Do you know the meaning of the Halloween symbols and practices we use today?
Halloween as we know it originated in the Celtic festival of Samhain [pronounced sow–wain], about two thousand years ago. The Celts were an ancient tribe living in the British Isles and what is now northern France from about 700 B.C. to 200 A.D. They were a fierce, warlike people, many of whom wore strings of human heads tied on their bridles.
The Celtic new year, their most important holiday, began on November 1, with their most sacred festival beginning the previous evening. It honored the Celtic lord of death, usually known as Samhain, and marked the beginning of the season of cold, darkness and decay. It naturally became associated with human death.
The Celts believed that the dead arose on the eve of Samhain. This released ancestral ghosts and demons to roam the earth. They would return to their earthly homes for the evening to harm crops and trouble homes. Since spirits held the secrets of the afterlife and the future, the Celts also believed that on the eve of Samhain, divinations had more power. Omens could be read with more clarity than on any other day of the year.
A Holiday Devoted to Evil Spirits
On the evening of the festival the Druids—the priests and teachers of the Celts—ordered the people to put out their hearth fires. The Druids built a huge new year’s bonfire of “sacred” oak branches. There they burned sacrifices of animals, crops, and even humans in wicker baskets. They told fortunes—divination—about village’s fortunes in the coming year by examining the writhing movements and the entrails of the animals and humans as they died. Then each family relit its hearth fires from the central fire.
The Celts believed that evil spirits would come to your house. Therefore, you must either treat them or they would trick you. So, the candy we now use as a “treat” was a sacrifice, or an offering, to appease these spirits.
Fearful that the malicious spirits would not leave after eating, the Celts disguised themselves in costumes made of animal heads and skins, mystically taking on their attributes and powers. Other masked villagers tried to trick the spirits by forming a parade and leading them to the town limits. They carried what we would call jack-o-lanterns to light their way. These were turnips or potatoes with frightening, demonic faces carved into them. They hoped these would impress, if not intimidate, the demons. The spirits of the dead and demons were key participants in the celebrations.
Spiritual Barriers More Permeable
The Celts believed that this evening, falling halfway between the fall equinox and the winter solstice, was when the barriers between the human and supernatural worlds were most permeable. This allowed the souls of the dead to visit humans and humans to glimpse into other worlds. They also believed the horned god, evil spirits, ghouls, ghosts, witches, and demons roamed about “seeking who they could devour.”
Are these just harmless pagan symbols and practices? Scripture would disagree. When we engage in forbidden items and practices, demons have the right to inhabit them, reinforcing a culture of death. When we replicate those symbols, we open ourselves and our children to the same demonic oppression. Is it any wonder that our young people are experiencing more depression, anxiety, and suicide as more pagan practices permeate our society?
Want to know more about what God says about the practices of Halloween? My book, Let’s Take Another Look at Halloween, gives you the tools you need to make a godly decision.
Leave a Reply