Before we begin, it’s only fair to write a disclaimer of sorts. This post is for informational purposes only. I’m not the Holy Spirit, and I do not speak from a place of authority over anyone’s life. However, I pray that through the information and thought-provoking questions provided here that the Lord will speak to your heart and lead you in the way that’s right for you and your own family.
A History of Halloween
Many of us know that Halloween is actually short for “All Hallow’s Eve”, “hallow” being another word for “saint” or “martyr”. Pope Boniface IV instituted the spring holiday of All Martyr’s Day, and later it was moved to November 1st, possibly in hopes to combat the pagan festivals during that time of year. But there’s not any real evidence to explain why it was moved [Britannica]. “All Hallow’s Eve” was then eventually shortened to “Hallowe’en”, which is were we get today’s title.
However, while the name of the day has its roots in Catholicism, the modern practices of Halloween come from traditions that predate the Catholic church.
The Druids and the Romans
Samhain
Have you ever heard about a Celtic festival called Samhain [sow’-in]? If you’re like me, the answer is probably “no”. But the main portion of our customs during “spooky” season has been attributed to this festival. It was how the Celts ushered in their harvest and their new year. And it was all headed up by their ancient priests called the Druids.
More and more is being discovered about the mysterious sect of druidism. Today, practicing Druids would have you believe that they’re nothing more than nature-lovers who call on the powers of the earth to perform magic. They are advocates for the environment, distributors of healing, and a bridge between the natural and spiritual; wielders of what they call “white magic”. And maybe many who call themselves druids today truly believe these things. But a deeper look reveals that this wasn’t necessarily the case for ancient druids.
During times of the year like Samhain, celts believed the lines between the living and the dead were blurred so that they were almost nonexistent. Ghosts, witches, daemons, and other spirits could, as they believed, awaken to cause mischief amongst their villages. Celts would dress up in costumes in order to confuse the spirits and not bring unwanted havoc to themselves. It was a time of fortune-telling, using various methods, to determine what fate would bring with the new year. It was a time of offerings to their god, Be’al. It was a time to appease spirits. And their priests, the Druids, would perform all of these otherworldly acts.
In offerings to their sun-god, the Druids would not only offer animal sacrifices, but human sacrifices as well. Some even claim this was a noble tradition, and that celts would willingly go to the altar to offer themselves up for their people. They would then be poisoned, mutilated, and/or garroted. But further research reveals that druids would do this to unwilling criminals and even unwilling innocents. There’s even evidence to suggest they would cannibalize their victims after the sacrifice. This wasn’t an uncommon practice for many ancient cultures and even still some today. By consuming a victim, either in war or religious ceremony, the consumer hoped to draw all strength and power that their victim possessed in life.
Another practice the Druids were fond of was divination. They would use various objects to supposedly tell the future. They used hallucinogens to enter the spiritual realm and commune with the spirits. At Samhain particularly, many would want to know what their fate held in the new year. It’s likely that the sacrifices mentioned above were part of their divination rituals.
All forms of witchcraft and dark magic were utilized by this religious sect. Inviting evil spirits in to guide them, sacrificing innocents, worshipping demonic gods who, even in their lore, indulged in all varieties of evil and debased practices. However, the Druids weren’t the only ones who had a hand in the shaping of modern-day Halloween.
Let us turn our attention now to the Romans.
Feralia, Pomona, and the Like
It is true that the Romans are not exempt from debauchery themselves. They practiced many of the same things the Druids did. In fact, Julius Caesar held the Druids in high esteem, even apparently exempting them from war and taxes. They involved themselves in sacrifice to idols, barbaric war tactics and treatment of criminals, temple prostitution, slavery, etc. Romans were just as guilty of horrific and heinous demonism. And they, too, helped shape the holiday we know today as Halloween.
Romans also had a days to honor spirits and the dead. The most prominent of which was Parentalia, ending with the festival of Feralia. One of the main points of this festival was to keep the spirits appeased and safely tucked away in the Underworld. To do this, the Romans would place food and other treats near tombs as offerings. If the spirits weren’t properly pacified, they were believed to come and torment those who forgot about them.
The Festival of Pomona was another Roman tradition, this one during the time of the harvest. Pomona was the Roman patroness for orchards and gardens. During this festival, the theme was “apples”. They would bake apple dishes, decorate the apple trees, and play games with apples. One of these games was a precursor to apple-bobbing, which was actually used as a form of divination in itself. Some sources say it was a way to determine good fortune for the coming year, and some say it was a way to foretell marriage.
Other Roman festivals lend their traditions to our modern-day “spooky season”. Lemuria was another such holiday where the lines between the dead and the living were supposedly blurred. Romans would perform rites and rituals to keep gruesome spirits at bay and prevent the haunting of their households. Obsessed with death and the realm of the dead, the Romans held many holy days to appease spirits, who would appear in the ghoulish forms much like the ones celebrated during modern day Halloween.
Why it Matters
This is all fine and good information. But what does it have to do with us? Halloween is all good-humored spookiness and pranking, supposedly. Stores put out evil-looking “decorations” and enough candy to blanket a small island. Kids dress up in costumes, demonic or not, and focus on all the candy they’re going to eat…but not before we parents go through all the candy and pick out our favorites, of course. Many who celebrate Halloween don’t believe in spirits, much less worship them. But as believers, we know that the spiritual realm is very real, and it’s not all fun and games.
The Bible tells us that there is a spiritual battle waging around us (2 Corinthians 10:3-6, Ephesians 6). It talks repeatedly about demonic spirits (1 Corinthians 10:19-21, Ephesians 6, Matthew 12:43-45).
“What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.”
1 Corinthians 10:19-21 NKJV
In the above passage, Paul is beginning to conclude his 3-chapter-long exposition on idols, particularly eating meat offered to idols. But he’s very clear that when someone is worshipping something that isn’t the one true God, it isn’t harmless or meaningless. There is a dark spirit behind it, particularly a demon. When the ancients would worship their deities, they were really worshipping demons. When the druids worship nature, they’re really worshipping demons.
For the sake of clarification, Jesus is the Creator of all things. He is the Master of all Creation and everything is under His dominion (Ephesians 1:19-22). But Satan and his demons want to supplant God. That’s what got them kicked out of heaven in the first place. Peter tells us that the devil is like a lion roaming the earth, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). It is not outside of our enemy’s scope to deceive lost souls into worshipping the created rather than the Creator. While Jesus is Lord over all things and all Creation, we must remember this is a spiritual battle. It’s not impossible for demons to inhabit certain things in creation or take on certain roles in this spiritual battle. They have no true power, but they’re deceivers. And they’ve had a lot of practice in the art of deception.
Some may not believe in the dark spirits that truly do haunt the holiday, but that doesn’t make them any less real. It doesn’t neutralize the effect of the practices. Things like Ouija boards, Tarot cards, and books of spells and witchcraft are promoted as harmless, spooky fun. But they are serious, and there are people and spirits who take them seriously. Just like the Druids of old, they are used to invoke and invite dark spirits to have power over someone’s life. Horror films are supposed fictions that are purposed for those who just like a good scare. But spiritual forces are real, and can very easily turn those fictions into reality.
The paganization of Western culture has also led to the celebration of satanic rituals. One need only look to the entertainment industry for evidence. “Artists” who glorify witchcraft, the Occult, demons, and Satan himself, and call on demons before and during performances, whether they believe in it or not, are influencing their followers to do the same. Franchises like Harry Potter and even Marvel not only promote and encourage very real witchcraft, but also give people, particularly children, the tools to actually engage in and with it.
Even the decorations that permeate the holiday can’t be taken lightly. The evil ghouls and goblins on doorsteps, the spiderwebs in the bushes, the skulls and skeletons and all assortment of dark and scary figures that are put up in the name of “spooky”. It’s meant to bring that haunting feeling that so many think is in the name of fun. But that dark roots, the dark history, and the spiritual implications are far from fun.
Takeaway
This is the part where I admit I have struggled over the concept of Halloween for a long time. Frankly, I think it’s horrifying that there are more Halloween-themed decorations out on the shelves than there are Harvest-themed. You have to really hunt in some places to find a decent Autumn wreath that doesn’t have spiderwebs or jack-o-lanterns on it. That tells me that we live in a culture that’s obsessed with all things creepy. I don’t want my little babies to be exposed to that kind of darkness. I don’t want them to wake up from nightmares in the middle of the night because of something scary they saw while we were at the grocery store. I don’t want them to be harmed by the influence of witchcraft or darkness. My job is to protect them, especially at their age, and I take that very seriously.
However, as I said before, I’m not claiming any sort of authority here. I won’t tell you to abandon these harvest-time customs or entertainments. My purpose in writing this is merely to pass on the information. It’s important we know about the things we partake in, especially as believers. And it’s especially important to remember that we are told not to have any fellowship with darkness:
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:11-16 ESV
It’s up to the individual to discern the conviction of the Holy Spirit, as it aligns with Scripture. For us, we recognize that there are still harvest-time traditions that don’t have any spiritual implications. We are called to be the light to the dark world, so appropriately many churches have chosen to do a Harvest Party as an alternative. My own church hosts one, where we share the Gospel and hand out gobs of candy. Things like caramel-apples, decorating with a Harvest theme, or hosting game nights are all things that my family has done in the past. We can celebrate the season without partaking in anything “spooky”.
And maybe for some, there are still Halloween traditions that don’t fall under conviction. As believers, we are not under the power of darkness. But we are cautioned multiple times in the Bible not to walk in the darkness. We must be careful not to dance the line, but rather walk all the more closer to Jesus.
God bless you and yours,
Morgan
