Why do so many Christians seem to celebrate Halloween/Samhain?

Question

I don't understand why so many Christians celerbrate our Pagan festival. And, send their kids trick or treating...apparently it's a dare for the kids to knock on my door. The locals think I'm a witch...I wonder why?
I don't mind I like to see people having fun but it does seem a bit illogical. If not unChristian.

Answer 1

Christians don’t bother themselves with ‘trivial’ issues such as an I depth research on the history and principals of their religion otherwise they would know that the totality of their belief system is all pagan based.
May the Goddess shine upon you sister.

Answer 2

Halloween = All souls eve

It is a time of honoring those who have passed away during the past year. It is concurrent to an extent with the Pagan Samhain and the Christian all Souls Day.

Halloween was a night that transcended the rife between religions. In the last two centuries that has changed as some sects and denominations of the Christian Church have connected their Demigod Satan to the name Halloween.

To me, it is still a night for the Dumb Dinner and childrens' delight in becoming play ghosts--at least in the past--It is a time of the Jack-O-Lanterns to be spread over porch and tree.

Answer 3

As you doubtless know, the Christians overlapped their festivals over the old pagan ones. hallowe'en is,to christians, the Feast of All Hallows & all Saints. It was supposed to be the night when you prayed to all the saints and for all those who have died (the latter not so very far from the ancestral worship that originated this ancient fire festival).However, the original Samhain is rooted so deeply in our collective folk memory, that the events that took place on that night were never very Christian.
Interestingly, Beltaine, May Day, was always considered so pagan that they Christians didn't even try to change it, except for Oliver Cromwell who banned it. (Of course it came back later on.)
Interesting HALLOWEEN titbits-- there were no pumpkins in ancient Britain/Ireland, they possibly used turnips as jack o'lanterns. In celtic and pre celtic times they may have used real human skulls!
Jack o' lantern is actually the name of a kind of marsh fairy who leads wanderers to their doom in bogs.
In England Guy fawkes night,which was until recently, more celebrated than Halloween is likely to have absorbed many of the traits of the old festival. Burning 'the guy' for instance. Guy Fawkes was not burned and why would their be such huge celebrations for a failed criminal? 'the guy' can just mean 'a man', or be from 'guiser' (disguised one). He could symbolically be taking the 'sins of the community' away when being burned on the pyre.

Answer 4

I think they do it for the fun of it. I mean, what better way than to dress up as something you're not, go around showing it off, and get some candy in the meantime?

You're right though...it does seem very unchristian. Maybe they (like myself) have no qualms with going against their religion because they dont realy consider it all that important.
I recognize the importance of religion for some people, but I have become more like agnostic just because I dont feel the things going on in churches these days...seems like most people go to wash away their sins so they can do it all over again the next week..

Answer 5

For the same reason that many of the pagans and humanists I know celebrate Christmas: it's part of our society and it's fun. There's nothing in the Bible that says, "Thou shalt not dress up and obtain candy from thy neighbors," and I've always viewed the Christians that shrink away from it screaming about the devil as some of the most ignorant of the lot.

Some religious holidays are and will always be religious by their very nature: Easter, Ramadan and Passover, to name just a few. But in Western culture, others have become secular, and Halloween and Christmas are the major two. That isn't to say that they retain religious significance for some, but that for most, religious affiliation isn't absolutely necessary to participate.

Besides, who can resist the lure of costumes AND candy? :)

Answer 6

because originally paganism was the first religion and then people came and started pushing Christianity on everyone and it started a Hugh conflict between them but finally they made a compromise and mix the religions together which is now what we today call being Christan like for instance did you know that during Christmas the tree is actually a magical talisman (so to say) for new beginnings and the mistletoe is acculay a fertility talisman.

Answer 7

For the same reason people celebrate Dec. 25 as Jesus' birthday. They simply blindly believe what has been taught to them.... Halloween is just Halloween and not a "Pagan" celebration to many. Just a time to go out and buy costumes and collect candy, just as our commercial society dictates we should....yawn.

Answer 8

You came out of the attic to ask this? I must agree with you, it's odd, but then isn't anything connected with religion? It's a collection of conflicting rules at best.
Just as well burning at the stake has been abolished, at least, in most places!

Answer 9

i dont. my mom told me the history behind halloween and why it IS illogical and "unchristian." i've never been trick or treating and never will. it may seem like just fun on the surface, but its more than that to me.

Answer 10

I think it is because they do not understand the history of the "holiday." Some people know but they don't care, they think it is just for fun. It is really a holiday that honors Satan. I do not celebrate it and I never will.