Should Catholics Celebrate Halloween?

[Beggar for the Spirit]

We as an Organization have a great deal of

information and accurate history on Halloween.

But since this day is approaching, have you

wondered how Catholics and other Christians

continue celebrating this day?

What reasons, excuses, justifications do they have?

 

If a relative, or a neighbor, or someone in the ministry

celebrates Halloween, here is just part of an article

that shows how they might defend, excuse, justify this Holiday.

 

I highlighted in Red thoughts that might be

surprising or even shocking to us that Catholics and

other Christians may use to defend

their beliefs.

I was raised Catholic and still very surprised at some

of these thoughts!

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________

Should Catholics Celebrate Halloween?

The Christian Origins of All Hallows Eve

By Scott P. Richert

Catholicism Expert

 

 

"Every year, a debate rages among Catholics and other Christians:

Is Halloween a satanic holiday or merely a secular one? 

Should Catholic children dress up like ghosts and goblins?

Is it good for children to be scared?

Lost in the debate is the history of Halloween, which, far from being a pagan religious event,

is actually a Christian celebration that's almost 1,300 years old.

 

The Pagan Origins of Halloween

Despite concerns among some Catholics and other Christians in recent years about

 the "pagan origins" of Halloween, there really are none. 

The first attempts to show some connection between the vigil of All Saints and

 the Celtic harvest festival of Samhain came over a thousand years after All Saints Day became 

a universal feast, and there's no evidence whatsoever that Gregory III or Gregory IV was

 even aware of Samhain.

In Celtic peasant culture, however, elements of the harvest festival survived, 

even among Christians,

 just as the Christmas tree owes its origins to pre-Christian Germanic traditions without

 being a pagan ritual.

 

Combining the Celtic and the Christian

The Celtic elements included lighting bonfires, carving turnips (and, in America, pumpkins), 

and going from house to house, collecting treats, as carolers do at Christmas.

 But the "occult" aspects of Halloween—ghosts and demons—actually have their roots in Catholic belief. 

Christians believed that, at certain times of the year (Christmas is another), the veil separating earth from Purgatory, Heaven, and even Hell becomes more thin, and the souls in Purgatory (ghosts) and 

demons can be more readily seen. 

Thus the tradition of Halloween costumes owes as much, if not more, 

to Christian belief as to Celtic tradition.

 

The Commercialization of Halloween

Continued opposition to Halloween was largely an expression of 

anti-Catholicism (as well as anti-Irish prejudice).

 But by the early 20th century, Halloween, like Christmas, was becoming highly commercialized.

 Pre-made costumes, decorations, and special candy all became widely available, and 

the Christian origins of the holiday were downplayed.

The rise of horror films, and especially the slasher films of the late 70's and 80's, 

contributed to Halloween's bad reputation, as did the claims of putative Satanists and

Wiccans, who created a mythology in which Halloween had been their festival, 

co-opted later by Christians.

Making Your Decision

In the end, the choice is yours to make as a parent. If you choose, as my wife and I do, to let your children participate in Halloween, simply stress the need for physical safety (including checking over their candy when they return home), and explain the Christian origins of Halloween to your children.

Before you send them off trick-or-treating,

recite together the prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel,

and explain that, as Catholics, we believe in the reality of evil.

Tie the vigil explicitly to the Feast of All Saints, and explain to your children why we celebrate that feast, so that they won't view All Saints Day as "the boring day when we have to go to church before we can eat some more candy."

Let's reclaim Halloween for Christians, by returning to its roots in the Catholic Church!"

______________________________________________________________________________
 

Edited October 21, 2014 by Beggar for the Spirit

[Beggar for the Spirit]

Now compare all that above to

accurate knowledge - the Truth!

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________

 

*** g 9/13 The Truth About Halloween ***

 

 “Halloween,” explains the Encyclopedia of American Folklore,

“is integrally related to the prospect of contact with spiritual forces, many of which threaten or frighten.”

(See the box “Halloween Time Line.”)

Likewise, many celebrations like Halloween have pagan origins and

are deeply rooted in ancestor worship.

Even today, people around the world use these days to make contact with supposed spirits of the dead.
 

WHERE DID IT COME FROM?
The Origin of Some Halloween Customs and Symbols

VAMPIRES, WEREWOLVES, WITCHES, ZOMBIES:

These creatures have long been associated with the evil spirit world.

CANDY:

The ancient Celts tried to appease wicked spirits with sweets.

The church later encouraged celebrants to go from house to house on All Hallows’ Eve,

asking for food in return for a prayer for the dead. This custom eventually became Halloween’s trick or treat.

COSTUMES:

The Celts wore frightening masks so that evil spirits would mistakenly think

the wearers were spirits and would leave them alone.

The church gradually amalgamated pagan customs with the feasts of All Souls and All Saints.

Later, celebrants went from house to house wearing costumes of saints, angels, and devils.

PUMPKINS:

Carved, candlelit turnips were displayed to repel evil spirits.

To some, the candle in the turnip represented a soul trapped in purgatory.

Later, carved pumpkins were more commonly used.

[blurb on page 8]
“Christians ‘don’t realize it, but they’re celebrating our holiday with us. . . . We like it.’”

—The newspaper USA Today, quoting a professed witch

[box on pages 8, 9]
HALLOWEEN TIME LINE

FIFTH CENTURY B.C.E.
The Celts observe the festival of Samhain at the end of October,

when they believe ghosts and demons roam the earth more so than at other times.

FIRST CENTURY C.E.
The Romans conquer the Celts and adopt the spiritistic rituals of Samhain.

SEVENTH CENTURY C.E.
Pope Boniface IV is said to have established the annual celebration of All Saints’ Day to honor martyrs.

ELEVENTH CENTURY C.E.
The second of November is designated as All Souls’ Day to commemorate the dead.

Observances surrounding All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day are collectively called Hallowtide.

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY C.E.
The name of the holiday, Hallowe’en (Hallow Evening) appears in print as Halloween.

NINETEENTH CENTURY C.E.
Thousands of people who move from Ireland to the United States bring with them Halloween customs that,

in time, combined with similar customs of emigrants from Britain and Germany, 

as well as Africa and other parts of the world.

TWENTIETH CENTURY C.E.
Halloween becomes a popular nationwide holiday in the United States.

TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY C.E.
Commercial interest in Halloween grows into a worldwide multibillion-dollar industry.

[Footnote]
Hallow is an old word meaning “saint.” All Hallows’ Day (also known as All Saints’ Day) is a holiday to honor dead saints.

The evening before All Hallows’ Day was called All Hallow Even, later shortened to Halloween.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

 

*** rs p. 181 par. 1 Holidays ***
The Encyclopedia Americana says:

“Elements of the customs connected with Halloween can be traced to

a Druid ceremony in pre-Christian times.

The Celts had festivals for two major gods—a sun god and a god of the dead (called Samhain),

whose festival was held on November 1, the beginning of the Celtic New Year.

The festival of the dead was gradually incorporated into Christian ritual.”—(1977), Vol. 13, p. 725.
 

Edited October 21, 2014 by Beggar for the Spirit

[GStorrs46]

   Rationalization seems to be a Hallmark of Catholic thinking. And when they can't get away from the fact that

"elements of the harvest festival" survived among "Christains" they fall back on the well beaten path that they

can 'sanctify" these pagan practices by adopting them into the church and giving them a " Christian name ? ! "

   One interesting piece in the article was the writer's claim that Catholics actually  believe the "veil" between the

spirit world and our own is at times thin. What an amazing "coincidence" it comes at the same time that practicers

of the occult and "Wiccans" believe it occurs too !. And as far as Halloween began before Samhain, our brother

in his quote from the Sept. 2013 Awake ! shows that this is pure nonsense. Thank-you, Beggar of the Spirit, for

bringing such interesting information to our attention.

 

                                                                                                                                                       GStorrs46

[Beggar for the Spirit]

Thanks Mike for your nice comments!

Yes, this is why I posted this information

because I had never heard such excuses and

justifications!

 

For example, when they try to rationalize something like

Halloween costumes, their logic is to say that it is not pagan, but

that it is a "Christian Tradition". 

But their tradition is based on a horrible false teaching - that at certain times of the year like Halloween & Christmas

"the veil separating earth from Purgatory, Heaven, and even Hell becomes more thin, and the souls in Purgatory (ghosts) and 

demons can be more readily seen. "

Thus the tradition of Halloween costumes owes as much, if not more, 

to Christian belief as to Celtic tradition."

 

That's how they justify Halloween costumes? 

 

__________________________________________________________________

ILLUSTRATION:

Its like trying to justify why its ok for you to eat this piece of candy they are offering.

The person is trying to give you this piece of candy but it looks bad, so you ask

"Did you get that candy from out of the trash can?"

 

And their answer to you is:

"Oh no, it didn't come from the Trash Can,

No, this came from our own toilet at home"

_________________________________________________________________

 

Gross!

And so is their excuses and teachings! 

[luvsquilts]

Another identifying mark of false religion and way Satan has blinded their eyes. No matter the Bible teachings they ignore they always have an explanation to placate their masses, tickling their ears so that they get the warm and fuzzies about wrongdoing and how offensive it is.

 

They honor and elevate everything detestable to Jehovah like their forefathers (lost the thought to the connection of the Canaanites and Baal in the CBR--sorry!)

 

Such justifications, as was noted, are not surprising.

[well]

That illustration of trash can and toilet is funny... LOL...

[Beggar for the Spirit]

Another article came out today in defense of Halloween!

 

 

Kirk Cameron Urges Christians To Celebrate Halloween

By Sharing The Gospel

The Huffington Post  | By Ed Mazza

Posted: 10/22/2014 4:28 am EDT Updated: 10/22/2014 4:59 am EDT

 

 

 

Actor Kirk Cameron is urging Christians to celebrate a holiday many fundamentalists shun:  Halloween.

“When you go out on Halloween and see all people dressed in costumes and see someone in a great big bobble-head Obama costume with great big ears and an Obama face, are they honoring him or poking fun?” the former "Growing Pains" star asked the Christian Post.

"They are poking fun at him," he said. Then, he added:

“Early on, Christians would dress up in costumes as the devil, ghosts, goblins and witches precisely to make the point that those things were defeated and overthrown by the resurrected Jesus Christ.

The costumes poke fun at the fact that the devil and other evils were publicly humiliated by Christ at His resurrection.”

Cameron said the "real origins" of Halloween were related to All Saints Day and All Hallows Eve. However, according to anthropologists, the true origins of Halloween go back about 2,000 years to the Celtic holiday of Samhain, which celebrated the end of the harvest season.

 

Ancient Celts believed the day marked the beginning of winter, a time of year when ghosts returned to earth to wreak havoc on their crops and possess the living. To combat this, the Celts would don animal heads and skins as part of their interaction with the spirit world.

 

But Cameron claims Halloween is not about death, as often depicted these days, but about life, and he urges Christians to throw "the biggest party on your block" as a way to convert the masses.

"Halloween gives you a great opportunity to show how Christians celebrate the day that death was defeated, and you can give them Gospel tracts and tell the story of how every ghost, goblin, witch and demon was trounced the day Jesus rose from the grave. Clearly no Christians ought to be glorifying death, because death was defeated, and that was the point of All Hallows Eve."

Edited October 22, 2014 by Beggar for the Spirit

[MzT]

I just read that article about Kirk Cameron. Goes to show that WE need to be careful about justifying our own actions when considering whether to participate in something or we won't be any better than those in Christendom justifying their actions. Very sad that in each case, both are advocating something not only contrary to bible principles but willing to think others will understand their line of justification.

[Shawnster]

Another article came out today in defense of Halloween!

 

 

Kirk Cameron Urges Christians To Celebrate Halloween

By Sharing The Gospel

The Huffington Post  | By Ed Mazza

Posted: 10/22/2014 4:28 am EDT Updated: 10/22/2014 4:59 am EDT

 

 

 

Actor Kirk Cameron is urging Christians to celebrate a holiday many fundamentalists shun:  Halloween.

“When you go out on Halloween and see all people dressed in costumes and see someone in a great big bobble-head Obama costume with great big ears and an Obama face, are they honoring him or poking fun?” the former "Growing Pains" star asked the Christian Post.

"They are poking fun at him," he said. Then, he added:

 

“Early on, Christians would dress up in costumes as the devil, ghosts, goblins and witches precisely to make the point that those things were defeated and overthrown by the resurrected Jesus Christ. The costumes poke fun at the fact that the devil and other evils were publicly humiliated by Christ at His resurrection.”

 

So, by Kirk Cameron logic, those little boys dressed up like Spider Man or those little girls dressed up like Cinderella are making fun of those characters and not trying to revere them?  

 

What kind of twisted logic is that?   

[Midwest-US]

Acts 20:30 - "and from among yourselves men will rise and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves."

[GStorrs46]

    Part of Cameron's logic is common among the evangelical group he is a part of. That is one of the reason's

it has drawn so many pot shots from unbelievers. However, at the same time it shows the folly of using

flawed logic to defend our beliefs. If we do it will only come back and boomerang on us. And it will fail to con-

vince those we so want to help see the truth of what we are saying.

 

                                                                                                                                                      GStorr46

[luvsquilts]

Helps us to appreciate what a truthful God we worship. Jehovah is unchanging. His thoughts recorded in the Bible are consistent thruout, applicable to any given situation. Whereas, all these religious groups, in their fervor, like to cherry-pick thru the scriptures and taking what supports their point of view in that context only.

 

And for Mr. Cameron's POV, where is his scriptural support of what he says? I mean, he is trying to promote the teachings of his beliefs and religious affliation.

 

Not wanting to sound disrespectful or antagonistic, but you simply can't show what isn't there.

[PottersClay]

What I get from this is that Catholic origins and pagan origins are both as bad as each other haha!.

I also loved how this Catholic expert used just as many scriptures to back up his article as I had expected.

While it is debated as to Halloweens Origins whether it was a rebranding of a pagan festival i.e. Samhain (like how Christmas and Easter were jsut rebrands) or a 'coincidental' Catholic Invention, its pagan influences are beyond doubt.

Like Jesus said you know a tree by its fruit. What fruit does Halloween produce? Fascination with the occult, greed and gluttony to name a few. What association does light have with darkness? None. So Halloween is the perfect celebration to keep the Catholic church company in the dark.

[JayMusicGirl]

Just the other day I came across (for a lack of a better word, because I was being curious/nosy/stalky) a page on Instagram for "Christians" (probably influenced by all the great JW pages, for instance there was even a modesty one like all the modest clothing pages created by JWs). So one of the pages I found had a picture that say "should you celebrate halloween?" and the description gave reasons why it's okay or how to participate in Halloween without "celebrating it" (yes, the girl claimed she wasn't celebrating it because she wasn't taking part in evil/Satanic things and just doing the festivities... read on). The first thing in the list was: "You can wear a costume, but make sure you don't dress up as anything evil, like a witch or a devil." I burst out laughing at that, and stopped reading and left the page after looking at the comments briefly where the writer elaborated to another "Christian" who said she avoids Halloween outright to which the girl replied it was her "personal choice/decision" and that she's not really celebrating it because she's not doing anything evil.

The hypocrisy is ridiculous. I wonder what they think Jesus thinks about this, but then again they probably don't think about him outside of church and "WWJD" is just a "showy display"...

[Shawnster]

Just the other day I came across (for a lack of a better word, because I was being curious/nosy/stalky) a page on Instagram for "Christians" (probably influenced by all the great JW pages, for instance there was even a modesty one like all the modest clothing pages created by JWs). So one of the pages I found had a picture that say "should you celebrate halloween?" and the description gave reasons why it's okay or how to participate in Halloween without "celebrating it" (yes, the girl claimed she wasn't celebrating it because she wasn't taking part in evil/Satanic things and just doing the festivities... read on). The first thing in the list was: "You can wear a costume, but make sure you don't dress up as anything evil, like a witch or a devil." I burst out laughing at that, and stopped reading and left the page after looking at the comments briefly where the writer elaborated to another "Christian" who said she avoids Halloween outright to which the girl replied it was her "personal choice/decision" and that she's not really celebrating it because she's not doing anything evil.

The hypocrisy is ridiculous. I wonder what they think Jesus thinks about this, but then again they probably don't think about him outside of church and "WWJD" is just a "showy display"...

 

I agree.  I want so much to tell these people "If you choose to celebrate the holiday, you lose the right to complain about how others choose to celebrate the holiday."

[luvsquilts]

Just the other day I came across (for a lack of a better word, because I was being curious/nosy/stalky) a page on Instagram for "Christians" (probably influenced by all the great JW pages, for instance there was even a modesty one like all the modest clothing pages created by JWs). So one of the pages I found had a picture that say "should you celebrate halloween?" and the description gave reasons why it's okay or how to participate in Halloween without "celebrating it" (yes, the girl claimed she wasn't celebrating it because she wasn't taking part in evil/Satanic things and just doing the festivities... read on). The first thing in the list was: "You can wear a costume, but make sure you don't dress up as anything evil, like a witch or a devil." I burst out laughing at that, and stopped reading and left the page after looking at the comments briefly where the writer elaborated to another "Christian" who said she avoids Halloween outright to which the girl replied it was her "personal choice/decision" and that she's not really celebrating it because she's not doing anything evil.

The hypocrisy is ridiculous. I wonder what they think Jesus thinks about this, but then again they probably don't think about him outside of church and "WWJD" is just a "showy display"...

 

It's like saying frost the mud cupcake with buttercream and it's delicious but if you use whipped topping it'll taste just like mud.

 

Ah, their twisted thinking.

[RaymondG]

I have been surprised, though I shouldn't be I guess, at the adoption of halloween in some parts of Australia.

And last year, as I drove to the hospital where my wife had been flown the night before, I heard the news on the radio three times. "A young girl has been seriously injured as a kangaroo came through the windscreen of the car..."

At the hospital I found a family in tears as I looked for someone to direct me to where my wife might be at that early hour. During the day as I walked in and out of the place so many times I saw members of that family in different places in tears. "Grandad must be very ill," I told myself.

Early the next morning, when a difficult procedure was necessary to keep Janet alive, I was in the Critical Care ward and mention was made of this little girl. She had been shown very early that she couldn't survive, she was kept on life support as the family agreed to harvesting her organs for donations. Hence this was the family I had been seeing all the previous day, their grief extended by the delay in the process of allowing the child to die.

Then I learned the most horrible part of the truth. She was asleep in the car as they drove home from a halloween party.

That family will be remembering halloween for a very long time.

[feather]

yes brother Neil Beggar of Spirit, i have indeed wondered how Catholics and other Christians

can continue to celebrate this ridiculous holiday...

   

  as comedian Drew Carey says in that video he does poking at holidays Not in the bible:

  "we're taught all our lives 'the devil is bad- avoid the devil', now how come it's okay once a year to party with this guy?"

 

  am constantly surprised yet saddened by people 'Christianizing' a holiday our adversary has put in place

     to not only honor himself but to also commemorate & memorialize his fallen war dead.

 

   a neighbor put up his halloween decor 2 wks ago... vampires, cobwebs, graveyard atrocities, etc...

        last night he adjoined 'santa with satan' -

         he draped christmas lights and garland around his 12' inflatable Casper.

 

   good grief        

[minister159]

"Then the disciples came up and said to him: 'Do you not know that the Pharisees stumbled at hearing what you said?' In reply he said: 'Every plant that my heavenly father did not plant will be uprooted. Let them be. Blind guides is what they are. If, then, a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.'" --- Matt. 15:12-14.

 

It's a classic case of the blind leading the blind due to being in spiritual darkness. It's nothing new. It's been going on for centuries and it's the pitfall of false religion.