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Just a comment on your Halloween "Myths, Monsters & Devils" page: you reference Margadonna as saying All Saints Day is observed by (among others) Lutherans, and go on to include the church vigil of the Eve. As one raised Wisconsin Synod Lutheran, I wanted to share with you a slightly different viewpoint. In my childhood, All Saints Day seemed nothing more than a section in the hymnal ... this wasn't something the Lutheran church made much of (the time frame here includes mostly the 1970's). The big celebration was indeed October 31, but it had nothing to do with either secular Hallowe'en or All Hallow's Eve. It was the day of the Reformation ... the celebration to honor Martin Luther's break from the Catholic church. It was such a point of irritation to us children .. we couldn't trick or treat because we had to go to church that night! I recall being very envious of my friends of other Protestant denominations.
As for my adult religious perspective, I am not a member of Christendom in any of its facets, sects, or denominations. As others who've written mention, I find it vastly amusing (and the height of hypocrasy!) that so many "good Christians" who disdain Hallowe'en are perfectly happy to celebrate all of the other pagan holidays! Since the matter has been well-researched by scholars, I see no point in elaborating ... although I am *still* waiting for one of these "good Christians" to tell me what bunnies and eggs have to do with Christ's death ... and why the holiday itself is named for an ancient fertility goddess!
Thank you for compiling a most interesting & amusing site.
Angel
The name of your host of your website is very fitting Illusions, for that is exactly how Satan uses people He gives the illusion that he does not exists or that Christians have given wrong information over the years therefore they can not be trusted or believed. I found your note on if I were the devil quite interesting, you say there is no devil, or act like there is no devil, and yet you go into detail His plan for this world! That's His game to keep us in the dark for just as Jesus said He is the Father of liars and that's all he can do is lie. You do have some good points about the fact that humans can be cruel to each other in the name of God. However this does not mean that God's love for us, His children. has changed one bit. You are right in saying that we do have a choice in life to do what we may, but God wants us to choose Him. If you have read down this far I will continue to pray for you and that God would show you how much he loves you even to the point of death on the cross for your sins. remember if you were the only person on earth Jesus would have still died for you. One thing man's ideas and philosophy can not stop is prayer.
S. Lazaravich
Thanx,
Kendall Kadatz
Program Director
Camp Chestermere
Chestermere, Alberta, Canada
My name is Chris Nauta. I am a lay leader for a contemporary worship service at Glen Burnie United Methodist Church in Maryland. Next week we will be discussing how Christians should celebrate Halloween. Since I will be giving the message, I have been doing research into the history of the holiday. What I found was many different and alarming histories of Halloween. I started to come to some conclusions and was happy to find your site. Your research documents the thought's that I had - that most of the 'alarmist' information was, in fact, incorrect (and probably intentionaly created by the early church!).
I want to commend you on a job well done! Faith and ignorance should not go hand in hand!
I would also like to reqest reprint permission from you. I would love to print out all of the information you have and hand it out to go along with my message. Is there any chance that there exists a more printer-friendly version of your text?
I thank you for your time and for your well researched, well documented text.
God Bless!
Chris Nauta
Finding your information was a delight! I wish I had the time and/or discipline to research the subject as extensively as you have.
For all who call themselves Christians - I would recommend visiting www.halloweenoutreach.com It's a website offering a way to spread the Good News on Halloween
God bless you!
Heather Savickas
Lawton, OK
I can't tell how much I appreciate all the GREAT research you've done on Halloween. I love how knowledgeable you seem to be on this subject, not to mention your demand for respect that seems very deserved. Okay, okay so I didn't write JUST to tell you how great I think you are. Though I was very impressed by all of your research, I must say I was a bit overwhelmed. I hope this doesn't make me sound too idiotic but I simply couldn't take in all of what you were communicating. I am very, very curious about Halloween, it's origin, the myths, truths, untruths, etc. I was raised in the Christian church, celebrated Halloween like everyone else and was then told not to by some other church goer who must have read every track on Halloween and who is quite the "condemner" if you know what I mean, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, the point of my writing you was to compliment you and to also ask, if by any chance you could put together some sort of a summary (one page or so, maybe in chronological order) that someone like me (a sophomore in college who knows what old english, middle english, Beowulf, and who Chaucer is but who is not very knowledgeable in historical/territorial matters) could easily understand and explain to others in my quest to proclaim the truth about Halloween.
Thank you very much for all your hard work, any response would be welcomed and appreciated!! Thanks Again,
Lisa StarksI was going to answer Lisa in e-mail, but then I thought that my answer might be better here:
Lisa, you are attending a college. There's probably quite a good library there that will have all the information you need. I could write up a little precis of the information in this page, but you would do better for yourself to make notes on what you don't understand and then go find more information on it in the college library. You'll learn a LOT more that way, and you will learn about a very critical thing: History.
Why is that critical? Well, to paraphrase an aphorism: "Those who know history are not condemned to repeat it."
And one could also quote the late Robert Heinlein: "A generation that does not know its own history has no past .... and no future."
You will also have a chance to do something that many people ( too many! ) do not have the chance to do: make up your own mind, and reach your own decision. This is IMPORTANT. Don't let others make up your mind for you .... not even me ..... but do it FOR YOURSELF.
I appreciated your information and the way in which you presented it. I am requesting permission to reprint your article that I may it to further research on my own.
Thanks,
Natalie Hannans
Youth Pastor
Faith Outreach Life Center, Georgia
Ed Barr
Your site on Halloween was an eye-opener for me. I appreciate your fairly consistent unbiased explanation. I grew up in strict Christian Fundamentalist circles, but it took me a while to understand why I was unhappy and what exactly bothered me. Sometimes truth is a slow dawning instead of a bolt of lightning.
The Jack Chick books had a big impact on me as a child, and I always believed that they were true. I had never heard or read otherwise. The image of the girl being taken from her castle was one that has stayed in my mind for years. I am still in the process of relearning many doctrines because what I had spent so many years studying was based on tradition and human error.
I say all that to tell you that your explanation of what Christ's love is not and what it should be is absolutely correct. So many people are more comfortable with exclusion, hatred and fear than with love like Christ had. Well, I could go on and on, but I wanted to make sure that you knew what a blessing your explanation was! My next dilemma is- how can I get more people (at my Baptist church) to understand that much of what they have been taught and what they believe has been tainted by man's tradition and is often opposite of what the Bible really says? Hmmm... I have been working on it, but it takes time.
God bless you and have a great day!
B. Bohler
I came upon your page in search of a more informed history on Halloween. I can't say that I got it. Please allow me to ramble for a moment.
Although I have chosen this year to participate in an alternative program, we have in the past participated on a "lite" version. For instance: No gouls, witches, devil, ect. I carved a cross or fish on my Jack-O-Lantern. More of a focus on the harvest.
I suppose that as my walk with the Lord has progessed, little by little He has been replacing ways of my old life with new. It is a personal choice for me.
Also, my 11 year old daughter is becoming old enough to understand and make decisions for herself. Previous years all she wanted was to "trick or treat". I felt that if I were to prevent her from something she was so bent on would do more harm then good..."pick and choose battles". This year she asked me," if I go Trick-or-Treating would it be OK with God?" I told her to ask Him. She replied,"I did but He didn't answer". I told her to ask him again... and this time wait and listen for his reply. She paused for a few moments and said reluctantly..."He said not to go". Now you might think that she made that decision based on what I have told her. Partially true...but I believe there is more. You see she has for a long time had a special relationship and understanding with the Lord. As she has grown, certain realities of life have been revealed to her. She has chosen for the most part to try and live her life according to God's will. Yes she rebells like any child, but she quickly regroups and "chooses" to seek forgivness. She is my inspiration.
As for your web page, there was bit of information I wished to say. I believe that St. Patrick was the one who "Invaded" Ireland with a diluted version of Christianity to introduce the gosple while compromising the Word of God by allowing provisions for pagan rituals. I'm not against Catholics per se. However I have had a personal conviction to not water down power the gospel with pagan rituals, ie. prayer to Saints, who are only dead people who during their time on earth loved and served the Lord. There are many other "man made" rituals/doctrines/creeds found in the Catholic/Lutheran and even in my own church, Presbyterian, ect. that I believe are actually detrimental to Christianity on a whole. Yet the Jesus loves the Church! I love Phil Keaggy and Sheila Walsh's rendition of "Jesus Loves the Church" Check it out on Phil's self titled album. When I find a perfect church I'll let you know...but don't hold your breath.
Anyway, to wind things up, time is short.
The harvest is plenty,
The workers are few.
Make every moment count.
God Loves you,God Bless,
Patti Keegan <><
Your research on the subject is most appreciated. Thank you for the time and effort you made in collecting this information.
I will not reproduce your work tomorrow, but may mention your website so that others may check this out for themselves.
You might find it interesting to note that the Catholic Encyclopedia notes that the idea of an ALL SAINTS DAY first emerged in Antioch and was celebrated on the Sunday following Pentecost. Perhaps you already knew that. If your interested, the link to this information is:
http://newadvent.org/cathen/01315a.htm
Have a nice weekend, and a happy Halloween,
Shawn
Michael J. McMillan
By the way, are you an Irishman, an American or both? Just curious.
Mark Brady
Minnesota, USA
Thanks again!
Barbara
Thanks,
Stephen Sprague
Cortland, Ohio
I thought that you might be interested in the myths surrounding Halloween as I was taught at school in Scotland in the 1950's and 1960's. As you know, November 1st is All Saints' Day or All Hallows' Day. Hallowe'en is Scottish dialect for Hallows' Eve. As November 1st is such a powerfully sacred day, evil spirits are unable to venture abroad and consequently are more abundant during the night prior to All Saints' Day. It is therefore prudent to protect yourself against them and this is done by disguising yourself, preferably as a witch or kelpie (water sprite) or some such thing so that any evil spirit will think you are one of them and leave you alone! (I always think that is rather quaint!). We always hollowed out a turnip to make a lantern, which we called a 'tumshie'. We were taught that the face on the tumshie should be really horrific so that it cast a hideous illusion and would help to keep evil away and thus protect us.
Therefore I always believed (until I met some people with strange ideas in Australia!) that Hallowe'en, and the custom of dressing as a witch or somesuch, was not a celebration of evil but a time when you used tricks and subterfuge to protect yourself against evil - a very different interpretation of the tradition!!
Just a couple of points that I wish to bring to your attention. In his poem, "Hallowe'en", the Scottish bard, Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) describes a rural scene in Scotland on the night of Hallowe'en. None of the modern customs are described, although nuts and apples are mentioned and there was an acceptance that it was a night when strange things occurred.
In Scotland, black cats are considered to be lucky and I have seen people cross a street to place themselves in the path of a black cat to obtain good luck!! This does not support Margadonna's statement about black cats and their association with witches. In fact, it was generally accepted in Scotland that the devil appeared in the shape of a dog! In his poem "Tam o' Shanter", Burns describes an encounter with a witches' coven. He describes the devil in the following manner:
"There sat auld Nick in shape o' beast;
A tousie tyke, black, grim and large"In English -
"There sat old Nick, in shape of beast:
A shaggy dog, black, grim and large"This begs a couple of questions. Why was the devil commonly referred to as old Nick? (Perhaps you can shed some light on this for me?) And why are black cats and not dogs associated with modern Hallowe'en?
With regard to 'trick or treat'. I am unaware of the origin of this but believe that my parents were carrying out this practice as children in the 1920's. Certainly by the 1950's it was well established but at that time in Scotland held none of the threatening behaviour now associated with it. We did not call it 'trick or treat' but 'guising' (because we were in disguise). On going to somebody's house (usually a neighbour) we gave them the choice of 'trick or treat'. If they chose a trick then we had to entertain them with tricks employing cards, string, sleight of hand (always amateurishly fumbled!) etc or tell a joke. If they chose a treat, then the entertainment had to take the form of a song or poem. We were then rewarded with a piece of fruit and some nuts. I well remember the excited practising of various routines prior to Hallowe'en!!
Parties at Hallowe'en consisted of two traditional games - bobbing (or 'dooking') for apples and nuts and treacle scones. I have never seen or heard any reference to the latter in any of the material about Hallowe'en. Large flat scones, containing treacle, were prepared specially and then cut into quarters. Each quarter was liberally spread with treacle and then suspended by a piece of string from the kitchen pulley (a device for drying clothes inside, consisting of 4 wooden poles on a pulley system that could be raised and lowered from the ceiling as needed). The string was carefully adjusted for each individual until it was at mouth height. The challenge was to eat the scone, dripping with treacle, without using hands. Of course, one of the adults would swing the pulley to make it a little bit harder. Trying to duck the swinging scones and eat them at the same time caused much hilarity, with hair, face and clothes ending up covered in treacle. I remember that the family dog would always get in on the act, trying to lick up the treacle on the floor! Absolute bedlam but great fun to a young child!!
Well, I've reminisced for long enough. Thank you once more for your terrific site. I am now inspired to conduct some more research through a study of other, older Scottish writers to see if I can find any more references to cats or dogs as familiars of the devil or witches!! I would welcome any comments you care to make about the items I've covered here.
Yours in friendship
Linda
I consider stumbling across your site a divine intervention. I was researching the topic of Halloween a year ago for a young adult bible study. Most of the material I collected up to that point was exactly what your research refuted. Unfortunately (and fortunately), I realized that several of the sources that I thought were reputable and had done well balanced research had not. Once again the Lord showed me through your site that Christians must "test everything," and, "hold on to the good" (1 Thess 5:21), even if we believe the sources to be trustworthy.
I would like to ask permission to use some of your information. I am a young seminarian in upstate New York (USA) and as part of my training I am involved in the Singles Ministry and teaching adult Sunday school (Discipleship University) at my home church http://bcconline.org/. The information would be used in these areas. Thank you for your consideration.
Peace and Grace of our Lord Jesus be with you,
Brian E. Haak
Pastoral Intern
Browncroft Community Church
Anyway it all seems a tempest in a tea pot to me. People are going to believe what they want to in spite of reality. I am a Christian as opposed to being A CHRISTAN DAMN YOU!!!! and I work at Dracula's Castle in Salem Mass.
By the way is that witch against the tree yours?? I want one of them in the worst way but never get around to doing it. I used to do another Haunted House and was the ride to and from it for a Wiccan who lives near me. I kept rubbing it in when we went by the witch on the tree near home. My Wiccan tried to get angry but the damn thing is just too funny.
Good Page.
Regards
AL
I have just read your Halloween pages and I'd like to say "Thanks".
Thank you for being a source of information (as opposed to "disinformation") on the internet. A rare thing indeed.
Thank you for not using your beliefs as a shield but rather a springboard to curiosity.
Thank you for realizing that history isn't static. While we have to be careful about applying our current ideals and practices to past events, that does not mean that all changes in historical knowledge are "revisionist".
I love Halloween! It is one of the few times in the year where we can dress up and act goofy without consequence. A person might even give you a compliment on your costume. There are no ceremonies, rituals, or obligations except for one: give candy to kids. Oh, and have a ball.
(Note: I do not hold with vandalism in any way. I mean *fun* not destruction.)
Here's to the next crop of monsters and ballerinas,
Lynette :>
Surrey, BC, Canada
You state that if I contact you first, then I may link to and reprint your page. It is with sincere thanks for your hard work and study, and for your generosity, that I ask to use your page in this manner.
Yours in Guiding
Abigail Phillips
I have a christian site and started creating a page on halloween and christians around 2 months ago.. It is not quite completed, will be by Sept 1st. but here is the main url for my site:
How refreshing! Thank you for the informative piece on Halloween. I am requesting a reprint of your site, to be shared with the folks at my church, Saint James Episcopal Church, Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania.
Thank you for your consideration.
Kathy Callaway
Just wanted to tell you what an incredible infusion of Life and Godliness was your extended meditation on Halloween. I'm a charismatic Christian, and also a professional magician, with an 11-year old son who's also magic mad, and likes to go out trick-or-treating! I think you can probably imagine the scope for ecclesiastical controversy there...
I'd just finished turning pale grey after reading one of the classic scare-mongering sites, when I found yours. So wonderful to see a believer using his brain in this way, dismantling the rusty old terror tales link by link. "The Truth shall set you free" indeed. Oh Lord, deliver us from dumbness! And isolation - I've heard plenty over the years about how 31st Oct is Party Time for the satanists (and I still believe it) - but never anything about the simultaneous vigil of Catholic Christians preparing for All Saints Day. What a difference that makes!
I do believe that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and the only problem with confronting ignorant fundamentalism which I have encountered, is similarly ignorant 'anything-goes'-ism from Christians more concerned to be cool than to be Godly. I'm delighted to find this tendency wholly absent, from your wonderfully balanced piece. May the Ancient of Days (Halloween included) continue to bless you with His wisdom and love.
Yours in Christ,
Ian Carpenter
(Secretary, Bath & Bristol Magic Socs.)
God bless,
~*Adriana*~Thanks, Adriana! Permission is gladly granted!
Jesus said, "By their fruits you will know them". Your quotation of Colossians 2:16-17 relating to the celebration of Halloween is either out of ignorance, or dishonesty. Since Paul wrote this letter to counteract the spread of a Colossian heresy of rigid asceticism which prescribed adherence to Old Testiment Hebrew customs and feasts, it's application to Halloween is totally in error. The feasts and festivals referred to by Paul were all feasts established to worship and honor God -- they were a foreshadowing of fulfillment of Gods promises in Christ. Regardless of where you stand in your belief or disbelief in Christianity, you are wrong in using God's Word to attempt to justify a holiday that for many people is an excuse to put on evil related costumes and get drunk -- neither of which is honoring to God. Your use of this quotation also calls into question your scholorship, which you seem to be very proud of. Sorry if this sounds harsh -- but it is the truth.
May God Bless You,
Greg McCroskery
Terrible to assume that it is a Mr who wrote the article, however, forgive me if I am incorrect! I have enjoyed reading your site and would like to use the information in my Care group at school. I am a Christian who finds herself in a non-Christian school where Halloween is going to be in full swing soon! I want to know the facts so that I can speak from some 'learned' point of view. May I print the information given on your site please?
Can you reply asap as I need to prepare.
Thanking you for such interesting reading.
Regards
Debbie Dakers
Queensland, AustraliaThanks, Debbie! Permission is gladly granted!
Love in Christ,
Michele Johnston
P.S. The scrolling scriptures were awesome!
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