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Its a pagan holiday but an American Tradition, definitely not a christian holiday. Im a Christian but I keep the American customs, even Christmas which is not Christs birthday. Theres nothing in my bible that says I will be stricken dead for it. Why deprive my kids of American customs, thats not fun
My family and I at one time celebrated these holidays and we considered ourselves Christian but were really nominal Christians at best. It was a gradual process but after we learned more about what the Bible taught it lead to a personal decision to align our lives with what we learned.
My kids were deprived, yes, deprived of spiritual knowledge but now have a strong belief system that has served them well as they transition into young adults.
As far as Halloween, Deuteronomy and Galatians come to mind and warn Christians about engaging in activities associated with ghosts, spirits, charms, omens, divination, sorcery, etc
While many people view Halloween as a mostly secular celebration and I would think most celebrate it in that manner there is a real conflict between what the Bible says to avoid and the themes represented by Halloween.
For some simple minded people Halloween is a tool. They use it as a measuring stick, and one-upmanship on how 'christian' you actually are. What's the point in being anything if you can't be the best of the bunch and lord it over everyone? I won't name names but look above me. It doesn't stop with holidays either.
Halloween and Christianity are not at odds, it's all about people and their obsessive need to feel good about themselves.
All Hallow's Eve is Celtic in origin, and the customs were carried to the US by Irish and Scottish immigrants. I don't know that it's a "church holiday" as such. In any event, All Hallow's Eve is of no significance, culturally or otherwise, to the vast majority of Americans. Halloween is just some fun customs. Fundamentalists, Jehovah's Witnesses and similar groups equate the macabre / scary aspects of it with Satan worship or at least "giving place" to Satan or consorting with evil spirits and thus risking being under their influence. These are folks who believe in a personal devil and literal fallen angels and a literal hell, and who think that the shadow aspects of their personality are literally stimulated and motivated by these fallen discarnate spirits.
The truth is that people like to entertain themselves by scaring themselves a bit. It is in the same class as watching The Walking Dead. It is a way of telling oneself, well, my problems aren't THAT bad after all.
Let Fundamentalists live in fear of their own shadow. I have always found it ironic that Fundamentalists are so afraid of Satan ... they give him credit for way too much, even by their own theology. The only Satan worship that is going on is being done by those misguided folk who don't know enough of their own scripture to treat Satan like a defeated foe instead of a feared nemesis.
I don't agree with your assessment of fundamentalist Christians. Within any church body are many proclivities. Generalizations are insagacious.
Especially when you consider the term drink the Kool Aid came from that fundamentalist wacko Jim what's his name who took his flock to Guyana.
1. It was Jim Jones.
2. It wasn't Kool-Aid it was Flavor Aid
3. Jim Jones was a New Age Cultist not a fundamentalist. He and his People's Temple Christian Church are in The Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America (pgs, 226, 364-365, 378, 385-386) by J.Gordon Melton.
for some simple minded people halloween is a tool. They use it as a measuring stick, and one-upmanship on how 'christian' you actually are. What's the point in being anything if you can't be the best of the bunch and lord it over everyone? I won't name names but look above me. It doesn't stop with holidays either.
Halloween and Christianity are not at odds, it's all about people and their obsessive need to feel good about themselves.
The OP thought of Halloween as a Christian holiday and wanted to understand why some Christians don't like it and some Christians acknowledge the pagan origins of some holidays like Christmas and Halloween but felt it would deprive the kids not to participate. Sorry if the response was seen as lording it over or using Halloween as some measuring stick of how Christian one is. The post was intended to convey why some Christians decide not to participate in Halloween and yet the kids have not suffered because of that choice.
Its a pagan holiday but an American Tradition, definitely not a christian holiday. Im a Christian but I keep the American customs, even Christmas which is not Christs birthday. Theres nothing in my bible that says I will be stricken dead for it. Why deprive my kids of American customs, thats not fun
Halloween or Hallowe'en (/ˌhæləˈwin, -oʊˈin, ˌhɒl-/; a contraction of "All Hallows' Evening"),[5] also known as All Hallows' Eve,[6] is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows (or All Saints) and the day initiating the triduum of Hallowmas, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed believers.[7]
According to many scholars, All Hallows' Eve is a Christianized feast initially influenced by Celtic harvest festivals,[8][9] and festivals of the dead with possible pagan roots, particularly the Scottish Gaelic Samhain.[6][10][11] Other scholars maintain that it originated independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots.[12]
By the end of the 12th century they had become holy days of obligation across Europe and involved such traditions as ringing church bells for the souls in purgatory. In addition, "it was customary for criers dressed in black to parade the streets, ringing a bell of mournful sound and calling on all good Christians to remember the poor souls."[37] "Souling", the custom of baking and sharing soul cakes for all christened souls,[38] has been suggested as the origin of trick-or-treating
in some places like south america christian's celebrate it by going to church.
For anyone that does not wish to live in ignorance, information regarding Halloween is freely available. It's not all about little kids dressing up and eating candy. There is a great spiritual implication to it all.
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