What is Halloween all about?
RUSS WRPB 458
Agenda
Remembering the dead
What is the meaning of Halloween
What does the bible say?
Should Christians celebrate Halloween
Can evil spirits disguise themselves as others?
Do loved ones come back to haunt houses?
October 30, 2025
REMEMBERING THE DEAD
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October 30, 2025
Halloween is a celebration observed in several countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day. It begins the three-day observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed.
It is widely believed that many Halloween traditions originated from ancient Celtic harvest festivals, particularly the Gaelic festival Samhain. Samhain marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the “darker half” of the year. Traditionally, it is celebrated from 31 October to 1 November, as the Celtic day began and ended at sunset. This is about halfway between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. Samhain was seen as a liminal time, when the boundary between this world and the Otherworld could more easily be crossed. This meant the Aos Sí, the ‘spirits’ or ‘fairies’, could more easily come into our world. The tradition of dressing up is believed to have been a way of imitating, and disguising oneself from, the Aos Sí who some believed could take you back with them to their world. If they saw you looking like a spirit or deceased being they would ignore you as a potential candidate for bringing back with them.
The Day of the Dead (el Día de los Muertos), is a Mexican holiday where families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion that includes food, drink and celebration. A blend of Mesoamerican ritual, European religion and Spanish culture, the holiday is celebrated each year from October 31- November 2nd While October 31st is Halloween, November 1st is “el Dia de los Inocentes,” or the day of the children, and All Saints Day. November 2nd is All Souls Day or the Day of the Dead. According to tradition, the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on October 31st and the spirits of children can rejoin their families for 24 hours. The spirits of adults can do the same on November 2nd .
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October 31st is in the Autumn season which is associated the Metal Element. The Metal Element helps us to be ‘inspired’ and to ‘let go’. It governs the functioning of our Lungs and Colon/Bowels. November can be a time when we remember the dead and there is a certain poignancy to this experience. In the Nei Jing, one of the key ancient acupuncture texts, it says that the season of Autumn “…gives to the human voice the ability to weep and to wail.”
Yet, the Halloween holiday has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced “SAH-win”), a pagan religious celebration to welcome the harvest at the end of summer, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts.
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF HALLOWEEN?
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The current English name Halloween traces back to medieval Christianity. The word hallow is derived from the Middle and Old English words for holy. As a noun, it can also mean saint. In those days, the Christian holiday we know as All Saints' Day was called All Hallows' Day, and the day before, when an evening mass was held, was All Hallows' Eve. That name eventually got shortened to Halloween.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT HALLOWEEN
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Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
October 30, 2025
If the Bible Is our Guide, then-No is the Simple Answer.
Ephesians 5:11, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”
1 Thessalonians 5:22
22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
October 30, 2025
If the Bible Is our Guide, then-No is the Simple Answer.
Some good questions to ask yourself are:
Does Halloween fill me with faith or fear?
Yes, Halloween celebrates fear—the theme of darkness, graves, blood, skulls, vampires, witches and wizards infuse fear. Yes, Halloween celebrates fear—the theme of darkness, graves, blood, skulls, vampires, witches and wizards infuse fear.
Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
October 30, 2025
If the Bible Is our Guide, then-No is the Simple Answer.
2 Timothy 1:7
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
If God does not give us a spirit of fear but 365 times tells us not to fear, why will we invite fear by a celebration that breeds fear?
How I’m I honoring God in this celebration?
1 Corinthians 10:20
But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
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CAN EVIL SPIRITS DISGUISE THEMSELVES AS OTHERS?
Yes ~ 2 Corinthians 11:14-15, NIV. “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”
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DO LOVED ONES COME BACK TO HAUNT HOUSES?
No!
Job 7:9-10, NKJV. “As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, so he who goes down to the grave does not come up. He shall never return to his house, nor shall his place know him anymore.”
Psalm 146:4, ESV. “When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.”
Should Christians Be Afraid?
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Psalm 91:9-11, NKJV. “For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Luke 10:19, NKJV. “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
Meditate on God’s Word, and you’ll be filled with faith in God and flush out fear
Origins and Traditions
October 30, 2025
The Library of congress.Gov says Carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating, and wearing scary costumes are some of the time-honored traditions of Halloween. Yet, the Halloween holiday has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced “SAH-win”), a pagan religious celebration to welcome the harvest at the end of summer, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor saints. Soon after, All Saints Day came to incorporate some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before All Saints Day was known as All Hallows Eve, and later, Halloween. Here is a look at the origins of some of the classic Halloween traditions we know today.
CARVING JACK OF LANTERNS
October 30, 2025
The tradition of carving Jack-o’-Lanterns originated in Ireland using turnips instead of pumpkins. It is allegedly based on a legend about a man named Stingy Jack who repeatedly trapped the Devil and only let him go on the condition that Jack would never go to Hell. But when Jack died, he learned that Heaven did not want his soul either, so he was forced to wander the Earth as a ghost for eternity. The Devil gave Jack a burning lump of coal in a carved-out turnip to light his way. Locals eventually began carving scary faces into their own turnips to frighten away evil spirits
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Seeing Ghosts
The festival of Samhain marked the transition to the new year at the end of the harvest and beginning of the winter. Celtic people believed that during the festival, spirits walked the Earth. Later on, Christian missionaries introduced All Souls’ Day on November 2, which perpetuated the idea of the living coming into contact with the dead around the same time of year.
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Wearing Scary Costumes
In order to avoid being terrorized by all the evil spirits walking the Earth during Samhain, the Celts donned disguises so that they would not be mistaken for spirits themselves and be left alone
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Trick or Treating
There is much debate around the origins of trick-or-treating, but generally there are three theories. The first theory suggests that during Samhain, Celtic people would leave food out to appease the spirits traveling the Earth at night. Over time, people began to dress as these unearthly beings in exchange for similar offerings of food and drink.
The second theory speculates that the candy boon stems from the Scottish practice of guising, which is a secular version of “souling.” During the Middle Ages, generally children and poor adults would collect food and money from local homes in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls’ Day. Guisers dropped the prayers in favor of non-religious practices with the inclusion of songs, jokes, and other “tricks.”
A third theory argues that modern American trick-or-treating stems from “belsnickeling,” a German-American Christmas tradition where children would dress in costume and then call on their neighbors to see if the adults could guess the identities of the disguised. In one version of the practice, the children were rewarded with food or other treats if no one could identify them.
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Black Cats
The idea of being spooked by black cat's dates to the Middle Ages, when these dark felines were considered a symbol of the Devil. It didn’t help that centuries later, accused witches were often found to have cats, particularly black ones. People began to believe that the cats were a witch’s “familiar”–supernatural entities that would assist in their practice of dark magic–and black cats and spookiness have been linked ever since.
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Black and Orange
The traditional Halloween colors of black and orange also traces back to the Celtic festival of Samhain. For the Celts, black represented the “death” of summer while the orange symbolized the autumn harvest season.
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Bobbing for Apples
The game of bobbing for apples has been a staple at Halloween parties for many years, but its origins are more rooted in love and romance. The game traces back to a courting ritual that was part of a Roman festival honoring Pomona, the goddess of agriculture and abundance. While multiple versions existed, the gist was that young men and women would be able to predict their future relationships based on the game. When the Romans conquered the British Isles in 43 AD, the Pomona festival blended with the similarly timed Samhain, a precursor to Halloween.
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Pranking
Playing pranks often varies by region, but the pre-Halloween tradition known as “Devil’s Night,” is credited to a different origin depending on the source. Some say that pranks started as part of May Day celebrations. But Samhain, and eventually All Souls Day, also included good-natured mischief. When Irish and Scottish immigrants came to America, they brought with them the tradition of celebrating Mischief Night as part of Halloween.
October 30, 2025
Lighting Candles and Bonfires
For much of the early history of Halloween, towering bonfires were used to light the way for souls seeking the afterlife. These days, lighting candles have generally replaced the large traditional blazes
October 30, 2025
Candy Apples
For centuries, people have been coating fruit in syrup as a means of preservation. But during the Roman festival of Pomona, the goddess was often represented by and associated with apples; her name derives from the Latin word for apple “pomum” and the fruit is at the heart of harvest celebrations. It is believed that candy apples were invented accidentally in 1908 by William W. Kolb, a candymaker in Newark, New Jersey. As the story goes, Kolb was experimenting with red cinnamon candy to sell at Christmastime and he dipped apples on sticks into the red glaze and put them in his shop window to showcase his new candy. But instead of selling the candies, he ended up selling the apples to customers who thought they looked good enough to eat. They became fashionable treats for Halloween starting in the early 1900s and they remained popular up until the 1970s.
October 30, 2025
Bats were likely present at the earliest proto-Halloween celebrations, not just symbolically but literally. As part of Samhain, Celts lit large bonfires, which attracted insects, which in turn, attracted bats. Soon spotting bats became connected with the festival. Medieval folklore expanded upon the eeriness of bats with a number of superstitions built around the belief that bats were harbingers of death.
Bats
October 30, 2025
The act of going door-to-door for handouts has long been a part of Halloween revelries. But until the mid-20th century, the “treats” children received were not necessarily candy. Things like fruit, nuts, coins, and toys were just as likely to be given out. Trick-or-treating rose in popularity in the 1950s and it inspired candy companies to market small, individually wrapped candies. People began to favor the confections out of convenience, but candy did not dominate at the exclusion of all other treats until the 1970s when parents started fearing anything unwrapped.
Devouring Candy
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A candymaker at the Wunderle Candy Company in Philadelphia is sometimes credited with inventing the tri-colored candy in the 1880s. But candy corn did not become a widespread sensation until the Goelitz Company brought the candy to the masses in 1898. Candy corn was originally called “Chicken Feed” and it sold in boxes with the slogan “Something worth crowing for.” Initially, it was just an autumnal candy because of corn’s association with harvest time. Candy corn later became Halloween-specific when trick-or-treating grew in popularity in the U.S. during the 1950s
Candy Corn
Thank You For Listening.
Russ WRPB 458
700NetControl@gmail.com
https://700net.wixsite.com/lv700-1
October 30, 2025