Who thinks Halloween is an evil holiday?

Question

Because if you do your homework you'll know it's origins are far from evil. I'm not trying to start a debate, merely gauge an opinion or two.... Who knows Halloween originates from the Pagan festival of Samhain (Sow'ain), the original Pagan New Year? In ancient times, the end of the summer and warm days was marked as the end of the year, the start of the cold winter and hardship marked the new. The veil between this world and the other is said to be the thinnest now, hence Pagans use this time to pay homage to those whom have passed. Genuine Pagans and the religions it encompasses (Wiccan, Druidism, etc) have nothing to do with evil, this is our new year celebration and a chance to say goodbye to loved ones who have passed. Happy Halloween to you all and Bright blessings :) PS: I'll get off my soapbox now LOL :-D

Thank you all for your wonderful answers, my faith in common sense has been restored!

Answer 1

Who thinks Halloween is an evil holiday? Ignorant people who don't know their history & have been brainwashed by some organized religious tradition. I'm amazed by how many people actually think Halloween has something to do with Satan! After all, Satan is a creation of Christianity. Brightest Blessings to you & have a Happy Halloween!
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Answer 2

Halloween originates from the Pagan festival of Samhain (Sow'ain), the original Pagan New Year? In ancient times, the end of the summer and warm days was marked as the end of the year, the start of the cold winter and hardship marked the new. The veil between this world and the other is said to be the thinnest now, hence Pagans use this time to pay homage to those whom have passed. Genuine Pagans and the religions it encompasses (Wiccan, Druidism, etc) have nothing to do with evil, this is our new year celebration and a chance to say goodbye to loved ones who have passed. Happy Halloween to you all and Bright blessings

Answer 3

From my limited knowledge the name Halloween is a shortened version of 'The Eve of All Hallows' or 'Hallows Evening' because November 1st is ' All Hallows' or 'the feast of all saints' The Irish (Gaelic) name is Oiche Samhna refering to the Pagan festival of New Year or Sow'ain

Early Christians, particularily in the British Isles, often tried to use certain pagan festivals to help promote their own teachings. They made this night a festival of souls, or a celebration of the lives of those that have passed as a prelude to the following day which is a feast day for all saints who dont have their own feast day.

People often painted their faces as if 'dead' during the festival. Hence the tradition of dressing up.

We have unfortunately created another Hallmark card holiday from what is a very important religous feast for Pagans and Christians alike.

Sorry I am beginning to rant!!!! So to answer your question, I know that Halloween is no more evil than Christmas or Easter!!

Wow now theres a debate!!

Answer 4

The costumes are worn to scare the evil spirits away, not to celebrate the devil. Our halloween has been influenced by many cultures, the Irish, the British, the Spanish, the pagans, the Catholic church who came up with All Saints Day to distract the pagans from Halloween. Even WWI and II factored in, during the war years, there wasn't enough money or raw materials to waste on candy and costumes, and rationing made it almost impossible to find sugar for treats, or material for costumes. The custom of kids going out and vandalizing started the tradition of having a parade to distract them, and there were even radio program give aways, that told the kids to get home so they could call the radio station to win a prize. Our affluent society factors in with the candy giveaway, and the elaborate costumes.
The holiday used to be for adults, then the kids, now both have their activities.
Victorians had private parties with a fortune teller, or silly games that predicted things like who would you marry.
Apples, when cut cross wise, have a star in the center, the wiccan's symbol. Apples were used, and served, because of the apple harvest's closeness to Haloween.
I do get a little concerned about people who believe that Haloween is all a celebration of the devil. One lady at work is taking her child to the church, she said, because trick-or -treat is the devil's work. The child will dress in costume, and recieve candy there. Hmm, what's the difference? Though, it is probably safer at church, than out and about in some neighborhoods. There are perverts at church, too, but less likely to get shot at or robbed or mugged there.
I guess the fundamentalist churches do not believe in the spirits that the rest of us dress up to scare off.
I got tickled at work, years ago, someone I worked with told me her husband and she go all out for Halloween, invite the kids in the house, have a casket and a gory body, the whole haunted house thing. They belong to a fundamentalist church. I did not have the courage to ask her how that is possible, with her beliefs. Obviously, she had parted with the church"s doctrine, on the issue of Halloween.
Happy Halloween everyone! Be careful!

Answer 5

It doesn't matter how it originated. Today, it's just a FUN day for adults and kids alike to dress up in a costume and go trick or treating for candy (kids anyway) and the adults can have parties or whatever. It's only sadistic if you make it that way. I went trick or treating every year that I was in school all the way through Senior year and I didn't turn out to be a devil worshipper. I'm a Christian...and always have been. People need to stop being so uptight about everything. It's just ONE day of fun.

Answer 6

All Hallows eve, as it was called when the Christians took it over the from the Old Celtic end of year, is not evil, in fact I don't know what is Evil. There are some nasty people about, but who am I to call them Evil? Nasty is good enough for me, but Halloween is not nasty, neither in England is it a Holiday.

Answer 7

Nonsense, it's not evil. It's about tolerance. Pagans have every right to view Samhain in the context of their beliefs, and I have every right to view Halloween in the context of the intervening centuries. Samhain is what it once was, now it's an occasion for wearing silly costumes and eating treats.
And I am a minister of the gospel.

Answer 8

Halloween, Child’s Play or The Serpent in the Garden?
October 14th, 2006 by jet44
This was my child’s English assignment. The students were asked to write a story on the subject of getting rid of a Holiday or adding one and this is what she wrote. I guess when the teacher read this one (no names were given) the class was dumbfounded and speechless.

English 11 Holidays
10-6-06

To Whom It May Concern:

One of the main holidays in our country is Halloween. I feel that this particular holiday produces a more negative affect than holidays should be allowed. On Halloween nights many kids, young and old, walk up and down streets to collects candy and other goodies from the neighbors. These actions may seem completely harmless when thought of briefly but when the true history of this holiday is investigated further horrible truths emerge. For example the roots of Halloween date back to medieval times. Back then October 31 was considered a day when dead spirits were believed to return to their homes and when evil practices, such as witchcraft, were most potent. My friends from South Africa lived in an area, where on Halloween nights, the cults would gather at graveyards to sacrifice cats and newborn babies to evil spirits. Today many people don’t understand the gruesome nature of this holiday and eagerly dismiss and negative facts against its origin. Today the choice of costumes for Halloween is also a problem for many people. If you’ve ever visited a general store in late September you’ve probably seen the variety of costumes displayed: skulls painted with blood, witch hats and masks, knives, axes etc. On a more serious note store decorations for Halloween usually advertise death and murder. For example Menards in Nebraska shows a skeleton hanging from the rafters by a handmade noose. Who would want their three year old child to be exposed to that degree of terror at such a young age? Decorations like these not only scare children but also teach them that these actions are O.K. and exciting.
The problem with Halloween not only lies with its history and advertisement, but also with the safety of communities. One of the activities that troublemaking teenagers like to do on Halloween is pranking. Although this activity is slightly tolerable a very fine line is often crossed. Damage to public and personal property is a major prank that many pranksters try to accomplish on Halloween night. Do you want your children to be out amongst these potential criminals? Worse yet, a part of this crime? Safety is also an issue when addressing Halloween. Children are commonly left alone on October 31st to gather all the candy they can with their friends. Although there is safety in numbers, abductions do occur and are possible at any moment. Allowing this holiday to remain on our calendars will surely endanger our homes and families to a point we have never reached before. The simple concepts behind Halloween, such as candy gathering and consuming as much as possible is hard on the human body system. High calorie candy is one reason why so many kids today are overweight and proud owners of cavities that require around $100 to fix. Careful consumption of these treats is a very important skill that Halloween clearly destroys.
I understand that Halloween has been a trademark of our history and economy for many years, but the strong negativity of this holiday is too much to agree with! An alternative holiday such as a Harvest Celebration could involve dressing up in less terrorizing costumes and having a meal with family and friends. Kids could play games and win small pieces of candy or toys for prizes. All I ask is that you understand the satanic nature of this popular holiday and consider some other possible alternatives that could take the place of this highly controversial holiday.

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Answer 9

Man the only thing I care about Halloween is the fact that it's fun!!!!

Come on. What other day of the year can you convince complete strangers to give you stuff and watch people dress up in the most insane costumes.

Keep your kids safe out there. Happy Halloween.

Answer 10

I wasn't allowed to do Halloween when i was a child and now that i have my own kids i think there is nothing evil about what we do on Halloween - trick or treating- and i don't think it should be label as evil.