This is Halloween...

This is Halloween...

 

The anticipation grows, the thought of sweet candies plucked into little mouths, smiles spread across their faces.  Is this the devil's holiday?  I think not.

 

Son Number One told me several kids in his class think that Halloween is the devil's holiday.  I can only think this is being spread by their churches, because we live in the South, and churches have a way of incorporating ideas into small children's heads.  (This is not always a bad thing). 

 

In the United States, Halloween is a secular holiday.  The point of the holiday is for children to go door to door in cute costumes and gather candy.  Can you see the devil in these children?  Ha-just kidding. 

 

 

 

Where did Halloween come from?  All sources point to a 2000 year old Celtic tradition, called the Festival of Samhain.  Halloween comes at the time right between Fall and Winter, where coldness is coming in, concepts such as life and death were being addressed, and the lands will soon be fallow.  The Celts dressed up in costumes and lit bonfires to ward off bad spirits or ghosts, probably as a way to seek protection for the coming harshness of the winter.  Also, a pagan holiday, and nothing to do with the devil. 

 

Later in the 8th Century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as All Saint's Day.  This is a day to celebrate saints and martyrs.  October 31 became All Hallows' Eve, which eventually turned into the secular holiday of Halloween.  In Latin America, All Saint's Day is called the Day of the Dead, in which the people honor their deceased relatives. 

 

Pull out the candy, and get ready for trick or treaters...

 

Happy Halloween!!!