I. What about Halloween?

a. Halloween is seen today as a time of dressing up, decorating homes, parties, and wrapping houses

b. These customs are rooted in pagan religious practices observed since before the time of Christ.

c. Present day Satanists and witches still consider Halloween to be the ideal time of the year to

i. Cast certain spells

ii. See into the future

iii. Communicate with dead friend & relatives

II. A Brief History of Halloween

a. Initially called “Samhain” by the Celts

b. Samhain survived the “Christianization” of Britain

i. The church moved its observance of All Saints Day to honor the saints from May to November 1

ii. This day was called All Hallows Day

iii. The day before was called All Hallows’ Eve or “Hallow-een”

iv. The Celtic customs were brought to America primarily by Irish immigrants in the mid 1800’s

c. Two-fold purpose for Samhain

i. Give proper respect to the spirit world

ii. Assert their own rights to life and prosperity in the physical one

d. Religious ceremonies of the “Druids” (Priestly caste of the Celts)

i. Protect crops, herds, and flocks from demonic influence

ii. Appease supernatural powers

iii. Animal and human sacrifices sometimes played a part

iv. Sacrifices provided a means of divination as well as appeasement

e. On Halloween, the Celts believed that the veil between the spirit and natural world is thinnest. Evil spirits and the dead roam about.

f. People would dress up to confuse the evil spirits who were sent to plague them

g. People would put jack-o-lanterns on their porch to scare away evil spirits

h. Spirits that came to the house had to be appeased with a gifts (“Trick or treat”)

i. Bobbing for apples: Sign of a lucky year

j. Bon fires: Communication with the dead (hearth spirits)

k. Animal Sacrifices roasted on the bonfire for feasting

l. Roasting nuts in the Samhain fire: To find out who they would marry

m. Best time for divination: Fortune telling, séances, appeasing evil spirits, etc.

n. To modern day witches and Satanists, Halloween basically means the same thing as it did to their predecessors.

i. “gods” are cosmic forces, or manifestations of man’s own nature and characteristics

ii. Communion with the dead, divination, feasting, humor, and affirmation of life are still important

iii. Recognition of the coming reign of the Lord of Misrule---especially for Satanists

o. Three main important Satanic holidays

i. Your own birthday

ii. Walpurgis Night (April 30)

iii. Halloween (October 31)

p. Sacrifices celebrate both life and death

III. The Christian Response

a. 1 Corinthians 8:4-13 Give no reason for stumbling

b. 1 Corinthians 6:12 Everything is lawful, but not all things are helpful

c. Hebrews 12:1 Lay aside every weight and the sin that easily besets us

d. Acts 17:29-30 “Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art or man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands men everywhere to repent, becausfe He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

e. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (KJV) “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”

f. Ephesians 5:11 “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.”

g. 1 Corinthians 10:14-22 The table of the Lord vs. the table of demons

h. Do not participate

i. Christian alternatives as a witness