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I'm happy to see this question pop up. I understand Halloween to be the eve before ALL SAINTS DAY, but the practice of (Halloween) is dirty and non-Christian. I don't really understand the value of children going from house to house begging for candies, or people walking the streets in horrifying outfits or almost naked (some others nude). To me, it has been turned to a non-Christian activity, and shouldn't be connected with Christianity.
Yes. Indisputably, Halloween is pagan in origin. It name is drawn from a combination of "All Hallows Eve" (the night before "All Saints Day") and a Gaelic festival called Samhain (pronounced SAH-ween). In practice, however, it most strongly resembles the pagan festival of Samhain. Many Christians attempt to rebrand their observance of it as "Fall Festival" and use the occasion for evangelism purposes. The effectiveness of this strategy is HIGHLY controversial. Still, in the end, no one credibly disputes the festival's pagan roots.
I've never understood why children are encouraged to celebrate Halloween by dressing as devils and witches and other occult themes. My thoughts are that Halloween is a celebration of darkness, and shouldn't be acknowledged.
Halloween is Pagan in origin. But, honestly, all celebrations have their roots in paganism. This includes Christmas, Easter, and the others. All Saints Day was 'acquired' to try and counter halloween's negative effects because the church of the day was unable to squash it. We'll push the 'good' and try and make the best of it. Some actually do make an inspired effort and accomplish good things while allowing a safe haven for the 'celebration' to take place. Is this 'evil'? No, God allows the pagan rites to coexist with the good. Christmas was originally a worship of the sun, not Son. Perhaps this is partly due to the old adage "when in Rome..."
As answered above, yes this is a pagan holiday, but the difference between this holiday and others such as Christmas, is this holiday was specifically dedicated to the god of death. I find it amazing to see so called Christians celebrating this day. The entire day is dedicated to all that is evil, dead, violent and satanic. Would we feel comfortable in celebrating Pedophile Day? Or Mass Murderer Day? Of course, we would answer no. But for some strange reason, that inward sinful man just yearns to emerge from the shadows on Oct 31 and wander the streets in the name of fun. Let me tell you what a Christian should do on Halloween. Go to the busiest corner of your city. Take your Bible and a megaphone and start telling all those who pass by that they are sinners. Tell them of hell and of the wrath of God. Use the Ten Commandments and show each person how guilty they are for rebelling against the holy Law of God and if they want blood, then fine. Tell them that their sin murdered an innocent Man--the Christ. I can promise you, you will either get killed, beaten up or arrested. But of course, we as modern Christians want to have fun so we have Harvest Fests and such and attempt to re-brand this horrid holiday into something more palatable. Circumstantial ethics...that's all it is.
Halloween is not pagan in origin. Instead, it is a Catholic celebration. The word "Halloween" came from "All Hallows Eve", the eve of All Saints Day. The word "hallow" is another way of saying "holy", which in Latin is "sanctus", the origin of the word "saint". Halloween is not of pagan origin. To people who say it is tied to the Gaelic festival called Samhain, I say I do not see the word connection. Although the celebration has been commercialized and secularized, Catholics must try to get our celebration back, by returning to its roots in the Catholic Church. Celebrate it by offering mass and having fellowship with other believers.
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