Happy Halloween to all of the ghostly regulars of the Turley Blog! Despite the theory that Halloween is just a cry for help from my rotting soul, I love this holiday and the house is covered with our annual display of skeletons, webs, and spooky items. Our 8 foot pumpkin/witch joined the land of the spirits after ten years on upper balcony. (I found her hanging, deflated on the side of the house after returning from Tennessee last week). After a panicked run out to a distant rural county, I was able to secure a 7 foot talking witch who now oversees our cemetery scene with rising ghouls and a witch coven (with cracking caldron). It looks pretty cool with floating ghosts, flying witches, and a moving black cat among the tombstones.
As soon as night falls, we trigger the lightning machines (2) and thunder sound effects! It looks menacing with giant cob webs running from the roof to the yard and a flying six foot ghoul above the garage. Yes, I am one of those over-the-top parents.
The kids are adopting an assortment of handmade costumes and the haul should be good this year.
In one bizarre twist, Longfellow Middle School announced that it would hold a costume competition at lunch. However, in conformity with school policy, kids would not be allowed to wear hats, masks, carry any weapon-like object, or makeup. Otherwise, they should have fun. Of course, that makes the kid dressed as the hatless radish the winner again this year.
Have a great and tort-free Halloween!
OS,
I love the Pachabel Canon! Great stuff.
Mike S.,
I think I drowned my inner demons long ago during my college days! 🙂
that guitar was much better than the oiriginal.
We’ve got the modern interpretation of the classics. Now? The/a classic interpretation of the classics . . .
“We need an excuse for a Ceílídh? That’s the first I’ve heard of that.” (OS)
lol … that was priceless!
Must run, the parade starts at 2:30 and I have 17 trophies to transport … Tex is muttering but I’m ignoring him.
We need an excuse for a Ceílídh? That’s the first I’ve heard of that.
Here is a bit o’ music appropriate for Samhain. Lai is definitely not a Celt, being a Laotian refugee, but he would fit right in at a Samhain Ceílídh in a Glasgow pub.
Great link RWL. Leave it to the Irish and Scots to make up an excuse for a party!!
Mike S.,
From one Scorpio to another … release the inner demon!
It’s the only day we can, legally, show our true colors!
“Mike S.,
From one Scorpio to another … release the inner demon!”
Oy Blouise,
Scorpio I am and perhaps too often have I released my inner demon. 🙂
I will be going to the pre-school costume parade where I will be in-charge of awards. There are 15 5 year olds and, after much creative thought, exactly 15 “Best” catagories. This year I managed to come up with two additional categories, Best Imaginary Weapon and Best Imaginary Mask … those awards will go to the two teachers. 👿
Ooops! I forgot to add the website (giving credit where credit is due):
http://carm.org/halloween
Where did Halloween come from? Can a Christian celebrate it?
by Matt Slick
Halloween is celebrated by millions of people as a fun time for kids, putting on costumes, and going door-to-door to get candy. But it is also known as a time of witches, ghouls, goblins, and ghosts. On one hand, some see halloween as a harmless time of fun and on the other, a ghastly and demonically inspired night to be avoided.
As Christians, there is a lot of debate on whether or not we should participate in Halloween. Is it alright to go trick-or-treating? Can we dress our kids up in costumes on that day? If we do any of this, are we celebrating an evil holiday?
Halloween’s Origins
The word Halloween is derived from the term “All Hallows Eve” which occurred on Oct. 31, the end of summer in Northwestern Europe. “All Saints Day,” or “All Hallows Day” was the next Day, Nov. 1st. Therefore, Halloween is the eve of All Saints Day.
Apparently, the origins of Halloween can be traced back to ancient Ireland and Scotland around the time of Christ. On Oct. 31st, the Celts celebrated the end of summer. This was important because it was when animal herders would move their animals into barns and pens and prepare to ride out the winter. This was also the time of the crop harvests. This annual change of season and lifestyle was marked by a festival called Samhain — pronounced ‘sow-ane’ and means ‘end of summer.’ Sow rhymes with cow.
There was much superstition associated with this time of change including the belief in fairies, and that the spirits of the dead wandered around looking for bodies to inhabit. Since the living did not want to be possessed by spirits, they dressed up in costumes and paraded around the streets making loud noises to confuse and frighten the spirits away. In addition, the new year began for the Celts on Nov. 1. So, the day of Samhain was believed to be a day that was in neither the year past or the year to come. Since it was in between, chaos ruled on that day. Often, people would pull practical jokes on others as a result.
Later, around the 5th century, as the Catholic Church developed and moved into the area, instead of adding a new day to celebrate, it took over the Samhain celebration. Nov. 1st became “All Hallows Eve” where all the saints of the Catholic church were honored. A later custom developed where people would go door-to-door on Nov. 2, requesting small cakes in exchange for the promise of saying prayers for some of the dead relatives of each house. This arose out of the religious belief that the dead were in a state of limbo before they went to heaven or hell and that the prayers of the living could influence the outcome. This may have been the precursor to Trick-or-Treat.
The Jack-O-Lantern apparently comes from Irish folklore about a man named Jack who tricked the devil into climbing a tree. Once the devil was in the tree, Jack carved a cross on the trunk, preventing the devil from coming down. The devil then made a deal with Jack not to allow Jack into hell after Jack died if only Jack would remove the cross from the tree. After Jack died, he couldn’t go to hell, and he couldn’t go to heaven. He was forced to wander around the earth with a single candle to light his way. The candle was placed in a turnip to keep it burning longer. When the Irish came to America in the 1800’s, they adopted the pumpkin instead of the turnip. Along with these traditions, they brought the idea that the black cat was considered by some to be reincarnated spirits who had prophetic abilities.
So, it appears that the origins of Halloween are a mixture of old Celtic pagan rituals superstition and early Catholic traditions.
What does the Bible say about Halloween?
What does the Bible say about Halloween? Nothing. But it does speak concerning witches, the occult, and paganism.
Exodus 22:18, You shall not let a witch live.
Deut. 18:10-12, “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD…”
The Bible definitely speaks negatively about occultic practices, spirits, and witches and condemns not only the practice but also the people who are involved in it. As Christians, we are to have nothing to do with the occult. Tarot Cards, contacting the dead, séances, lucky charms, etc., are all unbiblical and can harm a Christian’s fellowship with God and open the Christian to demonic oppression. Most Christians know this and avoid these activities. But, the question still remains. Since there are ancient pagan connections and present occultic connections, what is the Christian to do?
Can the Christian celebrate Halloween?
The answer is simple: Yes and No. Let’s look at the negative first.
The Christian is not to be involved with or support the occult, witchcraft, demonism, or any other thing that uplifts the occult. To do so is to contradict God’s word, dabble in the demonic, and invite judgment from God. If a Halloween celebration is centered on demons, devils, spirits, etc., I would say don’t have anything to do with it.
On the other hand, it isn’t wrong to dress up in a costume and go door-to-door saying “Trick or Treat.” Provided that the costume isn’t demonic, I can’t see anything wrong with this. It’s just fun for the kids.
Take a look at the Christmas tree. It was originally an ancient fertility symbol. Yet, it has become a representation of Christmas and the place where gifts are placed. Are the Christians then paying homage to an ancient pagan fertility god? Not at all. They do not consider it pagan and are simply joining in a cultural event and giving no honor to anything unscriptural.
Think about this. In the Bible in 1 Cor. 10:23-33, Paul speaks about meat sacrificed to idols. This meat was often sold in the meat market and the question arose, “Should a Christian each such meat?”
Paul said in verse 25, “Eat anything that is sold in the meat market, without asking questions for conscience’ sake.” This is most interesting. He says it is okay to eat the meat bought in the market place even though that meat may have been sacrificed to idols.
Then in verses 28-29 he says, “But if anyone should say to you, ‘This is meat sacrificed to idols,’ do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake; 29 I mean not your own conscience, but the other man’s; for why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience?” (NASB). Paul is saying that if you find out the meat was sacrificed to idols, don’t eat it — not because of you, but because of the other person. In other words, eating that meat won’t affect you. But, it may affect the attitude of another who does not understand the freedom the Christian has in Christ.
Is it any different with Halloween (or Christmas)? No. Even though Halloween has pagan origins, because of your freedom in Christ, you and/or your kids can dress up in costumes and go door-to-door and just have fun. However, if you are not comfortable with doing this, then you should not. If you know of a person who would be hindered by doing it, then you shouldn’t either.
Have a fun Halloween everyone.
Halloween Bah Humbug!
Here’s your treat . . .
RWL,
From the Catholic Education Resource Center:
All Hallow’s Eve
MARY REED NEWLAND
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/civilization/cc0070.html
Exceprt:
One of the nicest surprises of living around the year with the Church is to find that Halloween is part of it.
Not that the Mass of the day has mention of black cats, or the Divine Office of witches, but for so long Halloween meant nothing but parties and vandalism that when someone first proposed that it came out of the liturgy, I asked: “Are you sure?”
You still hear people doubt it, even when you show them that Halloween is All-Hallows’-Eve which is the night-before-All-Saints’- Day. Some tell me they understand that Halloween pranks were a post-Reformation contribution to plague Catholics who kept the vigil of All Saints. Now it is possible that Halloween was abused for such a purpose; nevertheless, during all the Christian centuries up until the simplification of the Church calendar in 1956, it was a liturgical vigil in its own right and thus has a reason for being. Learning this, one pious lady of our acquaintance was heard to say: “Oh, I’m so glad to know that. I was about to write my congressman and suggest the whole thing be outlawed.”
Elaine,
I was trying to get Nick to do this, but you did it and some (as my daughter would say). Great article! Kinda spooky: ringing of the bell at night, praying for the dead, and in exchange for ‘treats’ one would pray for the household where one received the ‘treat’?
You must post a video of your house professor….. Of course without the embedding location….
RWL, Your point?
Happy Halloween!!
Nick,
Interesting. But care to elaborate what is All Saints Day of November 1st and how it ties into the ‘other meaning’ of Halloween?
Today begins the Day of the Dead celebration in the Mexican culture. I’ve gotten to know it from some Mexican kids I coached. It starts today w/ a ghoulish celebration. Tomorrow they celebrate the dead children in their family, the next day, the dead adults, tied in w/ All Souls and All Saints Days. It sounds strange, and it is, but not as strange as it seems. These are people that have experienced more death, particularly of children, than us. Losing a child is the worst and that makes tomorrow the toughest. But, these are resilient, positive people. Unlike our culture that has a truly weird attitude toward death, these folks take a few days to embrace the one thing we all share.
Dark tales from Banzai7’s crypt:
http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2013-10-30/quoth-raven