Isn't Halloween a pagan holiday???If it is then how did it find it way into Christianity??

Question

I do love my trick or treat tho!

Answer 1

November 1 is All Saints Day or All Hallows Day, a religious holiday. Halloween (Hallow's Eve) is technically just the night before.

The Halloween tradition comes from the Celts. It was a holiday called Samhain, All Hallowtide, signaling the close of harvest and the initiation of the winter season.

Trick or treat came from the idea of fairies, which the Celts believed were mischievous. Many of the people would imitate the fairies and go from house to house begging for treats. Failure to supply the treats would usually result in practical jokes being visited on the owner of the house. Since the fairies were abroad on this night, an offering of food or milk was frequently left for them on the steps of the house, so the homeowner could gain the blessings of the "good folk" for the coming year.

Answer 2

Halloween is a pagan holiday that was originally interpreted into a more modern holiday by the Catholic church and just went forward from there. As Christians, my family has chosen for years not to celebrate Halloween, due to the pagan origins and the real meaning behind the customs we know today. We do this with our family and it helps them to understand the meaning of things they way they should be. And candy can come any day, right?

Answer 3

Since people bann Halloween because of it's history, they should consider banning Xmas. Most of our American Christmas traditions are pagan, or created by the corporate world.
Yule log, misletoe, Xmas tree and ornaments, wreaths, decorating with natural elements like holly and evergreens, all predate Christianity.
We really do not know the actual date of Jesus' birth. The date December 25th was chosen, to overshadow a pagan ritual.
There are those that say Coca-Cola invented the American jolly fat Santa. Others say an artist for a card company in Victorian times did. Either way, his gift giving is copied from several other cultures.
Halloween, or All hallows Eve, was for dressing in scary costumes, and scaring away evil spirits, so were the traditional bon fires, and dancing. Pagan tradition. A Pope decided to make All Saints Day the day after, to overshadow the pagan holiday.In Victorian times, the holiday was for adults, in which parties were given, a fortune teller invited, and games were played to predict the future. Our tradition of Halloween parades started to distract young people from the tradition of vandalizing. Even radio got into the act. A radio broadcast did a give away, kids were told to go home after the parade, so they could participate. A pope decided to take pagan rituals, and twist them into something evil,a devil worshipping activity, in order to destroy the holiday. Spanish Catholics go to cemetaries, with a picnic, and commune with their dead loved ones, and give offerings to them. Many cultures brought their traditions to America, the celts and the Irish, to name 2. In the 60's, the holiday went back to the kids, with trick or treat. Now, the adults are having their own parties, Halloween is now the 2nd biggest corporate holiday, we consumers only spend more on Christmas.

Answer 4

Halloween has nothing to do with Christianity. The day after does, but only because the early church took over a pagan holiday.

Answer 5

Samhain was/is a pagan holiday. Halloween has little to do with Christianity. I think it was Pope Gregory III that made up the stories about devil worship and other nonsense.

There is nothing evil about Halloween/Samhain. It was/is about remembering ancesters and celebrating the harvest. It was actually the Christians that gave Halloween it's name though.

Answer 6

Yes, it is and so is Christmas and Easter. They were all taken from Pagans by the church in an effort to convert them to Christianity. Here are links for each with the true origins of the holidays.

http://www.history.com/minisites/halloween/viewPage?pageId=713

http://www.religioustolerance.org/easter1.htm

http://www.zenzibar.com/Articles/christmas.asp

Hey Techinical.......Thanksgiving is an American holiday revolving around the discovery of America.....Pilgrams, Indians......Anything ringing a bell?

Answer 7

It's more secular or rather commercialized like Valentines Day and XMAS when you get down to it).

Here's a story I wrote about it last year. If you check out the comment's section you can see where I argued (and wasted my time) with a Christian fundamentlist on the pagan roots of Halloween.

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?menu=c10400&no=255855&rel_no=1

Answer 8

It is. So are most holidays.

The early Christian church did not approve of these celebrations - even Christmas (Yule/Saturnalia)! But they serve an important psychological function, and frankly, were so much fun, no one would give them up. So they adopted with the holidays and added their own religious meanings.

I don't think it's a big deal, though. I'd rather our holidays unite what mankind has in common, rather than bicker over whose religion 'owns' what.

Answer 9

Before Christmas was Christmas, it was a pagan holiday. It was then made Christmas for Christianity.

Answer 10

Like many very old holidays (including when we celebrate christmas) they already existed when christianity came to their country, so the ended up merging.