People celebrate the ancient pagan festivals for the dead, by holding Halloween parties, taking part in the activities of fortune telling, hearing ghost stories and involving themselves in games of superstition. People take part in these pagan traditions perhaps unaware of their origin, although the symbols attached to the event are easily read, even by children who actually get frightened.

October 31st - Festival of New Year when spirits return to their home - Witches worship, the celebration of Jack O' Lanterns, and fortune telling.

November 1st - All Saint's Day - Roman Catholicism prayers for all deceased saints, from which the Halloween Celebration got its name, after the Mass held on November 1st, All Hallowmas. All Hollow Eve was the previous evening.

November 2nd - All Soul's Day - accepting gifts from neighbours in exchange for prayers to their dead relatives who they think are in purgatory.

These festivals are not Christian, but the Roman Church allowed the continuation of these events, and has encouraged them.

Halloween is a pagan celebration that takes place yearly on the day of October 31st. It developed from ancient festivals of the Celtic New Year religious ceremonies of the dead.

The Halloween Festival is a three-day fiendish celebration, of which sincere Christians should play no part.

Halloween is formed by the celebration of three pagan festivals and has been perpetuated on society for the huge financial gain to be made, which is a billion-dollar market.

Paganism and Christianity merging together is not the plan or the will of God. When the Israelites conquered a heathen city or pagan country, they were warned severely not to adopt pagan rules or objects among Israel. The early Church after Christ's resurrection was also told not to attend any pagan festivals, for such things are an abomination to God.

Australia is beginning to embrace the American Halloween Celebrations, which were originally not popular among the American forefathers because of their sincere religious beliefs for 200 years. By 1800 A.D. due to the influx of Irish migrants to America, the people began to accept and participated in Halloween customs. Since Halloween reached the shores of America, it now has a far-reaching audience of participants throughout the world.

At Halloween, parents allow their children to dress up as genuine occult characters, which include witches, wizards or druids that bring dishonour to God.

Halloween involves the practice of witchcraft, sorcery, spiritualism, contacting the dead and divination. Many satanic groups consider Halloween their special day to entreat the devil. The Bible remains clear that the devil is behind all forms of the occult, which includes the power behind witchcraft. These practices are to be avoided by Christians.

This revelry is a very serious observance for any occultic practice. Many people get involved in the occult on this occasion. In America, Halloween is accompanied by a psychic fair and The Voodoo Museum offers visitors a taste of a Halloween voodoo rite. They may observe the real cursing ceremony.

The Bible declares all false religions are by definition involved in demon worship, whether participants realise it or not.

It is common for children to play with an Ouija board and attempt to contact spirits on Halloween. It is very well noted today that since the latter part of the last century, this organised event is regarded as a time for working charms and spells.

This was a night of belief that evil spirits roamed freely. Treats were also given in honouring the spirits, for they feared that the evil spirits might do harm. Trying to appease the spirits is superstition.

One of the established churches in Europe is noted for celebrating October 31st as The Festival for Protestant Reformation, to override the festival of the dead.

Non-Catholics continue to dress up as a character of a famous deceased person and have games for entertainment, this is done so those children do not feel left out of the 'worldly' event. This is compromising the sincerity of discipleship.

Halloween is associated with real occult activity and has proven that satanic practises are popular, deceiving many. Its influence leads to fascination of spirits and genuine modern witchcraft that continues on in people's daily lives.

Demons have a vested interest in Ouija boards and fortune telling, because it supports the occult and offers a novel manner for demons to influence people. The reason for evil spirits to contact people is to convince them that there is no hell, if there is no hell there was no reason for Jesus to be the Saviour of mankind. This is the goal that is to be achieved by demons, to teach the opposite to The Truth of the Bible.

Witchcraft is the most common theme of The Halloween Anniversary. It offers realms of mystery and excitement. It may look like an innocent adventure but witchcraft is sinister and evil.

Halloween is used by witches to teach children that witchcraft is good and witches can help people by healing them. Witchcraft is a religion of the occult and it seeks help from demons for power.

The hollowed out pumpkins with a face cut into one side contain light, usually by a candle placed inside. This is called a Jack O' Lantern. This custom was primarily English and Irish, but has become a well-known popular symbol connected to the carnival, and is displayed publicly.

The pumpkin lanterns are named after a legend of a man called Jack, an Irish man who apparently could not enter Heaven for being too miserly. Neither, as the myth continues, could he enter Hell because he had played jokes on the devil. As a result, Jack was doomed to walk the earth holding his lantern until Judgement Day.

More than 2,000 years ago on November 1st, a pagan New Year's festival, celebrated the previous evening, throughout Europe to honour Samhain, the pagan Celtic lord of death. People believed on this night, October 31st that Samhain, the lord of the dead allowed the souls of the dead to return to their earthly homes for the evening. This is the source of the present day Halloween (Hallow evening) celebration.

Pagan priests lit community bonfires, in which they burnt both animal and human sacrifices. From these fires, each family relit their private fires in their own dwellings; this also was an important time for costumes and fortune telling.

It was also believed that on October 31st, throughout Europe, all witches met to worship the devil and spirits roaming the earth. These are symbols still for the Halloween Celebrations.

Fortune Telling is a very important part of Halloween and has been throughout Europe for hundreds of years. People today use the pagan technique of card reading or palmistry in addition to the original traditions and superstition methods. This too is all detestation to God and should be shunned by Christians.

The Roman Empire conquered these European countries and added a fruit and nut festival and continued to honour the dead, which lasted under the Romans for 400 years. This was continued by the Roman Catholic Church as All Saints' Day.

In the year 810 A.D. The Roman Catholic Church established All Saint's Day on November 1st, to allow the people to continue to celebrate festivals they had previously celebrated, prior to conversion and pray to the dead. It is also called The Feast of the Holy Martyrs. It is a day of obligation and all Roman Catholics must attend.

The pagan custom became part of a Roman Church Holy Day. Halloween is also known as All Saints Eve.

The Church also honoured the dead on November 2nd known as All Soul's Day. Another on going abhorrence by God. On All Soul's Day prayers were to be said to the Roman Catholic Virgin Mary, who is supposed to have the power to release the suffering from purgatory (The Bible does not teach of such a place). This day became a set feast day to pray for the Roman Catholic dead. Poor people went begging for sweet pastries, food in exchange for prayers said to the dead. The modern day trick or treating. Also sweet cakes were eaten on All Soul's Day by the people themselves, each cake eaten released a soul from purgatory, all of this is unbiblical.

Regarding All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day to honour and pray to the dead, The Bible repeatedly condemns all attempts to commune with the dead. All Saint's Day is a Holy Day for the Roman Catholic church to honour all Christian believers who have given their lives, especially those who do not have days named after them.

All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day were originated by a Catholic believer having a vision of souls being tormented. This brought about sacrificial acts of penance, good deeds and giving money to help relieve the suffering. Again totally unbiblical.

All Soul's Day is again a Roman Catholic Latin Rite. Its purpose is to offer prayer for the souls in purgatory All the service is done in the Latin language.

Purgatory is a pagan idea and was noted about 400 B.C. It is a man-made belief of a dwelling place for spirits, who have not fully made amends for their failings. Roman Catholics continued with this tradition for it was all about money. This is taken from the scripture Matthew 12:32, which is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. However, Roman Catholics are taught that by the offering of prayers, mass services and giving alms will lessen the suffering of those who may be in the place of torture.

Adults encourage their children by dressing them in costumes and masks, for the gratification of sweet candy from their neighbours.

Adults as well as children should keep from participating in The Celebration of Halloween. The festival is outward defiance of God's Word. People have lost their God-given common sense between good and the evil that does harm.

Christians should pray against the celebration of this event and that it will not take hold in Australia.

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Managed by Stefan Kreslin, Last updated 20 September 1998