Why do believers celebrate Halloween when it's very origin came from the Pagans?

Question

Ok, lets step out of the box from man made traditions for a minute and into the thinker.. It seems that most are unable to create traditions or memories without continuing in the history of manmade celebrations that actually originated from the counterfeiter (paganism)...


Roman Catholic church ring a bell? Because that's where most of the traditions came from... You can try your hardest to take the pagan out of the pagan but it wont work unless they are touched and changed . Not by catering to their traditions and merely changing the name and calling it good ! I bet they laugh and are actually empowered even more when we give presidence to their
ways.....

Does anyone out there think it's time to emulate who the believers really are and what we posess? Or is it too hard to see things for what they really are and go beyond the confines of paganism?
Christmas and Easter also....

I am NOT a Johovah's Witness just a seer and a free thinker! Fun is good but living in a box is not!

Answer 1

Different people see different meanings whatever the origins. Christmas and Easter are basically Pagan holidays glossed over with Christian meanings - Pagans celebrate the original - Christians the latter. The majority of Americans celebrate Thanksgiving but it isn't so pleasant of a holiday remembrance for Native Americans and I respect that.

If Christians want to celebrate all Saints day (or all Hallows Eve), or ignore the holiday completely that is fine with me. I do not ask them to celebrate my holidays. I don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day even though it has lost it's original meaning and is just a party day.

Everyone has to do what they feel is right within their beliefs.

Answer 2

I'm a Pagan and no, I do not laugh nor am I empowered by it. Though I do find it odd that some Christians point out that Halloween is a Pagan Holiday and get angry that other Christians follow it. Yet, like you show here, Christmas and Easter are alright to celebrate. I guess all of this happened, mainly, because Christianity has no Holidays of it's own. The only thing that comes close is the Last Supper... and that is taken directly from the Jewish Passover.

But, how Halloween is celebrated by society today is Nothing like the way it was celebrated in ancient times. The only thing that's basically the same is children dressing up. That's it. I'm sure society in general is not lighting candles and placing them in windows in hopes of dead relatives visiting during the night (All Hallow's Eve is a time when we believe the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest). I'm pretty sure no one is using divination at this time, except some of us Pagans. (And not even all of us Pagans do these things).

I agree on the point that if they want to appear to be unique and set apart from the "world", then they should drop the traditions. But, I don't see it as that important to anyone's faith if they do not drop the traditions, as Christians are not celebrating these Pagan holidays like Pagans do.

Now, if we really want to get technical on the point that Christians shouldn't have anything to do with Paganism AT ALL. That means giving up birthday candles, wedding rings.... we would have to change the names of the days of the week, the months and the planets as well. No more Nike shoes and no more Midas brakes. You would no longer be able to use a star on your Christmas tree... hell, you couldn't even have a tree... you couldn't give gifts unless you were celebrating Hannakha (spelling??????). No more lighting candles in rememberance of loved ones lost (Mainly catholicism, but others do it as well).

So, I guess this depends on how far you are willing to take that and just why you (or anyone) is doing it.

Answer 3

Christians know Halloween is pagan origin, but they celebrate it, not as a religious holiday, but as a man made fun holiday which the bible allows. God, according to the bible knows that you cannot leave the world and will be exposed to many things, but it is okay to celebrate something as a secular day for fun or day off. The problem comes if you celebrate it in a religious manner.

Christmas and Easter is a different matter though. Most Christians really believe that Jesus is the reason for the season and think you are blaspheming if you try to educate them that it is pagan in origin. This is what the bible warns about.

When I was a Christian I recieved fun harrasement from my fellow Christians because I did not celebrate Christmas with the tree and lights and such, and they kidded me calling me Scrooge, but at the church I attended, it was up to the individual whether or not to have a tree as long as everyone understood that it was not the birth of Christ and it was not done in a religious way. I had just chosen to not go as far as everone else, I guess because of my Jehovah Witness background.

the Catholic church turning these pagan holy days into Christian holidays was more about trying to keep the pagans from rising up and rebelling, then it was to change them. They had already taken them over by force and forced them into Christianity, but needed a way to help appease them.

Answer 4

Because of Ignorance. People will celebrate anything as long as it satisfies the flesh. They forget that there is a spiritual realm, whether they believe it or not. The says that what is of the flesh will perish, but that which of the spirit have life and life in abundance. I think a lot of Christians don't really completely understand how their involvement in these days like Hallows Eve, affects the spiritual realm around them. Remember when Daniel had been praying for 21 days and had not received a response from God, and then an angel appeared to Daniel and told him that he was bringing his response since the first day but with all the evil spirits in the air he was having a hard time getting through and the Arch Angel Michael had to come and open a way for him to get through ? See there are spiritual war fares that take place and when a believer sides with the evil side by participating with them, evil power grows.

Answer 5

I won't celebrate evil. I can celebrate God on October 31, because God created that day first before the devil tried to claim it for himself.

So, I give Oct. 31 to the Lord. My pumpkin was a face that wrote Love. And I put a candle light in it. The L was a smile (sort of) and the ove were similar to hearts. And I gave safe candy to the trick or treators.

Also my church provided a safe alternative where kids could go and honor God, play games & get candy.

I am not under law. I am under grace. I am made in the righteousness of Christ, so it doesn't make me more or less righteous to give Oct. 31 to God. I am the righteousness of Christ so I give Oct. 31 to God. And do what I believe is pleasing to my God.

Answer 6

Does anyone on this forum really believe that the holiday of Halloween is currently promoted as a druid holiday complete with animal sacrifices? Or is it promoted as a fun time time, mainly for children to dress up and get some free candy.

I don't think participating in this holiday is hypocritical or against God's law. After all, if Peter and Paul were permitted to eat meat sacrificed to idols I suppose that it is alright for me and my children to enjoy a fun holiday.

Answer 7

Halloween is just the most disgusting example of hypocritical paganisms by so-called "Christians".

Other holidays also derive from false religion, and so are incompatible with pure worship. For example, Easter derives from the pagan god Oestre and celebrates "rebirth" and "fertility" instead of commemorating Christ's Last Supper and death as Jesus commanded:
(Luke 22:1-22) [Jesus] dispatched Peter and John, saying: “Go and get the passover ready for us to eat.” ...14 At length when the hour came, he reclined at the table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them: “I have greatly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I tell you, I will not eat it again until it becomes fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ... Keep doing this in remembrance of me.”

Since such celebrations are not required in true worship, and can easily become a distraction, so Jehovah's Witnesses focus their attention elsewhere. In particular, they are focussed on the preaching work which *IS* a requirement for Christians:

(Luke 10:1-17) [Jesus] the Lord designated seventy others and sent them forth by twos in advance of him into every city and place to which he himself was going to come. 2 Then he began to say to them: “The harvest, indeed, is great, but the workers are few. Therefore beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/library/w/2005/1/1a/article_01.htm
http://watchtower.org/library/rq/article_11.htm

Answer 8

If youre a free thinker im the tooth fairy, also the Catholic church is not Pagan: these are the Pagan religions: Taoism, Wiccan, Astrau, Odalism, Animism, Pantheism, Goddess worship(Mary is NOT A GODDESS), Buddhism. No where is Catholicism is considered Pagan by Pagan standards, it is considered christian because they believe in jesus. so STFU AND STOP GIVING PAGANS A BAD REP.

Answer 9

Hey Kathryn speak for yourself.Kids are kids.Kids want to be kids,so kids are going to be kids.It's up to the parents to teach them right from wrong regardless of your religious or non religious status.Halloween may be a pagan holiday,just like Christmas,but to stand right out and call someone a hypocrit is wrong.Christians make mistakes just like anybody else.Everybody thinks just because you call yourself a Christian,you're supposed to be perfect.
Evidently the hecklers in this forum need to take a look at their own lives and see just who the real hypocrits are,Kathryn.

Answer 10

There are already celebrations listed in the bible for people to keep (even non-Jews) so why would you want to keep anything other than what God ordained? Anyone who is even a casual student of history knows that when Constantine declared the Roman Empire "Christian", the Christian religion was then infused with the religion he followed before he was "miraculously" converted....Mithraism.