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Monday, December 26, 2011

The essence of Christmas and how it should be celebrated

Christmas was celebrated yesterday and yet, many people still don't what the true meaning and essence of Christmas and how it should be celebrated. What is the true essence of Christmas? How should it be celebrated? Let's ask ourselves these questions....

I. Why are we celebrating Christmas?

We are celebrating Christmas because we are remembering the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior! (It's not all about eating a lot or to receive a lot of gifts.)

II. Who is the true protagonist of Christmas?

It's Jesus, The God who took on Human flesh to be crucified on the cross of Calvary, to receive the punishment of man and save mankind from the bondage of sin. (It's not the fat, bearded man w/ a red hat and not the deer w/ a red nose) Only Jesus gave us the gift of Salvation, a gift far more better than any other present.

III. Where are we basing the celebration of Christmas?

We knew of the story of Christmas from the Bible that's why we should really base our celebration of Christmas on what is written in the Bible. Let's look on the celebration of Christmas today, there's a lot of other stuff included in the celebration of Christmas which are not really necessary, things that doesn't have basis on the Bible or any connection w/ what is written in the Bible. Usually, these things are "western influences" just like the elf, Santa Claus and the flying reindeer. Because of these western influences, the truths written in the Bible are slowly changed, here are some of them:

3 Kings (Matthew 2:1-11)

-they are actually astrologers probably from Persia.

-nothing is written in the Bible that there were only 3 wise men (or Magi). They could be a one caravan that caught a lot of attention in Jerusalem.

-they might be mistakenly thought to be three because of the 3 gifts (Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh).

-they were wise because they consulted the scripture and not just the star. (Micah 5:2)

Winter/ Snow

-because Christmas celebration was set in winter season, it was also mistakenly thought to be the season of the real Christmas Day.

-the season of the real Christmas day would probably be summer because of it's winter, the shepherds won't be able to tend their sheep because of the cold.

-many song talk about "winter" or "white Christmas", and many desired to have such Christmas.

-Let us not desire to have a white Christmas, the First Christmas was just simple and snow is not included in the scene, Let us all desire a simple but meaningful celebration.

Now let's look at some biblically based traditions:

Caroling

-based on the singing of angels on Christmas day (remember Gloria in Excelsis Deo?!)

Parol
-Christmas star or star of Betlehem

Gift-giving and exchange gifts
-gifts of the Magi

(Reminder: in the celebration of Christmas, let us remember that we could still celebrate it even w/o these things, remember that the angels did not sing and ask for something nor did the magi had exchanging of gifts, the magi gave it all to Jesus.)

IV. If Christmas is truly centered on Jesus, Why are there people who are SMP (Samahan ng Malalamig ang Pasko)?

Many of us feel sad when Christmas comes, especially those who doesn't have their loved ones w/ them. If Jesus is truly the center of our celebration, we should not focus on other things, though it may really be sad. God wants us to have Joy! That's why he sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins and save all of mankind (John 3:16). That's why when Jesus came into the world, everyone rejoiced! Everyone who saw Jesus knew that He is the Savior sent by God, they knew He is the one who will save everyone from the punishment of sin.

V. Conclusion

What is the true essence of Christmas?

-It is all about loving as God has loved us and sharing w/ one another especially with those who are in need.

-It is all about knowing the "Christ" of CHRISTmas. Establishing a personal relationship w/ Him by confessing of our sins, asking for forgiveness and accepting Jesus Christ as your own personal Lord and Savior, it's all about receiving His Forgiveness and Salvation.

-It is all about celebrating Christmas based on biblical truths. Let the Bible be the basis of our celebration, remove traditions and practices which has no connection w/ what is written in the Bible, stick with what God has given us in the Bible and don't include other stuff so that Christ won't be out of place in Christmas. Keep the celebration simple and based on the Bible.

I hope you got a better perspective about Christmas, A Blessed Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to everyone! God bless us all! ^_^

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Halloween: Is it really worthy to be celebrated? Part 3

This is the 3rd and final part of my Halloween post. Let's continue our talk regarding Halloween symbols and traditions, going on no. 4....

4. Halloween costumes and masks, attending costume parties and parades

I have already discussed about this during my first blog post. Wearing Halloween costumes is one of the most significant practice or tradition and probably the highlight of Halloween.

Halloween costumes - ( From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) are costumes worn on or around Halloween, a festival which falls on October 31. The Halloween costume has a fairly short history. Wearing costumes has long been associated with other holidays around the time of Halloween, even Christmas. Among the earliest references to wearing costumes at Halloween is in 1895, where "guisers" are recorded in Scotland, but there is almost no mention of a costume in England, Ireland, or the United States until 1900. Early costumes emphasized the pagan and Gothic nature of the holiday, but by the 1930s costumes based on characters in mass media such as film, literature, and radio were popular. Halloween was originally promoted as a children's holiday, and as a means of reining in the licentious and destructive behaviour of teenagers. Early Halloween costumes were aimed at children in particular, but after the mid-20th century, as Halloween increasingly came to be celebrated by adults, the Halloween costume was worn by adults as much as children.

So Halloween costumes are costumes worn on or around Halloween. The costume is commonly a scary character or a popular character.

From the description, we could read that early costumes emphasized the pagan andGothic nature of the holiday, we could clearly see that these costumes really emphasizes the pagan and Gothic nature of the holiday. Let us remember that wearing Halloween costumes are of Celtic origin and is one of their pagan tradition. Let us also remember that the word pagan means person with primitive religious beliefs (from Webster's New Student Dictionary).

When we talk of pagan people, we talk of people who has primitive beliefs, meaning, these people has "undeveloped" or "wrong" belief. These people worship other gods or things instead of the REAL GOD, in this case, let's recall that the Celtics worshiped Samhain, the lord of death, and they believe that Samhain sends out evil spirits throughout the world during Halloween. Because of this, the Celtics knew they need to do something so that these evil spirits won't attack them or disturb them, so it this "something" they need to do turned out to be wearing scary costumes and placing jack o' lanterns outside their houses to ward off these evil spirits. Yes! The early costumes that were mentioned in the description are scary costumes used to ward off spirits.

This belief proves to be very primitive indeed! It's silly to think that evil spirits will go away if a person wears a scary costume, imagine, will you stay away or get scared when you see a mascot? babies might get scared but adults, as well as little children won't! Instead, we would even get get close to them! children will even hug them and we will even take pictures with the mascot. Which means, when an evil spirit sees someone who is in a scary costume, the evil spirit won't go away and instead, the more it will go and enter the person and do harm. We're inviting these spirits with these scary costumes!

As we could read from the Bible (in Matthew 12:22-28), Jesus was casting out demons and evil spirits, the Pharisees accused Jesus that He was casting out spirits by the power of Beelzebub, prince of demons! Here's what Jesus said (Matt. 12:25-27)

"25 But Jesus knew their thoughts and said Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself and will not stand. 26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself, how then will his kingdom stand? 27 and if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they should be your judges, 28 But If I cast out demons by the spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you." -NKJV

Jesus himself have said that Satan cannot cast out himself or of a evil spirit from him because if he does, he will be against himself and his kingdom will not stand. Jesus also said that if he casts out demons by Beelzebub, how do their sons or the Pharisees' followers cast out demons? He said that if he cast out demons by the spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon us. Meaning, no one can cast out demons or drive them away using the power of the devil, but by the power of God alone.

Why do these people deal with these things into their efforts? The Lord has said in Zechariah 4:6 ".....Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts." God has said that that it is not by our own might or our own power but by His spirit. Without God's spirit, we can do nothing with these evil spirits, through the name of Jesus we can cast out evil spirits and demons.

History of Halloween costumes

Although Halloween is often claimed to be a cultural descendant of the Celtic festival of Samhain, such claims are generally not considered either historically accurate or scholarly. In particular, the custom of dressing up in costumes and going "guising" or trick-or-treating at Halloween developed from Christian customs created in Western Europe around the 15th century. Guising at Halloween in Scotland is recorded in 1895, where masqueraders in disguise carrying lanterns made out of scooped out turnips, visit homes to be rewarded with cakes, fruit and money. The practice of Guising at Halloween in North America is first recorded in 1911, where a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario reported children going "guising" around the neighborhood.

Although Early Christians in Western Europe tried to change the original Celtic festival of Samhain into a day before All Saint's (All Hallows) day and All Soul's day (it was called All Hallow's eve before it became Halloween), but because of their belief that souls gain vengeance during All Hallow's day, they too developed wearing costumes and masks because of the fear of souls, it all ended up from where it was! and now, wearing costumes became credited as a Christian custom.

See what happens if Christians (and even non-Christians) don't read and obey God's word!? See what happens if we don't trust God especially when it comes to dealing with spirits!? People become blinded about the truth and they all sorts of odd stuff and deal things on their own instead of asking God to help us deal with these things. Because these people don't know the truth behind souls and spirits they developed wearing costumes to drive away or avoid souls and spirits but still, they lived in fear and trembling, that's because it's not the right way to deal with it, it's not what God wants us to do. If only these people know the truth in God's word, they won't be so frightened, remember that God wants us to have peace and not fear in our lives.

Now, looking back to God's word the Bible, God never mentioned anything about wearing costumes to drive away spirits. As I have said already, we have the power over these spirits, God gave us the power to rebuke these spirits in the name of Jesus. There is no sense of doing such things because God already gave us power to overcome and conquer these spirits. Now regarding souls, none is written about souls gaining vengeance, it's mainly a false belief. God has said that Vengeance belongs to him (Deuteronomy 32:35), so how could it belong to souls? God can't send souls back to earth to gain vengeance, there's nothing written that souls can come back and strike back at their enemies and attack humans, but this is written:

"27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this, the judgement,"
-Hebrews 9:27 NKJV

So it is already written that man is appointed to die once, and after that, judgement. I won't be talking about various religious beliefs but this is what's written in the Bible. Man will die, souls will be judged and therefore, can't go back to earth to do anything else. It's a verse that we can hold on to so we won't be threatened by beliefs about souls. Souls will got heir final destination and they won't be able to go back to earth and do harm.

The holidays of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day were often celebrated with costume parades, wild parties, and licentiousness of all sorts.In the 18th century in the United Kingdom, Halloween was celebrated in rural areas by farmers as a fertility rite, while in cities it had a Carnival-like atmosphere. But as Halloween was transported to the United States by waves of European immigrants, the licentious and rowdy elements of Halloween were domesticated to conform with the emerging Victorian era morality. Halloween was made into a private rather than public holiday, celebrations involving liquor and sensuality de-emphasized, and only children were expected to celebrate the festival.

So let's look back at Halloween, All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day, various celebrations and beliefs were added to these holidays, these holidays were celebrated with costume parades, wild parties and licentiousness of all sorts, so the season of remembering our departed loved ones became a season of COSTUMES, "WILD" PARTIES AND LICENTIOUSNESS!!! The holidays were celebrated with LESS SOLEMNITY and EMPHASIZED FUN AND MERRYMAKING. Now let's concentrate on wild parties and licentiousness of all sorts, parties were celebrated during this season and it's not just parties, it's "WILD" parties. Plus, there is added LICENTIOUSNESS OF ALL SORTS! When we say licentiousness (of all sorts), means, various things that were not allowed to be done before, they are allowed to be done or "licensed". as mentioned above, celebrations involved liquor and sensuality, so we already have an idea what these so called "wild" parties have and these things doesn't please God. These things that are being celebrated are all SIN before God.

Although these things were "de-emphasized", we can't deny that because these things were "emphasized" during the Halloween season, we could still see that some these practices remained today: costumes parties and parades everywhere. Although parties today don't involve various licentiousness of all sorts, ask yourself this, Is it right to party and celebrate in a season where people must be solemn and remember their departed loved ones? Is it right have all the fun and be merry before we go to various cemeteries and visit our dead? Think about it carefully.

Halloween costumes are often designed to imitate supernatural and scary beings. Costumes are traditionally those of monsters such as vampires, ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils, or in more recent years such science fiction-inspired characters as aliens and superheroes. There are also costumes of pop culture figures like presidents, athletes, celebrities, or film and television characters. Another popular trend is for women (and in some cases, men) to use Halloween as an excuse to wear sexy or revealing costumes, showing off more skin than would be socially acceptable otherwise. Young girls also often dress as entirely non-scary characters at Halloween, including princesses, fairies, angels, farm animals and flowers.

Now, back to Halloween costumes, as we have said they are used as a form of "disguise" (that's why it's also called "guising") to ward off spirits or to be not recognized by a soul, early costumes emphasized the "Pagan" and "Gothic" nature of the holiday so early costumes, and even more of costumes today are basically "scary". Early costumes might be as a form of disguise and might have been not so scary, but costumes today have become more and more scarier, with the intent of not warding off spirits but scaring people. This is really getting crazier! people who are formerly so afraid of these spirits and evil elements now wants to scare others by being the spirits and evil elements themselves, this is really getting worse!

I really can't really understand why people enjoy wearing these scary costumes and even take delight in scaring people, I know that we all laugh when see someone get so surprised and we laugh at his/her reaction but scaring people by disguising as an ugly or evil creature, it's no fun anymore! Doesn't it sound so sadistic, having fun in such things? It's definitely not that the right kind of fun. Another thing that I can't understand is why some people and some parents like to see babies and little children in scary costumes an would still call them as "cute". Can you imagine that? you call a person in a scary costume as cute? Can you tell a devil that he is so cute? of course not! Anything scary or evil can never be cute, Scary is not the new cute and scary can never be cute, you can't brand something scary as something cute, they're two different words with opposite meanings and therefore, can't come in together.

Becoming popular today are wearing costumes that are not scary but based on famous pop culture characters. I think that might be good as long as there are no intents of scaring people, the character is not associated with any evil element and is not matched with Halloween elements (like jack o' lanterns) and not involved in trick-or-treating, this plainly cosplay or costume-play. But another thing is becoming popular today, men and women using Halloween as an excuse to wear costumes that are too sexy or skin-revealing. This is definitely inappropriate and the same with scary Halloween costumes, it doesn't glorify God!

Various beliefs and practices are being practiced in Halloween especially when it comes to wearing costumes. People don't really mind wearing costumes, go trick-or-treating, scare people and go to parties and parades and brag about how scary their costume is. It's not really pleasing to see people parading scary costumes (it looks more of a parade of evil creatures themselves!).These things doesn't glorify God and we must put an end to all these things.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Halloween: Is it really worthy to be celebrated? Part 2

We're through about Halloween itself. Now, Let's talk about the different Halloween symbols and traditions.

2. Jack O' lantern

What is the most popular and recognizable symbol of Halloween? It's the Jack O' Lantern! Let us know why this carved pumpkin became the symbol of Halloween. Let's first define what is a Jack O' Lantern:

Jack O' lantern - (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) A jack-o-lantern is typically a carved pumpkin. It is associated chiefly with the holiday of Halloween and was named after the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs, called ignis fatuus or jack-o'-lantern. In a jack-o'-lantern, typically the top is cut off, and the inside flesh then scooped out; an image, usually a monstrous face, is carved onto the outside surface, and the lid replaced.

Pumpkin craft

Sections of the pumpkin are cut out to make holes, often depicting a face, which may be either cheerful, scary, or comical.

After carving, a light source (traditionally a candle) is placed inside the pumpkin and the top is put back into place. The light is normally inserted to illuminate the design from the inside and add an extra measure of spookiness.

As we could read from the description, a jack o' lantern is a pumpkin usually carved with a "monstrous" face. With only that description, we could already say that it is made to look "evil". although there other variations of faces but the motive is still to make it "spooky" (that's why a candle is placed inside to illuminate the design and add the spookiness)

The tradition of carving a lantern started in the British Isles however, it was traditionally carved out of a turnip. They were created on All Hallows' Eve and left on the door step to ward off evil spirits. An offering or, as we now know it, a "treat", would also be commonly left to placate roaming sprites and evil spirits — otherwise they might 'fiddle' with property or livestock (play a "trick"). Once the tradition moved to the US, it was adapted to the carving of a pumpkin as these vegetables were more readily available, bigger and easier to carve.

So what is the purpose of a jack o' lantern? it is left on the door step to again, "ward off evil spirits"! Sometimes an offering or a "treat" is also left so that the evil spirits won't mess with their property.

So its purpose is just the same as wearing scary costumes, to WARD OFF SPIRITS! So the people are not yet contented to wearing scary costumes to ward off spirits, they also need to put jack o' lanterns so that evil spirits would leave them alone. How silly isn't it?

Now, going back to the Bible, nothing is written about making any jack o' lantern to ward off evil spirits, it's because there is really no need to place this kind of decor to keep the spirits away (and with its spooky appearance, why would they?). As I have said before about Halloween, we could rebuke these spirits ONLY by the name of Jesus Christ, no other thing could drive them away but by the power of Jesus our Lord.

Now, you might say that " I'm not placing or using it to ward off spirits, I'm just using it as a plain decor, to have that Halloween look for the house". Well, let's look at the story behind the jack o' lantern to see if it safe to just plainly place it in the house:

Folklore

The story of the carved vegetable as a lantern comes in many variants and is similar to the story of Will-o'-the-wisp retold in different forms across England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. An old Irish folk tale tells of Stingy Jack, a lazy yet shrewd farmer who uses a cross to trap the Devil. One story says that Jack tricked the Devil into climbing an apple tree, and once he was up there Jack quickly placed crosses around the trunk or carved a cross into the bark, so that the Devil couldn't get down. Another tale says that Jack put a key in the Devil's pocket while he was suspended upside-down.

Another version of the story says that Jack was getting chased by some villagers from whom he had stolen, when he met the Devil, who claimed it was time for him to die. However, the thief stalled his death by tempting the Devil with a chance to bedevil the church-going villagers chasing him. Jack told the Devil to turn into a coin with which he would pay for the stolen goods (the Devil could take on any shape he wanted); later, when the coin/Devil disappeared, the Christian villagers would fight over who had stolen it. The Devil agreed to this plan. He turned himself into a silver coin and jumped into Jack's wallet, only to find himself next to a cross Jack had also picked up in the village. Jack had closed the wallet tight, and the cross stripped the Devil of his powers; and so he was trapped.

In both folktales, Jack only lets the Devil go when he agrees never to take his soul. After a while the thief died, as all living things do. Of course, his life had been too sinful for Jack to go to heaven; however, the Devil had promised not to take his soul, and so he was barred from hell as well. Jack now had nowhere to go. He asked how he would see where to go, as he had no light, and the Devil mockingly tossed him an ember that would never burn out from the flames of hell. Jack carved out one of his turnips (which was his favourite food), put the ember inside it, and began endlessly wandering the Earth for a resting place. He became known as "Jack of the Lantern", or Jack-o'-Lantern.


See, the story behind the jack o' lantern has something to do with the Devil. Ask yourself, will you put something in your house that is related to the devil?

As we have read from the folktale,the Devil agreed to Jack's condition that he will not take his soul and he would be set free. Later on, when Jack died, his soul was not accepted in heaven for his life was so sinful, he was also rejected from hell because of his agreement with the devil not to take his soul. Jack has nowhere to go and he has no light so the devil threw him an ember from hell that would never burn out, Jack placed inside a carved turnip, wandered around the earth for a resting place and was called "Jack of the Lantern" or "Jack O' Lantern".

With this story, aren't you ashamed to put such a decoration in your house? a pumpkin with a light inside it that that symbolizes fire from hell and yet many children today even use these pumpkins as baskets for their treats without knowing the history behind it? It's really sad isn't it? Children go from house to house carrying these lanterns seemingly careless about what it truly is.

Now that we know what these pumpkins are, are you gonna continue to place it in your house or even let children use it? Are we gonna let this children use such an evil thing?


3. Trick-or-treating

Another traditional practice every Halloween is trick-or-treating. Let us know what is trick-or-treating all about:

Trick-or-treating - (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

is a customary practice for children on Halloween in many countries. Children in costumes travel from house to house in order to ask for treats such as candy (or, in some cultures, money) with the question "Trick or treat?". The "trick" is a (usually idle) threat to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given.

Trick-or-treating is a traditional practice, usually done by children, wherein they will go from one house to another saying the phrase: "trick-or-treat" and the owner of the house has to give them candy or else a "trick" would be done to them.

But what was trick-or-treat before? how has it become a practice of asking for treats today?

Origin

The practice of dressing up in costumes and begging door to door for treats on holidays dates back to the Middle Ages and includes Christmas wassailing. Trick-or-treating resembles the late medieval practice of souling, when poor folk would go door to door on Hallowmas (November 1), receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (November 2). It originated in Ireland and Britain, although similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy. Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona(1593), when Speed accuses his master of "puling [whimpering or whining] like a beggar at Hallowmas." The custom of wearing costumes and masks at Halloween goes back to Celtic traditions of attempting to copy the evil spirits or placate them, in Scotland for instance where the dead were impersonated by young men with masked, veiled or blackened faces, dressed in white.

So this tradition started out as giving prayers for the dead in exchange for food, then it turned into dressing up in costumes and masks (remember, it is a Celtic tradition to ward off spirits) and begging for treats.

I think we don't need to look more into the Bible because we can clearly see how "selfish" trick-or-treating has become now, from prayers in exchange of food, it became tricks in exchange of not giving out candies. Before, something needs to be done but now, trick-or-treat just have to be said and treats will come. Although there are some who do ask for some effort from children before they give out candies but still most of the time in trick-or-treating, it is really effortless, it's like a no give, all take relationship (or maybe the other way around). Some even saw it as a form of extortion:

Elsewhere, adults, as reported in newspapers from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s, typically saw it as a form of extortion, with reactions ranging from bemused indulgence to anger.

The term "trick-or-treat" doesn't really give out a very good impression because the word "trick" shows that giver will be "tricked" if no treats were given, Although today, we could see that no one actually "tricks" the giver if no treats were given but the children just simply go away, but hey, it's really what it means when children say "trick-or-treat"!

But in my own opinion, even though there is are no more "tricks" in trick-or-treating, i would still disprove it. Just like what I have said earlier, trick-or-treating is en effortless taking of treats, no actual effort must be done, just say trick-or-treat and candies are on the go. I would rather prefer caroling every Christmas because there, you get to sing to the giver's house in exchange of money, plus, if you were able to make the giver happy and you were able to "uplift" his/her spirit, they will reward you with a larger amount of money! I think for me, that is really a give and take relationship and you become happy by making somebody else happy.

Another thing, I disprove of trick-or-treating because it promotes eating of "candy and sweets" which are the usual treats given. We all know that candy is not healthy especially to children and if we allow them to eat large amounts of it, then, our dentist would definitely not be happy! (*laughs*)

Well that's all for now, I hope this post has helped you have a new look about these Halloween practices, symbols and traditions, I'll be posting the 3rd and final part of my blog post.

Thanks again and may God bless you as you continue to strive to know the truth behind Halloween.
God bless! :)

Credits:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack-o'-lantern -Jack o' lantern -Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trick-or-treating -Trick-or-treating -Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monday, October 31, 2011

Halloween: Is it worthy to be celebrated?

When we hear of October, what usually comes first into our mind? what event do we usually remember every October? It's Halloween right? Halloween became one of the most popular holidays, it originated from the West and eventually, became popular also in Asian countries (and that includes the Philippines). I know that October 31 has passed already (but it's still Halloween in other countries though) but I could still see on TV some Halloween-themed shows and also in Facebook wherein many people are posting about Halloween, so its really important to discuss about it.

How did it become so popular? What are the origins of it? Is is it really worthy to be celebrated? Let as all know as we list down everything related to Halloween. Let us examine very carefully each element in Halloween and realize what Halloween is really about......

1. Halloween

Let us first define what Halloween is...

Halloween (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)- (a contraction of All Hallows’ Evening), also known byHallowe’en or All Hallow's Eve, is an annual holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night preceding All Saints Day. Much like Day of the Dead celebrations, the holiday has origins in Christianity, as well as festivals of harvest time and festivals honouring the dead, particularly old Celtic and Druid ones. Typical Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (also known as "guising"), attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, watching horror films, as well as praying and attending vigils or church services

So Halloween came from the term "All Hallow's eve" or "All Hallows' Evening" which means, it is a day before "All Hallow's day" or "All Saints day". It's supposed to be "Hallow" or "Holy" but how did it end up to be filled with trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, visiting haunted attractions, etc. which has nothing to do with being Holy?

"The origins of Halloween are Celtic in tradition and have to do with observing the end of summer sacrifices to gods in Druidic tradition. In what is now Britain and France, it was the beginning of the Celtic year, and they believed Samhain, the lord of death, sent evil spirits abroad to attack humans, who could escape only by assuming disguises and looking like evil spirits themselves. The waning of the sun and the approach of dark winter made the evil spirits rejoice and play nasty tricks. Believe it or not, most of our Halloween practices can be traced back to these old pagan rites and superstitions."
-Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
by Elliott Watson, CBN

So Halloween is of Celtic and Paganistic origin, it was a tradition of the Celts to offer sacrifices to gods during this time. They also believed that during this time, Samhain, the lord of death, sends evil spirits to attack humans and the Celts believed that they could escape these evil spirits if they could disguise themselves as one of the spirits (and that is also the origin of wearing scary costumes which we will discuss later).

Aren't you surprised that the Halloween you know is not as plain as you thought it is? Isn't it surprising to find out that it's all about spirits and wearing scary costumes just to fool them? Isn't it silly wearing scary costumes to drive away evil spirits? assuming that they will fall for it and they will leave you alone? It's what the early Celtics thought as a way of warding of these spirits.

Now, as Christians (and as the Philippines being a Christian nation), why are we celebrating this kind of festivity? here's an explanation:

"But what about today? Perhaps we can still learn from history. In the fourth century, Christians attempted to co-opt the holiday by celebrating the lives of faithful Christian saints the day before Halloween. This was a conscious attempt to provide an alternative and re-focus the day away from ghouls, goblins, ghosts, witches and other “haunted” experiences."
-Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
by Elliott Watson, CBN

Early Christians tried to change this tradition into a day wherein lives of faithful Christian saints are celebrated. It was an attempt to change Halloween from a horrific look into a more holy one, but eventually, it didn't succeed and ended up back to what it was...

It was traditionally believed that the souls of the departed wandered the earth until All Saints Day, and All Hallow's Eve provided one last chance for the dead to gain vengeance on their enemies before moving onto the next world. To avoid being recognised by a soul, Christians would wear masques and costumes to disguise themselves, following the lighted candles set by others to guide their travel for worship the next day. Today, this practice has been perpetuated through trick-or-treating.
-Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Now its back to spirits and wearing costumes again! this time, the belief is that souls are thought to wander on All Hallow's Eve (Halloween) and they have the chance to take vengeance against their enemies and this time, early Christians have to wear masques (masks) and costumes just not to be recognized by a wandering soul! then it was followed by lighting candles and trick-or-treating.

Don't you find it crazy and ironic? the early Christians who tried to change the face of Halloween ended up following the former pagan tradition of wearing scary costumes in order to scare off or not to be recognized by a soul! it's really weird isn't it? and yet, we continue to follow this kind of tradition just for the fun of it.....it's really getting worse!

Now let's take a look of what the Bible has to say. Let us look at these biblical truths:
  • The world is composed of the seen and unseen, meaning there is the physical world of which is composed of things we can see, and the spiritual world filled with things we cannot see but we could feel its existence. Now, let's talk about the spiritual world, it is composed of goodness coming from God and evil coming from Satan. First of all, we must remember that God Himself is Spirit and as well as His angels. We may not be able to see God but we could feel His presence. Now if there are good spirits, there are evil spirits as well and they came from no other than Satan, these evil spirits are the ones trying to tempt and hurt us and they are spread everywhere here on earth and sadly, they are the ones being imitated in Halloween costumes, thinking that they will stay away if one will look like one of them.
  • But we mustn't be afraid, for if we live in Christ, we have power to overcome these evil spirits. (1 John 4:4) We can rebuke these spirits through the name of Jesus our Lord. We need not to wear scary costumes to ward them off (actually, they are more likely to come than to stay away) God has given us the power through Jesus our Lord.
With these things in mind, we should not be fooled into following these kinds of practices and we should be convinced not to celebrate Halloween. Now that we know the truth, we should be free from celebrating this kind of holiday which is not from God

People like the Celts uses Halloween to worship Samhain (the lord of death) and acknowledge that during Halloween is the time that spirits come into the world. Followers of Wicca, the official religion of Witchcraft, considers Halloween as a sacred day for them:

"those who believe and follow the practices of witchcraft, Halloween represents an opportunity to embrace the evil, devilish, dark side of the spiritual world."
-Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
by Elliott Watson, CBN

These people uses this season to worship and welcome the evil spirits which came from Satan.

Now as Christians, what should we do?

  • First of all, we should not celebrate and be involved in these Halloween practices, we should no longer go out there and wear scary costumes. We should not associate ourselves with things like these.
  • Secondly, we should use this day as a day to be aware that there are evil spirits around us but at the same time, we should acknowledge that God's power over them.
  • Third, we should tell and inform everyone that about the truth about Halloween, so that they will no longer be deceived and they will no longer celebrate it.
  • Lastly, we should always pray to God for protection against evil and read His word so that His truth will remain in us.
I hope this has helped you understand Halloween Now, I leave the question to you, now you all about these things about Halloween, is it worthy to be celebrated or not?

This is just the first part and next is about other symbols and practices related to Halloween. Feel free to comment if you want to clarify something or anything you want to suggest.

Thanks for reading and may you continue to live for God and obey what is written in His word.

God bless! :)

Credits:
-Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
by Elliott Watson, CBN

-Halloween definition