Halloween is Pagan, So What?

Someone who came to this page sent the following in an email last week:

I know plenty about Halloween…I know it’s pagan, and I love it…It’s a really fun Holiday, and it’s one fun thing in life to do…The problem so many uptight Christians have, is that the whole idea of ‘spirit’ or ‘god’ came from the pagans in the first place…And they can’t admit that…the various ideas and experiences about ‘god’ evolved through cultural, personal experiences and indoctrination…some good, some not so good…

Much of religion is mythology…

The whole idea of God did not come from pagans as God always existed (this is discussed in the article Where Did God Come From?).

It is true, however, that much of the world’s religion is mythology and Halloween is pagan. The fact that the emailer wants to celebrate it anyway, simply shows that she is not interested in true Christianity.

Those truly interested in what happened to early Christianity to result in the majority of those who profess Christ adopting pagan customs may wish to read the article The History of Early Christianity.

Halloween is an old English word which means ” hallowed evening”. It is the night before the Roman Catholic holiday called All Saints Day (which in Mexico is celebrated as “the Day of the Dead”). Part of the Catholic rationale for All Saints Day is that they have so many saints they wish to honor that they decided to lump all those without a specific day into this one.

It is believed that Halloween contains many of the remnants of an autumn holiday celebrated by the Druids called Samhain (apparently pronounced “sah-van” though some say SAH win or SOW in–and apparently meaning “summers end”). There historically have been pagan figures with names that are similar to this. For example, there was a Celtic hero named Samain or Sawan who supposedly owned a magical cow. In other pagan religions, there was Samana (“the leveler”) the name of an Aryan God of Death (a.k.a. Yama, Sradhadeva, Antaka, or Kritanta) according to the ancient Veda scriptures of Hinduism and Shamash was the Sun God of the Assyrians and Babylonians.

In the Bible, in Leviticus chapter 23, it lists:

“The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts” (vs.2).

All Saints’ Day is not listed as one of them. All Saints’ Day is not a biblically enjoined feast day for Christians (there is not any hint of it in the Bible; it may even be warned against in Deut 4:15-24). Actually the Bible warns against worshipping God the way the pagans, etc. did (Leviticus 18:3; Deuteronomy 12:31, Jeremiah 10:2-3).

The Bible repeatedly warns against the practices of witches (Exodus 22:18; Deuteronomy 18:10, Galatians 5:20) and dealing with ghosts/etc. (Deuteronomy 18:11, I Chronicles 10:13).

In addition the Bible specifically teaches:

” Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: …idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, … drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).

This may be because it also teaches that “rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft” (I Samuel 15:23).Christians and Halloween do not belong together.

Halloween places emphasis on pagan religious practices, and participation in them is futile at best, and biblically considered to be abominable. Christians should rely on the Bible for doctrine (II Timothy 3:16), including doctrines related to the celebration of religiously related days. Halloween is clearly not a biblically sanctioned holy day and should not be observed by any who claim to believe the Bible.

Those interested in more information may wish to read the article Is Halloween Holy Time for Christians?