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Tears are the materials from which God weaves the brightest rainbows.Max Lucado
Oct. 31, 2006
Halloween...to celebrate or not...? 
Innocent fun, or inherently evil? That is the question we, as Christians, have been and should be asking ourselves about halloween. Is it a 'holiday' that God would want His children to participate in? I am not here to express my opinion or to try and sway you one way or the other. I am simply providing some historical background to the origins of halloween and some Biblical passages that I feel may help you, as a Christian family, to make a more informed choice as to whether or not you will participate in the festivities.
Historically, "halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in)....On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth....During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes.... By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday."( History.com)
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22
Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.
This verse tells us to test everything. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn't mean it must be okay. It doesn't mean it's not okay, but we are to use the knowledge and wisdom that God gave us in his word to discern for ourselves what is the 'good and acceptable will of God.'
3 John 1:11
Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.
I think you'll all agree that the world has a lot of practices that God does not want us to imitate, or condone; abortion, gay marriage, adultery, premarital sex, for example. Halloween may or may not fall into this category but it is worth considering in lieu of it's pagan origins.
Deuteronomy 18:9-14
When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 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, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
If your still not sure, be sure to check out Annie's Halloween Page for more explanations and scriptures about witches, witchcraft, sorcery, magic, evil, etc., as well as many links to different topical Bibles and commentaries.
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Oct. 31, 2006 - I agree!
 Posted by Fiffi Hello
I am SO with you.We do not celebrate this festival in any way! Thank you for a good post, may it make christians think about this ungodly festival in a new light!
Love Fiffi
Oct. 31, 2006 - THanks
Nice post today. I was hoping someone would have written about the origins. I don't like it for my own reasons. I am happy to say that my kids, and one of their friends are here tonight, hanging out with us,eating snacks and watching a kid show. My children aren't missing out on anything by not going door to door. You were right in leading others who may have questions. Sometimes, new believers just don't know what to do. It is so important to know what we believe, why we believe, who we are, and why or why not we do certain things.(or don't do certain things). Thanks again, and have a great night!!!
TJ
Oct. 31, 2006 - Congratulations!
Please contact me via an email with what name you would like on your Sig Tag and I will get it ordered for you :)
Thank you for participating with such a wonderful guess and for so many reasons behind it.
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