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Halloween dates back to well before the birth of Christ.
The Celts, who lived in what is modern day Ireland and France, celebrated their new year on November 1. The day marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of a long, dark winter.
The Celts believe this was a time when the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. They celebrated a festival called Samhain, a time when the ghosts of the dead returned to the earth.
The Druids, or Celtic priests, built large bonfires to where they burned crops and animals as sacrifices to their gods. They also tried to keep the spirits happy by setting out sweets and other treats, so that they dead would not trick them. This is where the Halloween tradition of Trick-or-Treat began.
During the celebration, many of the towns people wore costumes, typically of skins and animal heads. There is where the Halloween tradition of wearing costumes began.
By 43 AD, the Romans conquered the Cetic territories. Over several hundred years, the Romans combined two of their holidays with Samhain. The first was Feralia, a holiday celebrating the passing of the dead. The second was a holiday to honor the Roman goddess of fruit and trees, Pomona. This is where the Halloween tradition of bobbing for apples began.
Rome passed a law forcing its citizens to accept Christianity. Instead of turning to Christianity, the people of Rome integrated their pagan beliefs along with their surface believe of Christianity.
In 837 AD, Pope Gregory IV instituted All Saint’s Day (November 1) and All Hallows’ Eve (October 31) in hopes of eliminating or replacing the pagan tradition of Samhain. It didn’t work.
During the middle ages, holidays such as Samhain accompanied a surge in witchcraft and the actual worship of Lucifer himself.
Why Halloween can be dangerous
A focus on violence
At most times of the year, we read about a violent murder and cringe. But at Halloween, we call it fun and glorify it. Halloween reduces natural and beneficial inhabitions toward violence and murder. Already many children have a hard time separating reality from fantasy. Halloween makes it harder for kids to understand the differences between right and wrong.
A focus on the occult
Many children are introduced to the occult through Halloween. This can happen at parties or even in the public schools. While there is no Christian significance to Halloween, it is very much a religious day.
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