A Different Perspective of Halloween

 

A Different Perspective of Halloween

Origins & History:

 

Halloween is known as October's most popular entertainment and we all have heard of this famous celebration but unfortunately despite being popular it is not known much about it. I will start with the very beginning of it.

The origins of this celebration it is Ancient Celtic Pagan. Celts first appeared in France then later migrating in all West Europe, including UK & Ireland, Central Europe, their culture flourishing around 1200BC. They were pagan tribes having each own customs & language but all related between them. Their religion was polytheistic but also having druidism, a form of spiritual path without any dogma being in peace with nature, being philosophers, magicians, teachers and counsellors. In modern times druids could be similar to people which occupy with protection and conservation of nature and animals.

Now that we have an introduction of who the Celts were, we will go further into analyzing.

These tribes created a celebration to make the transition between the late harvest, autumn equinox and dark, cold, winter solstice, named Samhain (Gaelic word spelled Sah-win). It was an unavoidable celebration which lasted for 3 days and 3 nights between 31 October - 2 November. Samhain is the most important from the 4 fire festivals, the bonfires being named Samghnagans, lack of desire/success in participation of this celebration it was believed that would result with death or illness from the deities.

This celebration was created to interact with the afterlife spirits of their deceased loved ones which would open the gate between the other world on this world, during this period. While they were harvesting in this time the hearths at their homes would stay until they would burn out. After this process was done, they along with Druid priests would create and burn a community bonfire using a wheel to make flames. The wheel was seen as symbol of the sun so they used it along with prayers, then sacrificing cattle and at the end people would take back home a piece of the bonfire for their hearth. Ireland took seriously this celebration so there it was an important military aspect of this that everyone which would used violence, weapons, fights and other similar actions, during this festival, they would end up with a death sentence. It was also found in some sources that they consumed festive meals and drinking a huge amount of alcohol.

Since it was very important to them this connection with afterlife loved ones, they prepared gifts that were left outside their villages and fields for fairies or the deceased spirits to come and consume those offerings. They also used costumes as animal shapes, real animal heads or skins to not be snatched by the fairies or the spirits.

Along with this celebration some mythological creatures also appear in their way of thinking that would feast on the offerings from the village end and fields. Those would be Pukah, a shape shifting creature or Gwyn ap Nudd, a headless woman, being dressed in white who haunts and drive away the road travellers, also being often accompanied with a black pig. Also horses with flaming eyes would be a threat to anyone which would encounter them. Exists myths around this celebration also which we will leave for another time.

In 43 AD once the Romans conquered the Celts for 400 years, their Samhain was influenced by their 2 festivals: in the late October Festival Feralia being a commemoration for deceased and Festival dedicated Ancient Roman Goddess Pomona of Fruit Trees. Having symbol the apple it is believed that the bobbing apple tradition in Halloween to have originated from this.

In 5th Century, on 13 may 609 AD, Pope Boniface changed the pagan meaning of Samhain and dedicated the celebration to all Christian martyrs. This didn't stop the bonfires though. Later in 9 century Pope Gregory III moved back the celebration on November 1st and expanded to include the celebration to all martyrs and saints. All souls day would be until November the 2nd.

The modern Halloween has some traditions dating back to early times. The origins of Jack-o-lanterns it is Irish, the name standing from a character named Stingy Jack. He was at a table with devil having drinks. He made a deal with demon tricking him to buy the drinks. He convinced him by changing him into a coin to pay the drinks but after that happened, Stingy took the coin into the pocket and put a cross to not he able to return to original shape. In return of freedom he requested for 1 year to not take his soul in case he dies. The second time when they meet, he convinced him again to climb a tree for fruits. Making the same method with cross, in return he asked for 10 years this time. Shortly after this event he died though. God didn't allow him in Heaven with such awful character but neither the demon wanted him because of his trickery, so he ended in the dark night alone only with a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved turnip and has been travelling since then. Because of this story, people started carving turnips, potatoes and later pumpkins with scary faces to fright away him and other entities.

Another popular tradition is called trick or treat. The exact origin is unknown but it is very old, from Ancient Pagan Celt, continuing to early Roman Catholic to 17 Century British politics. In contemporary times appeared 1st in America a comic with Peanuts. Then in 1952, Disney produced a cartoon named "Trick or Treat" with Donald Duck and his nephews.

This celebration included in ancient times the animal dressing of Celts, a custom existing back to Middle Ages. This is considered to be the origins of it. Christian English later resembled in practising the Pagan Festival, with masquerade and bonfire. The poor people came at the wealthier homes for food and clothes in exchange of praying of the deceased souls of that family. Children also would go door to door asking for food, clothes, money and other similar. Also appeared Wicca practices, a witch type of pagan worship. Pagans desiring their Pre-Christian religion created the Celtic Reconstruction, trying to go on the steps of previous world. In addition to this they also created the future predictions and matchmaking.

The Irish immigrants coming to escape the Famine from their home, took with them their Samhain traditions into America helping it spread. Northern Colonies were not much into it due to Protestant religion while the Southern Colonies adopted it easy.

In 1920's pranks and jokes started to appear which shortly lead to vandalism. After the war and rations ended, the people reclaimed what is today Halloween and also started huge amount of fabrication of candy. The name Halloween means All Hallows Eve and contains most pagan practices from beginning until the immigration of the Irish in 19 Century in America.

       

                                                        Religious View:

Whether you are a Christian, Muslim or Jewish, you should know very well that is forbidden in any religion of God to worship false Gods and Pagan celebrations, regardless of what reason you might find appropriate. Now we will go further into what they have to say about this.

Judaism is the first monotheistic religion with direct belief in God. Has Halachal Law which forbids them to practice any idolatrous worship or association with anything pagan.

Also their law forbids them to have any ridiculous and meaningless behaviour or custom. Even if collecting candy and being in groups of friends doing activities together might sound fun at first sight it is not. Despite the fact being forbidden to practice Halloween due to pagan roots, it is accepted though to offer candy to trick or treat people in cases where it can cause fights, hate, violence or anything similar since it is known that some can do revenge during Halloween for not receiving treats.

The fact that Catholics tried to convert this celebration into a Christian one does not make Jewish, neither Orthodox follow it or agree with it. It does not change its pagan origin and still is viewed with bad eyes.

Orthodoxy is the oldest and original version of Christianity having direct belief in God also. In our Christian view, it is forbidden celebration of Halloween from both religious and cultural point of view. It is a Pagan festival with dawn in West Europe later trying to be adopted for political reasons by Catholic church to not loose worshippers in favour of the Pagan belief. It did not last much as a Christian Catholic celebration until it returned to its original form anyway.

Us Orthodox live in Eastern Europe, also being considered Oriental Europe, Near East, North & East Africa, parts of Middle East and being minorities worldwide. In none of these places it didn't exist such celebration before Christianity to consider it a part of our culture to practice it. Another reason is that it has heretic roots against God and Judaism, Christian & Islam follow this very strict rule to not worship or celebrate anything pagan or the false idols named Ancient Gods or anything similar.

Us Orthodox believe that death is temporary and the people are sleeping until The Final Judgement comes, while their soul never dies. Scriptures considers God to be alive and us being created after him and not with death or creepy creatures/entities.

Halloween on the other hand is a celebration which focuses on death and mockery of it in different shapes to cheat it. Unfortunately this is a lie from evil to trick the naive minds because at some point we all die sooner or later with this physical shape but our souls never. In our Christian view Halloween converted our customs for the beloved, deceived ones and themselves too into evil, creepy, horrid creatures and rituals which is very insulting to both the people which are on the other side and lack of respect for them, making all this a cheap, commercial, masquerade. Our purpose in life is purification of mind, soul and body, becoming pure and good like innocent children and not transform ourselves in the most evil and ugliest creatures possible.

This festival to us is considered also satanic and is a training for Hell world what we experience during Halloween, with diabolical attitude, destroying the moral and religious life of people. Such actions like having evil costumes, home decor, playing games with evil background and similar stuff, we are making people being familiar with demons, inviting them in our life and also unnaturally making our perceptions to see evil as good and demons as nice fellas which had a sad fate and that is healthy to keep them around you.

If some adults can make a difference between fantasy and reality, children can't so they are exposed and to them imagination is essential. All their inner world is based on imagination and role models appear also through visual experience. So by accepting this you are inviting evil in your life to manifest and destroy people's lives. Another thing to be mentioned is that Halloween also has the meaning Hell will win, it might not sound at first like that but this is another meaning for it and another reason to avoid.

Islam is the 3rd monotheistic religion, having direct belief in God too. Just like Christianity, Islam is sharing similar values when comes to Halloween: it is forbidden to practice anything pagan or believing in idols. Allah is the only one allowed. Trick or treat action involves begging, an action which is forbidden in this religion, only with the condition of huge need, if it is for fun, greed, laziness or other similar actions it is strictly prohibited. At 1st sight it may look harmless dressing the children in costumes or giving them candy but by doing that during Halloween you accept and practice paganism.

This celebration also has a negative impact on being a good Muslim person. This festival is investing resources in evil which is not indicated or healthy for a good Muslim person which wants to have a good character. Demonic creatures and entities are part of this and makes it a toxic life. By participating at Halloween you break the first rule to worship only Allah. The same as Orthodox, Muslims see same this event that it makes perverted the child's mind, violence is spreading fast because of this and because of imitation of evil through actions and also opening the door for evil to be in your life and ruin it.

My opinion is that we should follow God and it is good to study and research Ancient Pagan life only for historical purpose to know how our ancestors lived, what mistakes and good things they have done so we learn from the past, not to practice and celebrate anything pagan even more if it includes something evil that thing. This is a celebration that should not be promoted and continued.