Is the real reason Christians dislike Halloween because it's one of the few Pagan holidays they didn't steal?

Answer 1

BINGO

Answer 2

Not all Christians dislike Halloween. Personally, I kinda like the day. :-) I was born on Halloween, so it's always been a party day for me. :-D

You are right. We didn't "steal" Halloween. Samhain falls on the day before "All Saint's Day" and is mostly celebrated the same way ancient Celts did. (jack-o-lanterns, masks and costumes, etc.) It got it's modern name from the Christian holiday and the number of Irish converts who continued to celebrate it after their conversions.

It is not an "evil" day, nor is it the "devil's holiday." And with the exception of falling the day before a feast day, has no significance in Christianity at all.

Personally, I feel we should let the kids have their fun and quit griping about it.

Answer 3

Hmm. I don't think they succeeded in stealing it because it was the only pagan holiday that I can think of that was specifically associated with death, the thinning of the veil between worlds, unlike Easter (Oestre) the coming of spring and rebirth being a happy theme to steal, etc. Samhain was always associated with the dark side of existence, and their are both the light and the dark. Perhaps Christianity didn't want to have a holiday that was associated seriously with death, or the dying of the days, because it is so afraid of death that it had to invent an afterlife, so it chose rather to LIGHTEN it by making it silly and nonsensical, so that the seriousness of the day, the passing into death, was changed into nonsense fun.

Oh boy, they thought, we don't have to take death seriously like the pagans do, since we are all going to heaven!

Perhaps. They have done a lot of strange stuff to our holidays.

just a thought.

Bright Blessings,
Lady Morgana )0(

Answer 4

Actually, they did steal it. They call Nov 1, All Saint's Day, except in Mexico where it's El Dio de los Muertos. The night before is All Hallows Eve, from which the name Halloween derives.

But the customs of Samhain, when the souls of the departed walk the earth and the Celts make their peace with the souls of their loved ones, while hiding from the souls of their enemies--and from the Wild Hunt which punishes evil souls in which a mortal who encounters it must join, survive sufficiently to remind people that the Christians DID steal it.

That's the part they hate.

Answer 5

It was the Roman Catholic church who adopted and "Christianised" certain Pagan holidays and also merged in many Pagan customs.

It is now so deeply entrenched that even most Protestant churches kept the holidays even though they got rid of most if not all of the other Pagan customs.

Jesus, the Apostles and Disciples and the Jewish Christians all celebrated the Jewish feasts and holidays and they continued to keep them after Jesus departed - they just changed the symbolism to make them Christian. This is probably what the church should have continued rather than turning to Paganism - but blame that on Rome because they wanted their State church to appeal to as many citizens of their multi-cultural empire as possible so they merged in popular Pagan holidays and practises.

The Bible however says:

"Learn not the way of the heathen"—those who don't know God's truth (Jeremiah 10:2, King James Version).

"Do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods . . . Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy 12:30-32).



A good argument for separation of Church and State I would think!

Answer 6

How America celebrates Halloween is about as close to the pagan holiday as modern Christmas is to the celebration of the birth of Christ.
In fact if you look into the transformation of the holiday, you will see that Christians DID take that holiday away from the pagans and made fun of it, by making fun of the devils, ghosts, witches...

Answer 7

No. They don't like anything that can be slightly misconstrued as being Pagan/Witchcraft. Little did they know that it was a celebration that the common people of that time created to frighten away evil spirits. People dressed in masks and set great bonfires to provide light all night so they would be safe.

Since then the candy companies took it over and our population is getting more obese. Burn the candy companies, they are the devil in disguise. Give us poor Pagans a rest for a change.

Answer 8

I didn't know that I disliked Halloween.

Should I add that to the list of things that I didn't know I believed and didn't believe in as a Christian until some whack job on yahoo told me?

Let's see, apparently I believe the Earth is only 6,000 years old and flat, don't believe in dinosaurs or evolution and am afraid of science, want a theocracy and...now I apparently don't like Halloween.

Answer 9

I don't think that can be it: you see, although the Celtic fire festival celebrated at the twilight of the year, popularly called Halloween, the Church in Europe a millennium ago celebrated three holy days called All Hallows' (Saints') Eve, All Hallows' (Saints') Day, All Souls' Day. Simple language usage eroded All Hallows' Eve into Hallows' Evening into Hallowe'en.

Any Roman Catholic catalog of holy days that dates to before Vatican II in 1964 (date?) will show these dates. I don't think they were affected by Vatican II, but I left the close-cousin Episcopal (Anglican) church in 1963, so I'm uncertain.

Samhain, or "Summer's End", like all the Celtic fire festivals, was traditionally a three-day festival. Just as their days began at twilight (dusk, not sunset), so their year began at the between-phase of the waning sun. (Our culture starts its days at midnight and its years winter solstice, apart from the Gregorian calendar reform; Jewish culture starts its days at sunset and its years at approximately the autumn equinox; the Romans began their day at sunrise and their year at the spring equinox; and the Chinese culture, which (begins to) celebrate its new year at the first new moon of the new year--I'll hazard a guess that it also starts its days at first light, before sunrise.)

So, Samhain begins at twilight of the first date, October 31, and was the start of their year. The whole festival is October 31, November 1, and November 2, if you use the calendar dates; the Celts probably celebrated on the nearest full or new moon.

Answer 10

lol.

just the notion that it's "of satan". and even if you were to explain the history behind it, it would still be considered "of satan".

several years ago, i ended up watching some preacher on tv telling everyone how halloween was a satanic holiday. he perpetuated the notion that witches are somehow of satan. then brung up the fact that we have 50 churches of satan in our state. as if the two are somehow related....

what is amazing is.... that this guy clearly did his homework! he's not exaggerating, he's lying! in this instance, halloween was clearly being used for "religious control", if you will.

Answer 11

I LOVE HALLOWEEN. My priest and I joke around about it. I'm 16 and very Catholic but Halloween has come a long way from what it was before. Halloween is a time to dress up and pretend to be something or someone that your not. It's supposed to be fun and a time to hang with friends. Not all Christians hate it...just the weird ones