What is Halloween (or Witches’ Day):
Halloween, also known as Witches’ Day, It is a popular celebration of worship of the dead traditional of Anglo-Saxon countries.
The word Halloween, as such, comes from the English expression All Hallow’s Evewhich means “All Souls’ Eve.”
Halloween party It is celebrated during the night of October 31the eve of All Saints’ Day, a religious holiday in some countries.
Halloween has its origins in Ireland, in the Celtic rites of the end of the harvest season. From there it went to the United Kingdom, from Europe the celebration moved to the United States, and since then it has become popular in Latin America.
See also All Saints’ Day.
Halloween symbols
On Halloween, many symbols are used with different meanings. The main ones are pumpkins with a malevolent expression with a fire inside, witches, black cats, ghosts, skulls and costumes.
In addition, there is a tendency towards spooky decoration to create a mysterious atmosphere, with candles, spider webs, bats, owls and scarecrows.
The main reason why these characteristic symbols of terror are used is for protection: to repel evil spirits that during these dates are believed to visit the world of the living.
See also 12 Halloween symbols that you can’t imagine what they mean.
Origin of Halloween
The Halloween festival is of Celtic origin, who anciently celebrated a festival known as Samhain, which we can translate into Spanish as ‘end of summer’, and which marked the end of the harvest season and the Celtic new year.
The Samhain Festival was celebrated every year at the end of the month of October, coinciding with the autumn equinox.
It was said that during this night the spirits (both good and bad) returned to visit the living, which is why a set of rituals was created around this belief.
Hence, for example, the use of candles, which help spirits find their way, or costumes, which allow protection from evil spirits.
Halloween traditions
There are many traditions associated with the celebration of Halloween. One of the most popular customs is known as trick or treatwhich in Spanish translates ‘trick or treat’ or ‘trick or treat’.
Trick or treat It is a game that consists of children, dressed in costumes and carrying a basket, going door to door to ask for candy.
They offer two options to the opener: a trick, which involves a threat or curse, or a treat, which usually consists of candy.
Therefore, on these dates, families have candy or any other treat in their homes to please children on Halloween night.
Halloween in the Bible
In the Bible, the celebration of Halloween is not contemplated, since this is a pre-Christian pagan festival (that is, prior to the appearance of Christianity), celebrated by the Celts in Ireland.
This celebration is associated in the Christian imagination with the practices of witchcraft, spells and divinations, with the invocation of the dead and with satanic rituals, which is clearly condemned in the Bible:
“There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, nor one who practices divination, nor one who casts omens, nor one who casts spells, nor one who casts spells, nor one who casts spells, nor one who enchants, nor one who soothes, nor one who consults the dead. For everyone who does these things is an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives out these nations from before you.”
Deuteronomy, 18: 10-12.
In this sense, the Halloween party is firmly condemned by Christianity, and its celebration is considered such an offense that it prevents anyone who practices it from entering the kingdom of God:
“And the works of the flesh are manifest, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, enmities, strife, jealousy, wrath, strife, dissensions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. are; “About which I warn you, as I have told you before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Galatians, 5: 19-21.