What Are the
Origins of
Halloween?
1
What are the
origins of
Halloween?
The Pilgrim
forefathers well knew
of Halloween's
occultic roots.
In fact, they banned
celebrating Halloween
in the new world.
2
What are the
origins of
Halloween?
• Halloween was not
celebrated in the
United States until
1845.
At that time many
thousands of Irish
emigrants flooded
into New York
because of the Irish
Potato Famine of
1845-46.
3
What are the
origins of
Halloween?
• They brought with
them the old Druid
holiday of Halloween.
• Gradually, the idea of
celebrating this day
spread throughout the
rest of North America.
4
What are the
origins of
Halloween?
• The Druids were a
special class among the
Celtic peoples who
performed the functions
of priest, religious
teacher, judge, and civil
administrator.
• Among the Druids were
three classes, prophet,
bard and priest. They
were assisted by female
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sorceresses.
What was the religion of the Druids?
Alexander Hislop in his book,
The Two Babylons, says,
•The god whom the Druids worshipped was Baal, as the blazing
Baal-fires show --•We know that they offered human
sacrifices to their bloody gods.
•We have evidence that they made their
children pass through the fire to Molech,
and that makes it highly probable that
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they also offered them in sacrifice.”
•
What was the religion of the Druids?
• The Druids were well
versed in astrology, magic,
and the mysterious powers
of plants and animals.
• They held the oak tree and
the mistletoe, especially
when the latter grew on oak
trees, in great reverence.
7
What was the religion of the Druids?
• The Druid lord of death and evil spirits
was called Saman, Samana, Shamhain or
Samhain.
•His "holiday" was called "The Vigil Of
Saman" or Samhain
(pronounced so-wein).
•This pagan god was shown
as a ghostly, skeleton holding a sickle in his hand. He
later came to be known as
THE GRIM REAPER.
8
Why was October 31st so important?
• The pagan Celts in
Northern Europe held
two great fire festivals
each year -- Beltane on
the eve of May 1st and
Samhain on the eve of
November 1st -- to
mark the beginning of
summer and winter.
9
Why was October 31st so important?
• November 1st was the day of
death because the leaves
were falling, it was getting
darker sooner and temperatures were dropping.
The Druids believed Muck
Olla, their sun god, was
loosing strength because
Samhain, lord of death,
was overpowering him.
10
Why was October 31st so important?
•They believed that on October 31st
Samhain assembled the spirits of all
who had died during the previous
year.
•They had been confined to inhabit animals' bodies for the
R.I.P.
past year as punishment for
their evil deeds.
• On the eve of the feast of
Samhain, October 31st, they
were allowed to return to their
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former homes to visit the living.
Why is the origin of
Halloween so evil?
• Druid worship was conducted in a
grove of trees (preferably oak trees) or
in a Druidic stone
circle, the most
famous surviving
circle being located
in Stonehenge,
England.
12
Why is the origin of
Halloween so evil?
• To appease Samhain and keep the
spirits from harming them, Druid priests
led the people in diabolical worship
ceremonies.
• Horses, black sheep, oxen, human
beings, cats, and other offerings were
rounded up, stuffed into wicker
cages and burned to death.
13
Why is the origin of Halloween so evil?
Human sacrifice was common at the
ancient Druid
Sacrificial Circle
at
Stonehenge.
•
•Within three miles
of this sight there
are over 350 funeral
mounds that contain the remnants of
countless human sacrifices.
14
How did Halloween
become a part of
western culture?
It seems that early professing Christians
desired to have a part in the seasonal
festivities along with their pagan
neighbours.
•
“Love not the world, neither the things
that are in the world. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in
him.”
--1 John 2:15
15
How did Halloween
become a part of
western culture?
• In an attempt to "Christianize" this pagan
worship day, in A.D. 800, the Roman
Catholic Church moved "ALL SAINTS DAY"
from May to November 1st.
•The new day was called All HALLOW'S
DAY and it soon became the custom to call
the evening before ALL HALLOWE'EN. It
was shortened and called HALLOWEEN.
16
How did Halloween become part of western
culture?
•The pope was attempting to replace the
Celtic festival of the dead with a related,
but church-sanctioned holiday.
•Even later, in A.D. 1000, the
Roman Catholic church would
make Nov. 2nd All Souls' Day,
a day to honor the dead.
•It was celebrated similarly to
Samhain, with big bonfires,
parades, and dressing up in
costumes as saints, angels, and devils. 17
How does the satanic religion of the
Druids live on at Halloween?
• All Hallows' Eve predictably became a
time of spells, curses, and horrors for
those who did not believe, but for the
Satanists, particularly the witches,
it was a joyous festival
and major sabbat."
(Quoted from The Occult Conceit A New Look at Astrology, Witchcraft
and Sorcery, by Owen S. Rachleff, from page 189-190.)18
How does the satanic religion of the
Druids live on at Halloween?
During the Middle Ages there was a
mighty revival of witchcraft and Satanism.
•
•There developed the belief that
on October 31st witches travelled
to their covens flying on brooms,
guided by evil spirits in the form
of black cats.
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•There was a great outpouring
of satanic power, and as all the
Is Halloween old practices continued, some
new
ones
develop.
still a satanic
holiday?
• Satanists--acting true to
form--reversed the Christian
procedure. Because Nov. 1st
was All Saints' Day (All Souls'
Day, Nov. 2nd, memorializes
the dead), Satanists
established Oct 31st as "All
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Demon's Night."
Is Halloween still a satanic holiday?
Noted New Age Researcher Texe Marrs
says,
"...our own research confirms that on
this unholy night [Halloween], witches'
covens meet, drink, dance, spit
out curses and spells, conjure up spirits, engage in
immoral orgies, induct
new members, and offer
up animal and human sacrifices.
21
Is Halloween still a satanic holiday?
Jack Roper, occult researcher with
C.A.R.I.S. (Christian Apologetics: Research
& Information Service) says "...the time of
the year where you have the highest rate of
Satanic ritual crimes is Halloween."
22
What about
Halloween
costumes?
•On the evening of October
31st, the Druids ordered the
people to put out their hearth
fires.
•The Druids built a huge new
year's bonfire of oak branches,
which they considered sacred.
•They burned animals, crops
and human beings as
sacrifices to their sun god
Muck Olla and Samhain, their
god of death.
23
•It was believed that Saman, What about
lord of the dead, would then Halloween
send evil spirits to attack
costumes?
people.
•The only way these
people could escape
was by assuming
disguises and looking
like evil spirits
themselves.
•During the ceremony, people wore
costumes made of animal heads and skins,
which they hoped would frighten the evil
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spirits away.
What about “Trick or Treating”?
• “The Druids in Ireland
would go through the
countryside on the eve of
October 31st to collect
offerings to Satan.
•They would carry lanterns,
bags of money, and canes
with very sharp points on the
ends.
•At each house, they would
demand a specific amount.
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What about “Trick or Treating”?
• “If the household would
not not give the offering,
the Druid would use the
cane to do physical harm
to the male human or one
of the household’s prize
animals."
•--Seven High Pagan Masses and Halloween by Irene A. Park;
page 1)
• In later years, Irish farmers perpetuated
the custom, going house to house
begging for food for their ancient gods.26
What about black cats?
•Druid priests believed that cats were
once human beings but were
reincarnated as punishment for evil
deeds.
•Because of this, they held cats sacred
and involved them in their idol worship
of October 31st and
November 1st.
(The American Book of Day,
third edition by Hatch)
27
What about black cats?
•In many areas of North America, the
Humane Society will not release black
cats around Halloween for fear that they
will be mistreated or sacrificed.
28
What about “Jack o’ lanterns”?
• The World Book Encyclopedia, 1977
edition, volume 9, page 24-26 says, "The
apparently harmless lighted pumpkin
face of `Jack-O-Lantern' is an ancient
symbol of a damned soul.”
29
What about “Jack o’ lanterns”?
•According to an article by Dr. John
MacArthur, Jr., "Jack-O-Lanterns were
named for a man called Jack, who
could not enter heaven or hell.
30
What about “Jack o’ lanterns”?
•With this in mind,
people began to
hollow out pumpkins
and turnips, placing
candles inside to
scare evil spirits from
their houses.
31
What about witches?
•Witchcraft is the pagan worship of the
Mother Goddess and her consort the
Horned God.
32
What about witches?
•Witches (Wiccans) claim they don't even
acknowledge Satan.
•But a former Alexanderian
Wiccan witch clarified this
by stating, "as I got to the
higher degrees I learned that the name of
the horned god was Lucifer. I learned that
the sign of the second degree was an
inverted pentagram...symbolizing the horns
of Satan."
33
As a believer, what should be my involvement
with Halloween?
“I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of
God, that ye present your
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God, which is your reasonable service. And
be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
--Romans 12:1, 234
As a believer, what should be my involvement
with Halloween?
• Have you made Jesus
Christ the Lord of your
life?
• Have you submitted to
the Word of God as your
Guidebook for life?
• Use the principles God
gives us in His Word to
come to your own
conclusion!
“Thy word is a
lamp unto my
feet, and a light
unto my path.”
-- Psalm 119:105
35
What principles does God give us?
• Don’t be guilty of
worshipping demons either
knowingly or unknowingly!
“They provoked him to jealousy
with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to
anger. They sacrificed unto
devils, not to God; to gods whom
they knew not, to new gods that
came newly up, whom your
fathers feared not. --De 32:16,3617
What principles does God give us?
Avoid fellowship with demons
(i.e participating in that which is
offered to them)!
•
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What principles does God give us?
‘What say I then? that the idol is
any thing, or that which is offered in
sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I
say, that the things which the
Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to
devils (lit. demons), and not to God:
and I would not that ye should have
fellowship with devils (lit. demons). -1 Cor. 10:19, 20
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What principles does God give us?
• Have no part in that which promotes or
glorifies evil!
Eph 5:11 And have no fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove
them.
•Avoid things which simply appear evil!
1Th 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.
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What principles does God give us?
Ask yourself, “Will my involvement glorify
God?”
1 Cor 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or
drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory
of God.
• If you don’t have peace about it, DON’T
DO IT!
•Rom 14:3b . . .for whatsoever is not of faith is
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sin.
“Love not the world, neither the things
that are in the world. If any man love
the world, the love of the Father is not
in him.”
--1 John 2:15
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