the devil to come out and play? As a Christian, how should one approach this holiday (if one should call it a holy day at all)?

Believe it or not, most of the of the traditions of Halloween date back long before the time of Christ. Many current themes of Halloween owe their origins to ancient pagan Druid religious festivals.

Today's ghosts, witches, demons, and spirits, are modern tributes to pagan worship. In-fact many of the ancient customs of Gaelic festivals are practiced much in the fashions they began thousands of years ago. Some of these rituals include summoning the dead for insight on the future, sacrifices of animals and humans, invoking the help of demons and even the devil himself.

Yet many Christians seem to believe in a harmless nature of today's themes of Halloween, hosting parties, dressing up in costumes, trick or treating and such. The Bible offers strict warning to God's children to have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness and pagan traditions. It's actually one of the most consistent themes discouraged among God's people; called to be set apart from the world and it's vast practices of evil.

If this blog has caught your attention, I'd like to encourage you to do some research yourself on the origins and themes of Halloween. You may be surprised at what you discover. For starters you might want to check out "The Facts on Halloween" by John Ankerberg, John Weldon & Dillon Burroughs.