Matthew 15:3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your
traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?
In a day or
two, we celebrate Halloween. Dressing up in costumes, going to parties, playing
games and “trick or treating” for the little kids. But when I ask people what
is the significance of the day and what exactly are we celebrating on this
“second most popular” holiday in the United States of America?, the answer
always seems to be the same: “I don’t know.”
I’ve
listened to a couple Pastors this week explain that there is a confluence of
three streams that flow together to form this modern celebration. The first
goes back to the Druids, who were the pagan inhabitants of pre-Christian Ireland & Scotland . The Druid or Celtic year
began on November 1, which was called “Samhain”. This was their New Year’s day,
and consequently, October 31 was “New Year’s Eve”. It was also a combination of
a “Harvest Festival” and thought of as a “Festival of the Dead”, for it was
said that it was this night that the Earth came to its closest contact with the
unseen and spiritual world. Consequently, ghosts, goblins and witches terrified
the populous, supposedly destroying crops, killing babies, stealing farm
animals, upsetting garbage cans and reeking all sorts of havoc on the people.
Bonfires were set upon the hills, either to keep the ghosts away, or perhaps
to guide the spirits of the dead back to their homes, where it was believed
that the spirits of the deceased on the eve of Samhain find warmth and good
cheer in the home of their kinfolk before the onslaught of winter. Therefore,
we see a lot of the folk custom of Halloween has come from this Druid
celebration.
Another one
of them is the custom of “Trick or Treat”. It originated when the people of Ireland went
around to homes asking for various treats for the celebration which was to
follow later in the evening. Then, when the belief in the reality of goblins
and ghosts began to decline, and it was no longer believed that they were
really doing these mischievous things, the children decided to help out. So
they dressed up in various costumes and put on masks, then went house to house
asking for treats, but adding a little something extra … threatening also
tricks if they failed to be generous. And so, there were garbage cans upset,
gate posts found in trees, and all sorts of pandemonium that took place on that
night, supposedly attributed to the ghosts and goblins, but, of course, wrought
by the dressed up children.
Let's continue this great history of Halloween tomorrow.
In Christ, Brian
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