Halloween: It is really a Satanic Holiday

I was not planning to do a blog post on Halloween but then I saw a Facebook post by a friend of mine who I admire for their vitality stating that they do not celebrate Halloween because it is a satanic holiday and then attached a Christian Broadcasting Network article on a Satanist. So of course I had to do research and see exactly what the origins of Halloween are and if it is really a satanic holiday.

Halloween originates with the Celtic pagan celebration of Samhain which marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. This usually occurs on November 1st. It was believed that on October 31st the veil or wall between the living and the dead was at its thinnest and therefore the spirits could come and take you to the other side. In order to avoid this, people would dress up to confuse the spirits and therefore prevent being transported to the other side. We have to remember that in pagan times, the end of the harvest and beginning of winter often meant sickness and death. In addition, the Celtic people believed that the presence of the spirits made it easier for priests also known as Druids to predict the future. [1]

Just a little backstory on some of their activities on this night: they dressed up and lit fires, then crops and animals were sacrificed to their deities. The fires they lit for their sacrifices would be extinguished and then relit in homes with the ashes from the larger fire used for the sacrifices. This would ensure that they would be protected during the winter.

Prior to Catholicism spreading into the Celtic lands (Ireland), the Romans first conquered it and mixed two of their celebrations with Samhain. They brought their commemoration of the dead and celebration of the Roman goddess Pomona who represented abundance and plenty. Her name comes from the Latin word for fruit, pomum. Some who have learned other languages such as French and Spanish would recognize the word as a variation of it is used to describe potatoes and apples. In the French language, potatoes are translated to pomme de terre and apples are pomme. Since Pomona’s symbol is the apple, this may be why apples are so popular on Halloween aside from the fact that they are harvested in the fall.

In the Catholic world, November 1st is called All Saints Day and was established in the early 600’s to commemorate the saints (side note my mother who was born on this day stated she loved her birthday as a child because school was always closed. She went to Catholic school.) Anyway, as Christianity spread All Saints Day would intermingle with Samhain, thus blending the pagan and Christian celebrations together. Mind you All Saints Day was also known as All Hallows therefore it only makes sense that the day before would come to be known as All Hallows Eve or Halloween.

Now in Catholicism, the church established November 2nd as All Soul’s Day to honor the dead and in the early days it was similar to Samhain celebrations.

It should be noted, especially since this is a website on American history, that in most of Colonial America and then the United States Halloween was not widely celebrated because of the strict Puritan or Protestant beliefs except in those areas where Catholicism was widespread. Over time though, Halloween, and All Saints Day developed into a different type of celebration because of the blending of stories of the dead, public celebrations of the harvest and other idiosyncrasies in America. From colonial times and well into 19th century America, people would celebrate Autumn Festivals, tell ghost stories, and make mischief or do “tricks”. This was all just for fun.

As we moved into the late the 19th century and early 20th century Halloween changed because of new immigrants especially from Ireland who moved all over the country and introduced it to people. Then with the influx of Hispanic people in the late 20th century, specifically Mexicans who celebrated the Day of the Dead, it was further popularized. Mind you, the Day of the Dead is specific to All Saints and All Soul’s Day, but it is still part of the 3 day festival which began over 2000 years ago. Specifically it is a day to honor your deceased loved ones.

This brings us to today and the perverted people who want to make this into a satanic and occult like holiday. It is not a satanic nor occult holiday but instead a celebration of saints and our dead. The only celebration of evil and it isn’t really a celebration of evil but instead and act of confusing the evil spirits, so they do not kidnap us and takes us away, away from God and those who loves us and that is why we dress up in costumes. Don’t let the fools who believe in Satan and the occult do that, ignore them, and do not give them publicity. If you feel you must say something, remind folks of the true origins of the holiday. When we let ignorant people take joy, fun, and accuracy from us, they win and we lose! [2]

[1] Most people were also uneducated at this time meaning they could not read or write and only knew what religious leaders taught them.

[2] I respect my friends opinion and just wanted to share a different one.