Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. -1 Corinthians 10:31

The Origins of Hallowe'en

With October drawing to a close, everyone knows that Hallowe'en is near. Kids are getting their costumes ready for that one glorious night when two special words come to mind: free candy. But is this holiday as innocent as it seems?

It is easy to see the occult roots of Hallowe'en on the surface. Ghosts, goblins, witches, scary costumes... but Hallow'en goes much deeper than this. I'll quickly explain some of the major topics of Hallowe'en.

TRICK OR TREATING


Trick or treating is perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of Hallowe'en. What could be more awesome than going door to door of stranger's houses and getting free candy for saying three short words: trick or treat? But trick or treating comes from the end of the harvest festival. The Druids would go from farmhouse to farmhouse asking: "Trick or Treat?" The farmers would be forced to give a sacrifice to Samhain, the god of the dead, or they would have some cruel trick performed on them, such as having their livestock stolen.

COSTUMES


Another fun part of Hallowe'en is dressing up as someone or even something else. But in the Celtic culture, people would wear masks at the Festival of the Dead to portray physical representations of their dead loved ones in order to scare away bad spirits and invite good ones.

JACK O' LANTERNS


What can bring up more memories of Hallowe'en than carving a pumpkin with your family? But when the Druids were ready to go trick or treating, they would hollow out radishes and put lights in them to use as a lantern. These radishes would light the way from house to house.

People today in America are too spoiled. We want to celebrate this occasion without giving its evil roots a second thought. Even if you say that you are not celebrating Hallowe'en as a cultic holiday, stop and think. Do you really want to associate yourself with these evil traditions? The choice is up to you.

Research for this essay comes from a conversation with an expert on Air 1. To see a version of this transcript, click here. More information on this topic can be found here.

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