Samhain and Halloween

The Armstrong Churches of God and Jehovah's Witnesses claim that Halloween is pagan in origin and should NOT be observed by "true" Christians. Is that true? Does our Halloween have its origins in the pagan Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced "sow-win")? AND Should Christians shun anything to do with the observance of that holiday? This post will attempt to answer those questions.

In support of their stance against "pagan" holidays, the favorite prooftext of the Armstrong Churches of God is found in the book of Deuteronomy. We read there: "These are the statutes and rules that you shall be careful to do in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place. You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way." (Deuteronomy 12:1-4, ESV) Moreover, a little later in the same book and chapter, we read: "When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it." (Deuteronomy 12:29-32, ESV)

So, there you have it - case closed! It is clear. God doesn't want his people adopting pagan practices in their worship of him! The PLAIN TRUTH is that God doesn't want his people adding to or taking away from what he has commanded them! Right? Not so fast!

Let's take a closer look at that passage from Deuteronomy. Question: To whom were these instructions given? Answer: The Children of Israel! Question: What pagan practices did God designate as unacceptable for the Israelites? Answer: Using the places where the former inhabitants of the Promised Land worshipped their gods! Also, in the latter passage, they were instructed NOT to worship God in the way that those nations who had lived there before them worshipped their gods! Moreover, notice that this passage also spells out that God hated the way they sacrificed their children as burnt offerings to their gods! Question: What commandments was God talking about when he instructed the Israelites not to add or subtract from them? Answer: The commandments that he was giving to THEM - Torah! In other words, these instructions were given to the Israelites to outline how God wanted THEM to deal with the religious practices of the former inhabitants of the Promised Land! This was also consistent with the commandments NOT to have any gods besides, before, or in place of THE GOD and NOT to make any idols to worship (images of gods). Moreover, students of Torah will also remember that God had given the Israelites instructions about a Tabernacle and a future central sanctuary for them to use in worshipping HIM (Deuteronomy 12:20-28 and 16:1-17). Likewise, we know that God gave the children of Israel specific commandments about a number of Holy Days which THEY would observe in their worship of HIM! (Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16:1-17)

Question: What do these instructions have to do with the Celtic peoples? Answer: Nothing! What do these instructions have to do with Christians? Answer: Nothing! Question: Who were they for? Answer: The Children of Israel!

Now, with that background in hand. We will turn our attention to the Celtic holiday which the ACOGs and Jehovah's Witnesses characterize as the forerunner of our modern Halloween. On the website Irish Myths, in their article titled A Brief History of Samhain, we read: "Samhain (“summer’s end”) marked the conclusion of one pastoral year and the commencement of the next. As an ancient Celt, you would have been keenly aware that the days were noticeably shorter during the Samhain season, as if the sun itself were in retreat. The world was darker. The harvest, over...So the ancient Celts did what any sensible people would do in the face of encroaching darkness: They shined a light."

Likewise, on the History.com website, in their article titled Samhain, we read: "Ancient Celts marked Samhain as the most significant of the four quarterly fire festivals, taking place at the midpoint between the fall equinox and the winter solstice. During this time of year, hearth fires in family homes were left to burn out while the harvest was gathered. After the harvest work was complete, celebrants joined with Druid priests to light a community fire using a wheel that would cause friction and spark flames. The wheel was considered a representation of the sun and used along with prayers. Cattle were sacrificed, and participants took a flame from the communal bonfire back to their home to relight the hearth. Early texts present Samhain as a mandatory celebration lasting three days and three nights where the community was required to show themselves to local kings or chieftains. Failure to participate was believed to result in punishment from the gods, usually illness or death."

A little further, in the same article, we learn that: "Because the Celts believed that the barrier between worlds was breachable during Samhain, they prepared offerings that were left outside villages and fields for fairies, or Sidhs. It was expected that ancestors might cross over during this time as well, and Celts would dress as animals and monsters so that fairies were not tempted to kidnap them. Some specific monsters were associated with the mythology surrounding Samhain, including a shape-shifting creature called a Pukah that receives harvest offerings from the field. The Lady Gwyn is a headless woman dressed in white who chases night wanderers and was accompanied by a black pig." Hence, we see that the Celtic mythology surrounding this festival associated it with the supernatural, and a time when evil forces might enter their world and work their mischief among them.

Question: Does any of that sound like our celebration of Halloween? Answer: Outside of the supernatural mythology, the festival sounds more like the fall harvest festivals of the ancient Israelites! After all, most Americans don't let the fires go out in their fireplaces during harvest time (the majority of homes don't even have fireplaces anymore), and they aren't in the habit of lighting a communal bonfire for the purpose of relighting their own extinguished home fires. Likewise, outside of young folks, I don't think that many modern Americans believe in fairies or monsters, and they certainly aren't disguising their children to protect them from being kidnapped by fairies!

Question: If we didn't get it from the Celts, where did this "Halloween" originate? Answer: The holiday is derived from the vigil for All Saints' Day. In the online version of the Catholic Encyclopedia, in their entry for "All Saints' Day," we read: "The vigil of this feast is popularly called 'Hallowe'en' or 'Halloween.' Continuing, we are informed that: "In the early days the Christians were accustomed to solemnize the anniversary of a martyr's death for Christ at the place of martyrdom. In the fourth century, neighbouring <sic> dioceses began to interchange feasts, to transfer relics, to divide them, and to join in a common feast ; as is shown by the invitation of St. Basil of Caesarea (397) to the bishops of the province of Pontus. Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all. The first trace of this we find in Antioch on the Sunday after Pentecost. We also find mention of a common day in a sermon of St. Ephrem the Syrian (373), and in the 74th homily of St. John Chrysostom (407). At first only martyrs and St. John the Baptist were honoured <sic> by a special day. Other saints were added gradually, and increased in number when a regular process of canonization was established; still, as early as 411 there is in the Chaldean Calendar a 'Commemoratio Confessorum' for the Friday after Easter. In the West Boniface IV , 13 May, 609, or 610, consecrated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs, ordering an anniversary. Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of St. Peter to all the saints and fixed the anniversary for 1 November. A basilica of the Apostles already existed in Rome, and its dedication was annually remembered on 1 May. Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration on 1 November to the entire Church. The vigil seems to have been held as early as the feast itself. The octave was added by Sixtus IV (1471-84)."

Now, with all of this history as evidence, we are forced to conclude that Halloween is a development of the Christian Era! Hold on! Jesus didn't say anything about honoring saints or martyrs! Question: Are you sure about that? Actually, the writings of the New Testament have a great deal to say about saints and martyrs being honored (See Revelation 6:9-11, 17:6, 20:4, I Thessalonians 3:13, 4:16, Jude 1:14, Revelation 11:18, 5:10, etc.). Question: Well, what about all of that stuff related to ghosts, witches, demons, and the like? Answer: Are you suggesting that all of those things are NOT mentioned in Scripture? Now, I'm certainly NOT condoning or suggesting that you dress up your children to look like demons and ghosts, but I think that we can all see that the superstitious paranoia of these folks is just a little overboard - a little pharisaical! Bottom line, observe Halloween or don't - it's up to you and your conscience, but don't try to pin your decision to shun it on God's commandment!