What is the Reason for THIS season?

OR, Where Did Halloween Come From?

With Halloween looming on the near horizon, I thought I would do a little history lesson on the origins of this holiday and it's components.

History

Halloween, originally call "All Hallows Eve" or “All Saints Eve” is the day before "All Saints Day," which is celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church. The official name of “All Saints Day” is the “Solemnity of All Saints” also called “All Hallows” or “Hallowmas.” “All Saints Day” is celebrated to commemorate those in the Catholic Church that have passed away in their faith.

Halloween has been said to originate in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds. Some have also placed its origin in Parentalia or “the festival of the dead.” But more typically it is linked to the Celtic festival of “Samhain” [pronounced sow-an or sow-in]. Both the Celts and the Gaels of the British Isles kept this festival well before Christians had come into the area. The name comes from an old Irish word for “summer’s end” and was typically a time for feasting and gathering together of families. Ancient Irish, Scottish and Welsh texts describe it as the setting for supernatural encounters. The word “Halloween” was first used in the 16th century and represents a Scottish variation of the phrase “All-Hallows-Even” or Evening.


Symbols and Imagery
The symbols and artifacts that are associated with Halloween have formed over time. Like the Jack-O-Lantern, carving pumpkins comes from the tradition of creating lanterns from turnips to remember the souls lost in purgatory. Traditionally the turnip was used in Ireland and Scotland, but immigrants to North America used the native pumpkins which were larger – and easier to carve – and readily available. It was first recorded in 1837 and was generally associated to harvest time. It didn’t become related to Halloween until the mid 19th century.

Imagery of this day has come from many sources, such as works of Gothic and horror literature – like Dracula and Frankenstein – and from classic horror movies like the Mummy and the various Frankenstein films. Pranks were first noted to the day by the Scottish poet, John Mayne, who in 1780 wrote of them, “What fearfu’ pranks ensue!” Ghosts, bogies and goblins became part of the festivities in 1785 and influenced Robert Burns Halloween. Other natural elements of autumn, like scarecrows, corn husks and fall leaves also became prevalent about that time. The images of death, evil, occult and mythical monsters, bats, black cats, spiders and the colors orange and black have all come in there time.


Trick-or-Treating and Guising
The practice of going in costume from house to house asking for treats – like candy or sometimes money – and asking, “Trick-or-Treat” became a part of the festivities dates to the Middle Ages and – like the Jack-o-lantern – came from the medieval practice of “souling.” Poor folks went door to door on Hallowmas [All Saints Day] receiving food in exchange for prayers for the dead on “All Souls Day” [November 2nd]. It began in Ireland and Britain, though similar practices for the souls of the dead have been found as far south as Italy. Shakespeare even makes mention of the practice in his comedy Two Gentlemen of Verona, When Speed accuses his master of “puling [whimpering or whining] like a beggar at Hallowmas.”


In Scotland and Ireland guising, the practice of children dressed in costumes going door to door and asking for food or coins, is a traditional Halloween custom. It was recorded in Scotland in 1895, where people dressed in costumes carrying lanterns from scooped out turnips, visiting homes to be rewarded with cakes, fruit and money. This practice also crossed the oceans to North America. It was first recorded in 1911, where a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada reported a group of children going “guising” around the neighborhood. Ruth Edna Kelley, A journalist of Massachusetts wrote the first book length history of the Halloween holiday in the US; The Book of Hallowe’en [1919]. There are references of souling in the chapter “Hallowe’en in America”;


“The taste in Hallowe'en festivities now is to study old traditions, and hold a Scotch party, using Burn’s poem Hallowe'en as a guide; or to go a-souling as the English used. In short, no custom that was once honored at Hallowe'en is out of fashion now.”


Pagan Roots
While all of these practices look benign on the surface, and there are no records in mainstream literature of pagan involvement in this holiday; I have spoken to members of the pagan religion who state that there are ancient manuscripts recording practices of this holiday which give a much different version of its history.


Yes the practice was to honor the dead, but when there was no treat given to the caller’s at the door, the “spirits” of those dead souls [or rather the living family members who were of the Celtic or Gaelic religion] played tricks upon the homeowners. These tricks were things like burning down their barns, setting fire to the thatched roofs of their hovels or letting their animals out of the barn to get lost. There were other, more gruesome “tricks” that were played on neighbors who were better off – like their landlords, etc. My sources would not give me the details, as they didn’t want to upset me unnecessarily. Even if I knew them, I don’t think I would want to share them here for the very same reasons they weren’t shared with me. Knowing that this holiday's beginnings actually were pagan and occultic with evil doings involved should be enough, even without all of the gory details.


Redeeming The Time
So whether you believe the benign version or the tails I have been told by very reliable sources is up to you. Which ever you believe, you know that this celebration was and is not Christian in nature. So what do we do with it? In Colossians Paul says we should “redeem the time.”


Colossians 4:5-6, Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.


Celebrate the Halloween Season as unto the Lord Jesus. Use the day to point others to His Way. Our church, Bread of Life Christian Fellowship of Mound House, NV, usually hold our annual “Creation Celebration” on that evening. We rearrange the church sanctuary with a labyrinth that displays all of the days of creation on wall-size panels. As you walk through the labyrinth you will see our artistic re-creation of the first six days of the history of the world, as told in Genesis chapter one. We play carnival-type games, show a Christian Video, serve treats and hand out small gifts and candy to our guests.


This is the way we have chosen to “redeem the time.” You and/or your church may want to look for other ways to redeem this holiday. Pray and ask God to lead you in what He would have you to do. Whatever you choose, just remember we are to walk in wisdom toward unbelievers and to speak with His grace when they ask why we celebrate in the way that we do.


… grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever. Amen. II Peter 3:17-18