Many Christian parents are concerned about what Halloween really is. We know that it is of Druidical origin which means that it was part of the Druid religion. In essence, Druidism is the worship of evil spirits, especially of druids who were believed to dwell in trees. There were priests in the Druid religion and like all pagan religions, Druidism revolved around the worship of evil spirits, and offerings to them to insure the welfare of the worshippers.

THE ORIGIN OF HALLOWEEN

The name of the festival in early days (and it is still found in Ireland) meant "Satan's Watch." It was the night given over to Satan and his demons to work all the evil they wanted in the hope they would leave people unmolested the rest of the year. A fire was commonly kept burning on that night. The ghosts of the dead were dreaded and feared and men were thought to be restless in their graves because of something that happened in their life on earth. They were supposed to come back from the dead to take vengeance on those who were descended from people who had wronged them. People commonly locked themselves in their houses and spent the night in terror, letting the devil have his fling and do his worst.

Spiritualism and witchcraft is very real and we should not be providing our children with this opportunity for involvement. Many, if not all of our Halloween customs have their roots in these ancient beliefs. The witch on the broomstick and the jack-o-lantern are the symbols of Halloween. The witch, of course, is the personification of evil which is a substitute for Satan. The jack-o-lantern symbolizes the fire that was kept burning in the houses of those who feared Satan's worst. In fact the jack-o-lantern is always lit up (there is a fire there) so as to frighten away the devil.

WHAT HALLOWEEN REALLY MEANS

Dressing up in costumes and "trick or treating" to the neighbors is a carry over of the idea of making an offering to Satan and to the spirits to appease them. "Trick or treating" is a modern form of saying "offering or revenge." The grotesque and horrible masks our young people wear making themselves look like skeletons, dead people, or horrible monsters are symbolizing Satan and inspiring fear to get an offering.

Satan likes Halloween celebrations because this is a glorification of evil. Most people naturally do not think of it in this way. We believe it is all done in fun. Is it wise to have our children dress up like the devil and have "fun" in a devilish form? Can this possibly please God? After all, Ephesians 6:2 tells us that we are in a spiritual battle against Satan and his demons when it says. "for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. When the Word of God teaches this, do you think it is right to celebrate a night given over to our enemy, Satan? When we poke fun and joke about the spirit world, we are encouraging ourselves and our children to believe that this doesn't really exist. When we allow our children to dress up like witches and ghosts we are allowing them to treat lightly what God treats seriously in His Word. Exodus 22:18, Deuteronomy 18:10, and several other scriptures tell us that this is wrong. Those who don't know about the origin and meaning of Halloween are feeding their own belief into the Word of God when they treat lightly and celebrate what God hates. Satan camouflages himself amidst fun and gaiety and gets people to belittle his power and activity among men or even completely deny it. It is a very clever trick of the enemy.

AN ALTERNATIVE FOR TODAY

Satan is getting bolder in the United States, Occult practices are springing up all over America. Halloween parties provide a perfect setting for these. Often at these parties there is fortune telling, ouija boards, seances, and things of that nature. We can't afford to have our children participate in these activities.

We realize the problems this creates because it will be said "everybody" is dressing up to go "trick or treating." October 31 is not evil of itself. It is what we do with it that matters. Let's work at substituting good fun for bad. We can start working through our church. Instead of having a Halloween party, have a fun night ---games, refreshments, and perhaps even a film. The children can dress up - maybe a clown night, an old-fashioned night, or even Bible character night. Have a party! Have fun! Let it be harmless fun and let us glorify our Lord Jesus Christ - not His adversary.

One of my concerns is that when a child has enjoyed trick or treating once a year and then becomes a teenager…What then? Well they are not going around knocking on doors for candy, that’s for kids. So what happens --- they have parties and hold séances. This is a fact, and the results sometimes can be devastating, added to the fact that they are violating God’s will and opening themselves up to demon possession.

The BOTTOM LINE is that this would be a good time to explain to our children about the TRUE source and power and the one who we should really celebrate is JESUS.

God Bless,

Ben