City Life Starter

I.  The Word: Ephesians 6:12:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

II. Questions

1. What is the origin of Halloween?
2. What are some of the pros and cons of celebratingHalloween?
3. How will you approach Halloween?

I love history, and since today is Halloween, I thought you might be interested in how Halloween came to be.

A long, long time ago, in a land far, far away, there lived a people named the Celts. The Celts originated in what is now Europe but migrated to what is today Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and parts of England. They later migrated from Ireland to Boston, Massachusetts where they founded an NBA franchise that would go on to win 17 championships under such greats as Bill Russell, John Havlicek, and Larry Bird.

The Celts believed in a spirit called Samhain, meaning “Lord of Death.” At the end of their year (October 31), they believed Samhain came to the earth to collect the spirits of all the people who died during the year and lead them to the afterlife. They also believed demonic spirits roamed the earth.

To appease the evil spirits, or trick them, the Celts would dress up in costumes and masks to look like demons, hoping the real demons would mistake them for one of their own and not destroy their crops or act in other uncivil ways toward them. Apparently, the Celts didn’t believe these evil spirits had good eyesight, or maybe they were like people today and didn’t believe at all what they were celebrating.

In the eighth century Pope Gregory III, in an effort to snuff out the pagan celebration, moved All Saints Day from May 13 to November 1, making October 31, “All Hallows Eve.” Unfortunately, this was about as effective as the Inquisition. Later the Irish version of English, as it is, resulted in “All Hallows Eve” being shortened to “Halloween.”  In the
1840’s, the Irish brought Halloween with them as they immigrated to the United States. Today, Halloween is the second biggest holiday in the United States in terms of money spent. Last year, Americans spent $8.4 billion on Halloween.

Christians take different approaches to Halloween. Some believe Halloween is a great opportunity to teach your kids about the importance of fear and inciting fear in others. It is true this will come in handy in adulthood as your kids learn to fear the loss of their jobs, failure of their marriages, and the inability to pay their debts. Learning about fear will become particularly helpful if they develop an anxiety disorder. If they are going to live in fear as adults, why not get them started early?

Of course, the whole concept of “trick or treat” is a great lesson for your kids in how to use threats and coercion to get their way. This will be useful as they attempt to climb the corporate ladder as adults. Maybe they hear their boss has recently gone to a strip club on the company credit card. With the valuable lessons they learn from Halloween, they will be well equipped to parlay that little piece of embarrassing information into a raise or promotion.

Halloween is also a great way to encourage a curiosity in your kids about the occult. After all, if Mom and Dad encouraged me to dress up like the devil or a witch, there must not be anything wrong with the whole occult thing, right?

Others believe the holiday can be redeemed and transformed for good.

Cindy and I do not have children, so I don’t want to tell you what you should do. I will tell you that we do not permit either of our cats to participate in Halloween, but that is a personal decision we have made after very little prayer.

So, there you have it: the history of Halloween and its pros and cons. If you have any other questions, please direct them to the Celtic’s front office in Boston.