What is the true meaning of halloween?

Question

And are having kids trick or treat at church still celebrating evil?

Answer 1

The celebrations are undeniably pagan in origin.
Halloween has also been called All Hallows’ Eve, the eve of All Saints’ Day. This supposedly Christian name, however, hides origins that are far from hallowed.
Halloween’s roots go back to a time long before Christianity—the era when the ancient Celts inhabited Britain and Ireland. Using a lunar calendar, the Celts divided the year into two seasons—the dark winter months and the light summer months. On the full moon nearest November 1, the Celts celebrated the festival of Samhain, meaning “Summer’s End.”

This festival, which marked the beginning of the Celtic new year, came at the end of summer, when the harvest had been gathered and the flocks and herds had been brought down from pasture into shelter. The Celts believed that as the days shortened, it was necessary to reinvigorate the sun through various rites and sacrifices. In symbolism of the dying old year, all fires were put out, and the new year was inaugurated with sacred bonfires from which all members of the community rekindled their hearths. These bonfires—an echo of which can be found today in Britain on Guy Fawkes Night and in Brazil in the June festivals—were also thought to frighten away evil spirits.

It was believed that on the festival of Samhain, the veil between the human and the supernatural worlds was parted and spirits, both good and evil, roamed the earth. The souls of the dead were thought to return to their homes, and families would put out food and drink for their ghostly visitors in hopes of appeasing them and warding off misfortune. Thus, today when children dressed as ghosts or witches go from house to house demanding a Halloween treat or threatening a mischievous trick, they unwittingly perpetuate the ancient rituals of Samhain.
Since people believed that the barriers between the physical and supernatural realms were down, they thought that humans were able to cross over into the spirit world with ease. Samhain was therefore a particularly auspicious time to unlock the secrets of the future. Apples or hazelnuts, both viewed as products of sacred trees, were used to divine information concerning marriage, sickness, and death. For example, apples with identifying marks were placed in a tub of water. By seizing an apple using only the mouth, a young man or woman was supposed to be able to identify his or her future spouse. This divination practice survives today in the Halloween game of bobbing for apples.
Samhain was also characterized by drunken revelry and a casting aside of inhibitions. “Traditional values, if not flouted, were reversed,” states Markale. “What was forbidden was allowed, and what was allowed was forbidden.” Halloween still reflects this spirit today, which no doubt accounts to a great extent for its increasing popularity.
The apostle Paul wrote: “I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.” (1 Corinthians 10:20-22, New International Version) He also asked: “What common interest can there be between goodness and evil? How can light and darkness share life together? How can there be harmony between Christ and the devil? What can a believer have in common with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16, Phillips) The Bible thus condemns the whole idea of putting a Christian mask on a pagan practice!

Answer 2

Halloween Meaning

Answer 3

Meaning Of Halloween

Answer 4

Halloween is a Pagan Festival orig anally called Samhain (so -ween) All Souls Night the old Celtic new years eve . The Celts believed the world of the dead became closer to the living at this time. The Christian view is Halloween celebrates death and uses pagan imagery but there's many churches which have light parties for children an party with out all the gloom.

Answer 5

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Well... Yes and no. I mean, I do not celebrate Halloween, which is a pseudo-Christian event. But I do celebrate Samhain, which is the holy day from which Christians developed Halloween and All Saint's Day to take the place of. For me, Samhain is the end of the old year and the start of the new, and is a time to remember those who we knew who have passed away in the past year, and also to shed my "old self" in favor of my "new self." It's a time for feasting and for singing and dancing, and a time to give thanks for the harvest and the bounty of the Earth. It's also seen as a time when the veil between worlds is thin, and the spirits of the deceased can pass back into this world, which is why we honor their memories, and we serve a special plate from out feasting table with food for the spirits. It's also why, as a matter of fact, people started dressing in costumes, to either confuse any harmful spirits, or to intimidate them. It's one (out of four) of our most important holidays in the course of the year

Answer 6

The term Halloween, and its older spelling Hallowe'en, is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the evening before "All Hallows' Day"[2] (also known as "All Saints' Day"). In Ireland, the name was All Hallows' Eve (often shortened to Hallow Eve), and though seldom used today, it is still a well-accepted label. The holiday was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions, until Pope Gregory III moved the old Christian feast of All Saints Day to November 1 to give Halloween a Christian interpretation . Halloween is also called Pooky Night in some parts of Ireland, presumably named after the púca, a mischievous spirit.

Answer 7

I have only heard of kids having alternate activities at church as a means around Halloween- not really celebrating it there.
Halloween stems from Hallow's Eve.
For a history of Halloween check here.
http://www.history.com/minisites/halloween/viewVideoGallery?videoId=1297

Answer 8

Halloween was originally a pagan festival that honoured the spirits of the dead. People would hold rituals honouring the spirits and hold a feast in the name of their loved ones. There was nothing evil about it at all. The Christians only perceived such things as evil because they thought the pagans were worshipping the dead.

Answer 9

halloween is a christian holiday started by pope gregory.

letting kids have fun and get some free candy is not evil at all.

the Pagan holiday Samhien, has some deep spiritual meaning behind it and was a time to remember your ancestors and to remove negative energies from your life.
it is largely believed to have been a new year's celebration.

but today to the modern Christian it is just a chance to dress up and get some free stuff.

Answer 10

The day does have religious significance for some people, particularly wiccans and druids. For some people and in some regions, Halloween or some of its elements may have a non-Christian religious meaning. Some Halloween activities could be considered anti-Christian, and would, therefore, be avoided. Christians would want to avoid demonic associations, for example. With these things in mind, it would be appropriate for Christians to consider carefully their activities on this holiday.
The situation is very puzzling. Jesus brought light into the world. He came that we might have eternal life. Most Christians whole-heartily embrace these Scriptural facts. Yet, once a year, many of them turn their focus to Satan and his kingdom, all the while denying that it really actually means anything. Halloween is part of the ancient religion of the Celtics. This is a pagan religion, originating in Ireland and Britain, which is heavily involved with the spiritual realm and many pagan gods. Witches, warlocks, and witchcraft are dominant themes of the holiday. Witches and warlocks generally believe themselves to be followers of the ancient religion called 'Wicca'. This is a religion which worships nature and is an attempt to return to worshipping ancient Norse, Greek, or Celtic gods and goddesses.
A natural tendency would be to just brush this all off as harmless fun, believing that it has no real meaning. However, Halloween ("Samhain") is not an innocent holiday. It is taken very seriously by those of the Celtic (including Wicca) religion and is considered one of their most holy days. The problem is that Satan has worked very hard to get the rest of us — especially Christians — to think that Halloween is really harmless. In fact, part of the work of Satan has been to convince the world that he does not exist. By doing so, satanic rituals, such as the celebration of Samhain, are seen as not being real. When Christianity and the world celebrates the Festival of Samhain and the powers of darkness by masquerading as evil creatures or decorating their homes, schools, businesses, and churches with occult symbols, Satanic power is glorified.
Somewhere (probably from Satan), the Church came up with the idea that it had the power to adopt pagan holidays and declare them holy There is no Scriptural basis for this act by the Church. In fact, only God is able to declare anything holy.
The deception of the celebration of Halloween is so subtle it is hard to see it as demonic and evil. After all, it is just some children dressing up as monsters, witches, etc. and going door-to-door "trick or treating", right? Is there any real harm in it? This is the same thing as the reading of horoscopes. Most people think it is just foolishness anyway, so why not do it? Is it just foolishness? Does God really care if we celebrate Halloween (or read horoscopes)? He hates it, for those things are detestable to him. (Deuteronomy 18.10-12, Exodus 22.18). Revelation 21.8). God declared to Israel, "I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you will have fortunetellers no more" (Micah 5.12).
Let us not enter into the ways of the world for Jesus said his followers were to be no part of the world.
Can we see Jesus and the apostles going "trick or treating" (if it had been in existence at the time)? Or maybe Jesus passing out treats at the door to the little children that were dressed up as his enemy, the devil? I don't think so. Why, then, would the followers of Jesus do it?