Halloween

Sorry I haven't updated in a while... I decided to do something different with this post, though. It's not a devotion, it's some of what I learnt about Halloween that I thought was important to share. :)
So, that time of year is coming up again... Halloween. Some people celebrate it, and the ones that don't are considered weird... well, call me weird people, 'cause I don't do it. And I don't want to either. I thought I'd share some things I found out about Halloween, because I think it's important.
Ok, so there were these people called the Druids. They ruled over the Celts. They were everything... prophets, doctors, magicians, priests, lawyers, poets... They were the main teachers of their day. Now these people practiced human sacrifice... They were a cruel, superstitious people. They did every and all known kind of fortune telling. They claimed that they were able to change into animals, become invisible, change into other shapes... and other weird and demonic (yes, I said demonic) things. The people believed that they could cause death, sleep, or illness with curses (or casting spells). They also believed in reincarnation.
The festival of Samhain began on November 1. People believed that on that night the barriers between the physical and spiritual world were at their weakest, and demonic spirits and souls of the dead walked the countryside. People put out offerings for the ghosts who came into familiar households. The Druid priest would go to houses and demand foods for them to eat, and also to offer later to Lord Samhain at the Festival of Death. If the people didn't give them what they asked for, they would put a demonic curse over the house and within that year someone in the household died. So, there you have it, "trick-or-treat." Get it?
Guess what they carried with them as they went from house to house demanding food? A turnip that was carved out in the inside with a demonic carving of a face on the front. They had a candle in the inside, which represented Jock (a familiar spirit) who they depended on for their power and knowledge. This spirit carried out the curse they said on the household. This custom came to America in the 18th and 19th century, and then turnips weren't that important, so they substituted turnips for a different vegetable - pumpkins. And since the spirit that was in the turnip or pumpkin was called "Jock", people started calling it "Jack, who lives in the lantern" when the practice came to America... or "Jack-O-Lantern." Do you see what I'm getting at?
Some of you probably used to bob for apples (or, maybe, still do). Well by A.D. 43, the Romans had conquered most of the Celtic territory. Two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the Celtic celebration of Samhain. One of these was called "Pomona," who is the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona? The apple.
All of you probably know that the Halloween colors are black and orange. Originally, Halloween was a festival of the dead, of fire, and of the powers of darkness. Crops, animals, and humans were burned as sacrifices. Fortunes were told from examining the remains, and omens were taken from the way they struggled in the fire. They believed they could talk with their dead friends and relatives as they sat around the Samhain fire... they even roasted nuts to see if they could find out who they would marry! And then any family who didn't relight their hearth fires from this New Year's fire (no, not January 1 new years ) was put to death. Black? Death. Orange? Fire.
So then what in the world is wrong with little kids dressing up in cute little costumes and going door to door in their own neighborhood for candy? Well I already told you about the origin of trick-or-treat, but there's also a background on the costumes, too. During the Celtic festival of Samhain, sometimes people would wear costumes made of animal skins and heads. Then later, they went house to house singing and dancing. The masks? They could've been to keep the evil away, or they could've even represented the ghosts and goblins that everyone believed was lurking in the night.
So you're probably wondering if I believe in ghosts or not. No, I don't. I believe in all that demonic stuff, though, because Satan does have power. It's really sick and disgusting if you think about it... all the fortune telling, witchcraft, etc. etc. The Bible says that we die once and our bodies return to the grave, but our spirits are given to God (and if we have Jesus in our heart we'll go to Heaven to live with Christ forever... and if we don't, well, we'll go to Hell to live with Satan forever. And I really don't think you want that.)
So maybe you're thinking, "That was so long ago. It was Samhain anyway, not Halloween." Samhain became Halloween. Many of the pagan customs of Samhain continued to be celebrated even after the people became Christians, so the church decided to replace it with a new holy day. The Catholic Church started All Saints Day on November 1. This was supposed to be a time to remember the saints who died before us... but the people didn't leave their old pagan customs. And guess what? The evil and demonic things of Halloween still exist. It is still celebrated by satanists, pagans, and witches. October 31 is considered to be the Black Sabbath of the pagan year, and it's still celebrated today... even by sacrifice. Witches and satanists still believe that we're closest to the dead on this night, and they believe that they'll have better success with their spells and curses. They believe they can see into the future, talk with the dead, and some honor Satan on this night by drinking sacrificial blood. Yes, this is happening today. On Halloween night. Yes, in this day and age.
Halloween wasn't celebrated a lot in the United States until the 1840's. Irish immigrants brought their Halloween customs here, when they were fleeing the potato famine. So if you really think about it, today kids are wearing the "guiser's masks," they visit their neighbors for food (or candy) offerings that once belonged to the dead, and they are told that they look cute disguised as demons, ghouls, witches, or devils. Many also play tricks on this night that are similar to those of the witches who are supposed to be close by on this night.
Yes, God wants kids to have fun, but fun serving the devil is not fun at all.
"These people are false apostles. They have fooled you by disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. But I am not suprised! Even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder his servants can also do it by pretending to be godly ministers. In the end they will get every bit of punishment their wicked deeds deserve." 1 Corinthians 11:13-15
I'm planning on doing a lot of praying on October 31. There's going to be a lot of evil, demonic, wicked things going on that night, and these witches and evil people are going to need a lot of prayer. Prayer's powerful. And God's more powerful than all those wicked deeds people are doing. So with prayer, I think I can make at least a little bit of a difference on that night.
Fact: There is an estimate of 50,000 to 60,000 occult murders every year. No one knows how many are a result of Halloween.
Should YOU participate in Halloween? Well, that's up to you. But if you do research on Halloween and find out what it's really about, I think you'll understand that it's not the "fun-filled, free candy, innocent holiday" that we all make it. No, it's not that at all. Thanks for reading what I wrote. I think this is very, very important and people need to know what's really behind Halloween before they go out and participate in it.
No, I'm not making you stop celebrating Halloween. But as for me, I'm not celebrating it. And I'm perfectly fine with that. More than fine. I'm glad. :)