Halloween is going to be very different this year (2020). The country is at different levels of lock down because of the virus sweeping our world. Trick-or-treating won’t happen for most, and large parties are liable to incur large financial penalties.
Commercial interests, however, are still making every effort to ‘sell’ this pagan festival, parents and children will still find a way to mark the day, and for pagans it is still a significant day in their calendar.
The celebration of Halloween on 31 October each year goes back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced Sahwin). Indeed this is still the pagan name for the festival that falls around the 31st October, depending on the phases of the moon.
It was, and remains, a time when many people thought the barrier between the natural and supernatural worlds, between the living and the dead, broke down, and could more easily be crossed.
All Hallows Eve
The church wanted to divert the thinking and preoccupation away from these pagan ceremonies and so introduced special services for All Hallows Eve and, 1 November, All Saints Day. This effort however has largely failed and to most Halloween evening is still very pagan.
We need to be aware that this evening is special to a great number who practice Witchcraft and Satanism. Many witches will give testimony to what happens at Halloween as being very special to them and indeed how much they enjoy it.
It is an evening where those in Witchcraft gather, and through various means, seek to release supernatural power. The particular ‘brand’ of Witchcraft will determine where the power will be used to effect.
We hear stories that it is directed against churches and families and in a small number of cases this could be true. Nevertheless, whichever way the power appears to be directed, clearly it is not from God. Consequently, it is often a night for much evil activity in the spiritual realms as well as on earth.
Development of Halloween
Halloween has developed over the years. In some countries it is used as an opportunity for profit, becomes a commercial enterprise, in other countries it is hardly celebrated at all. Whatever the ‘outward’ signs are, the witches will be using Halloween as part of their celebrations, because of its pagan and occult roots.
There are strong survivals in the modern festival as pre-Christian spirits and gods are worshipped, ancient traditions and superstitions revived, and for some there is an antipathy towards the Christian Church as a usurper, a recent innovation not welcome in their world.
Whatever the dangers and questions about Halloween it is proving more popular in the West than ever. This popularity is driven by commercial interests as profits made from costumes, make-up, sweets, special pots to collect them, toys, parties, alcohol, etc.
Is it Right to be Involved in Halloween?
Ironically, Halloween is becoming the victim of its own success as parents struggle to find money for yet another commercialisation of religion. There has been some turning against the intense celebration of Halloween in schools.
Some Local Education Authorities recommend that the subject be kept low-key and others that if it is mentioned, the dangers of the occult realms must also be mentioned. However there are still many who take the opportunity to highlight, sometimes unintentionally, the occultic realms.
Trick or Treat
The most dangerous aspect of Halloween, and of the occult in general, is the trivialising of religion, the denial of the very spirit world so many unthinkingly mark every October 31. Christians know, however, that there is a spirit realm and all kinds of mischief and dangers may be released from that world into ours. One example of this trivialising is the practice of trick-or-treating.
This common practice, associated with Halloween, was introduced by the Irish immigrants in America and at first was quite malicious. As it developed down the years it very often turned into harmless pranks. Much today is still harmless, but there is also an element of the destructive and malicious that has come back in.
Trick or Treat boils down to ‘blackmail to prevent vandalism’ and we would suggest is not healthy for Christian children to be involved. We should also, where possible, encourage our friends and neighbours not to allow their children to do it either. Not only do we have the preoccupation with the occult but also the danger of talking to and taking sweets from strangers. We should also consider how we might frighten some young or old people with gruesome costumes.
Your Children
We understand that it can sometimes be difficult for your children, with peer pressure and activities at school, etc. However, for the reasons stated above we would encourage you to dissuade them from taking part in specific Halloween celebrations.
It might be helpful to your children, if you arrange a special treat as a family that evening, or discover a church near by where some of their friends will be attending a ‘Light Party’ or similar event that they could also go to.
If you have contacts at your local school, underline the fact that we seek to provide a safe environment for our children at school and so it is not appropriate to teach them that experimentation with the occult world is okay.
At least ask them to get someone to warn of the dangers.
Each year children have warnings about fireworks, talking to strangers, playing in the road, etc., and so it should not be a problem to add a warning of the dangers of the supernatural realm.
Finally, it would be helpful if you looked further at the whole supernatural realm. Discover, for yourself, that just as there is an evil realm as described above there is also a ‘good’ realm. The more you have experienced the reality of this realm yourself the more you can help your children.
You can read more on the Reachout website:
Halloween, Its History and Development
The Occult, Christ, and Christians
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