biblical historical look halloween

8/20/2019 Biblical Historical Look Halloween

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Halloween

A BIBLICAL &HISTORICAL LOOK AT

Bodie Hodge


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First printing August 2013

Copyright © 2013 Answers in Genesis, Inc. All rightsreserved. No part of this book may be used or reproducedin any manner whatsoever without the written permission

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For more information write: Answers in Genesis, PO Box510, Hebron, KY 41048.

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Halloween

A BIBLICAL &

HISTORICAL LOOK AT

Petersburg, Kentucky, USAwww.answersingenesis.org


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A BIBLICAL &

HISTORICAL LOOK

AT HALLOWEEN

Bodie Hodge

In the United States (and other countries),

Halloween has become one of the most popu-lar unofficial holidays. On the up side, retailsales boost the economy around this holiday.1

On the down side, the holiday has become a

time of increased crime in many places (espe-cially arson and other acts of violence) on Hal-loween night as well as the night before. Eventhe author’s house was robbed one Halloween


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by forced entry. So, although the retail industryloves Halloween, many police officers and insur-

ance companies dread it! Of course, there is alsoa tremendous amount of occult activity associ-ated with this holiday.

Kids and even many adults love getting dressed-up for Halloween. And they love the candy, of

course. It’s just innocent fun, isn’t it—or is it?But let’s think carefully and biblically about thehistory, nature, and impact of the holiday.

When did this holiday begin and why? Was itof pagan origins or is there something morebehind it? How should Christians view thisday in general? o understand these questionsfurther, we need to go back to the roots of Hal-loween.

When Did Modern-day Halloween GetStarted?

In the early 1900s, the migrating Irish and Scotsbrought Halloween traditions to the UnitedStates. Over time, Halloween catapulted intomainstream culture.

Te holiday, though, has roots reaching much


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further back. Some researchers claim that theholiday can be traced back about 2,000 years

to the Celts of Europe, who occupied parts ofIreland, the United Kingdom, and northernFrance.2 It was a pagan festival called “Samhain”(pronounced “sow-in”) that celebrated moreor less the honor of the dead and involved the

offering of large sacrifices of crops and animals.

3

Although no original written accounts of thisfestival exist today from the ancient Celts,there is some reference to it in Roman recordsfrom when the Romans conquered Celtic lands

around AD 43. Under Roman rule, the day ofSamhain was influenced by Roman festivals ofthe time. Te first was called “Pomona,” which was a type of harvest festival, and the next was“Feralia,” the Roman day of the dead. Interest-

ingly, both Feralia and Samhain were festivals ofthe dead and celebrated at the end of October.4

The Name “Halloween”

Around AD 600, Pope Boniface IV created All

Saints’ Day, and Pope Gregory III later movedthis holiday to November 1 in an effort to give aChristian alternative to this pagan celebrations.5


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Christians who did not want to celebrate paganfestivals celebrated something of positive spiri-

tual value—in this case honoring the saints andmartyrs. With the overwhelming expansion ofChristianity in Europe, All Saint’s Day becamethe dominant holiday.6

In fact, the current name of “Halloween” origi-

nates from the day before All Saint’s Day, which was called “All Hallow Evening”; this name wasshortened to “All Hallow’s Eve” or “All Hallow’sEven.” Te name changed over time and became“Hallowe’en.”

A couple hundred years later, the RomanChurch made November 2 All Souls Day tohonor the dead. Tis may well have been influ-enced by the continued persistence of the dayof the dead by the ancient Irish, Scots, andothers in Europe. Standing against this, manyProtestant Christians celebrate October 31 asReformation Day in honor of reformers suchas Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others whospearheaded the Reformation in the 1500s.


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Other Cultures Have a “Day of the Dead”

Although many affirm that Samhain was the

origin of modern-day Halloween, it is signifi-cant to note how many cultures throughout the world have celebrated a “day of the dead” (often with sacrifices), occurring at the end of summerand fall. Tere seem to be too many parallels to

call these similar celebrations a coincidence.

For example, in the Americas there is the Mexi-can Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos ) thatgoes back to the ancient festival of the dead cel-ebrated by Aztecs and the more-ancient Olmec.Tis was likely where the Guatemalans got theirDay of the Dead.

Brazilians also celebrate Finados (Day of theDead). Bolivia has the Day of the Skulls (Día de

los Natitas ).7

In Asia, there are similar festivals. For example,the Chinese celebrated the Ghost Festival, which was a day to pay homage to dead ances-tors. Te Japanese celebrated something similar

called O-bon or merely Bon. Even Vietnamhas a variant of the Ghost Festival called et


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rung Nguyen. In Korea, there is Chuseok orHankawi , in which deceased ancestors are ritu-

alized. In Nepal, there is the cow pilgrimagecalled Gia Jatra to honor the recently deceased.In the Philippines, there is the Day of theDead ( Araw ng mga Patay ), where tombs arecleaned and repainted. Te list goes on and on

(see reference 5).Te annual Jewish holiday of the Day of Atone-ment (Yom Kippur ) is celebrated in the fall, usu-ally September or October.8 But it is distinctlydifferent in purpose. It is not in honor of the

dead. Rather, it deals with soul searching, repen-tance, and is a time of great sacrifice for the sinsof the people (Leviticus 23:27–28). So, there issome cross over, but God instituted this date.

Tough the origin of this date, specifically forthe Israelites, can be traced to Moses, the daymay well have been chosen by God going backto previous events, as famous Bible chronicler Archbishop Ussher pointed out (the approxi-mate day Adam and Eve sinned, according toUssher’s calculations, and God’s subsequent cov-ering of their nakedness with animal skins).9


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What Is the Original Source for Halloween?

It seems no coincidence that cultures all around

the world in both present and ancient timeshave had a holiday when the dead were remem-bered and animals were sacrificed. We canmake a pretty strong argument that this holidaygoes back to a time when all the peoples lived

together—and then they took this holiday tovarious parts of the world.

Archbiship Ussher was the 17th century historian who

complied The Annals of the World , a history covering

every major event from Creation to AD 70.


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Otherwise, it seems strange and diffi cultto explain how these cultures developed

celebrations that are so similar. Tis wouldlikely push the true origin of “Halloween” andthese other “days of the dead” to the time beforethe dispersion at Babel (Genesis 11), over 4,200years ago, after which different early cultures

began to vary in its practice. According to Archbishop Ussher, the timeframebetween these events was about 106 years, withthe Flood ending in 2348 BC and the dispersionoccurring about 2242 BC. In this timeframe,

Noah would have still been alive, and Noah’ssons, too. We are not given much informationin Genesis about the wives of Noah or his threesons, but Noah’s son’s wives were busy havingchildren after the Flood, producing a total of 16


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grandsons for Noah. And then their children havechildren, and so on!

Tere have been several reasons suggested for somany cultures having a day of the dead. Con-sider these:

1. Were the days celebrated in honor of anancestor or group of ancestors after theydied? Perhaps the day was to celebrate at thetime when a great patriarch or matriarch ofa given family that left Babel finally died.Te death of a great ancestor would happento each culture sooner or later. But the oddsof most of them dying in the late summer/fall is very low; therefore, it would be moredifficult to explain the holidays all being atabout that time.

2. Was it a harvest festival of grains andanimals, which were prepared for winter,thereby signifying death? Ten, later wasthis festival transformed spiritually to honorthe dead? Tis might explain the sacrifice of

animals and why the holidays occur in thefall. But it fails to address why each culturedeviated toward a spiritual day of the dead.


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Also, this doesn’t make sense for culturesthat are in the southern hemisphere, where

September and October are spring, notharvest time.

3. Did Noah’s wife die soon after the Flood andthis day honored her? By the time Ham hadfathered Canaan and sinned against Noah

(which was before the dispersion at Babel),Noah’s wife is not mentioned and conspicu-ously absent, and Japheth and Shem (Noah’ssons) were left with the task of covering their


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father’s nakedness after he got drunk andlay uncovered in his tent (Genesis 9:20–27).

One would suspect that Noah’s wife shouldhave had this responsibility, but she isnowhere mentioned. Had Noah’s wife diedfairly early prior to Babel, this well-knownmatriarch’s death would have been remem-

bered by each culture after the dispersion atBabel. But there is no mention or referenceto a great woman, (rather than a multitudeof ancestors), which would be expected ifthis were the case.10

4. Did Satan, the one who comes to killand steal and destroy (John 10:10), movethroughout all the pagan cultures afterthe dispersion to develop these days ofthe dead? Tough this is possible, it seems

Satan would almost have to have an omni-presence and omnipotence about him dosuch a thing. And although Satan wouldlike us to think he has these attributes ofGod, he doesn’t.

5. Was it a day to remember those who diedin the Flood and a continuation of the


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sacrifices that Noah made after comingoff the Ark? Because the celebrations call

for the remembrance of the dead and havesacrifices, it is reminiscent of the large sac-rifice that Noah and his family performedafter the Flood. Tis would also explain why many other cultures have a variant of

this regular sacrifice. When Noah and hisfamily exited the Ark, they offered sacri-fices to God (Genesis 8:18–9:1); of course,deviations in the manner of this sacrificeover the years and its meaning would have

varied down through the ages. Based on theevidence, this seems to be the most likelyexplanation.

Other Christians in the past have recognizedthis connection. For example, Alfred Rehwinkel,

a professor of theology at Concordia Seminary,realized that nations throughout the world hada similar day of the dead, and he directly relatedthis to the Flood of Noah’s day.11 John Urquhartpointed this out as far back as 1931, soon after

the holiday of Halloween gained prominence inthe United States.12


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Due to the many, varied accounts of celebra-tions of the day of the dead around the world, I

would strongly suggest that its origin was a time when people groups were still gathered togetheror had closer ties. Is the event of Noah’s sacrifice where the day of the dead really originates? It ispossible.

It was a time when there was a sacrifice to coversins and a reminder why death reigns in thissin-cursed world. It was a spiritual time, a time when people remembered that a sudden disas-ter, the global Flood, took virtually the entire

population because of sin. Consider Noah for amoment: he even lost brothers and sisters in theFlood—the grief would have been overwhelm-ing (Genesis 5:30). Halloween’s roots couldeasily extend this far, but there should be no

dogmatism about that being the case.

Why Sacrifices?

Proper sacrifices in the Bible were associated with sin and death. Tis goes back to the first

sacrifice in Genesis 3:21 when the first twohumans (Adam and Eve) sinned against God.Te perfect creation that God had made was


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now marred with sin that deserved death (Gen-esis 1:31; Deuteronomy 32:4; Romans 5:12).

Te Bible says that the punishment for sin isdeath (Romans 6:23; Hebrews 9:22). Tis is why we all die (return to dust)—we all sin (Genesis3:19; Romans 3:23). Due to their sin, Adam andEve were ashamed of their nakedness. So, God

made coats of animal skins to cover their naked-ness. God sacrificed animals to cover this sin.

In a fashion similar to God, Abel offered sac-rifices from his flocks (Genesis 4:4), and Noahdid the same after the Flood. Later, the Israelitesdid this as well, giving sin offerings of lambs,doves, etc. as God commanded. But the bloodof animals is not enough to remove sin; it isonly enough to cover it temporarily (Hebrews10:4): finite animals could never really takethe infinite punishment from an infinite God.Tese instances of sacrificing animals wereforeshadowing Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God— who, as the perfect infinite sacrifice on the Cross(Hebrews 9:26, 10:12), fully paid for our sins sothat everyone who trusts in Him will be savedand given eternal life (John 3:16–18).


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With most of the celebrations of the days of thedead, sacrifices are involved. Tis suggests thatcultures around the world understood this con-

cept of sacrificing to God to cover sins. A Chris-tian should expect this, since all people groupshave descended from those at Babel. So, logi-cally, when people migrated to different partsof the world after God confused their language,

they took the concept of sacrifice with them. Ofcourse, their methods and meaning of sacrificechanged and varied over the years, and the trueintent was lost.

Tis can be used as a tool for Christians to share

the good news of Jesus Christ. By showing thetrue meaning of what sacrifices are and showing


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that Jesus was the final, perfect sacrifice, makingsacrifices of animals no longer necessary. Sin and

death (which sacrifice was a continual reminderof all the way back to Adam) have been con-quered by the Son of God, and the free gift ofsalvation is now offered. If the days of the deadreally have their roots in Noah’s sacrifices, then

consider this: the Lord has even given the com-mand to Christians to celebrate in remembranceof this final sacrifice—it is called the Lord’sSupper. Paul says:

And when He had given thanks, He

broke it and said, “ake, eat; this isMy body which is broken for you; dothis in remembrance of Me.” In thesame manner He also took the cupafter supper, saying, “Tis cup is the

new covenant in My blood. Tis do, asoften as you drink it, in remembranceof Me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24–25)

The Evils of Modern-day Halloween and

What a Christian Can DoIt should be obvious from a Christian perspec-tive that many modern practices of Halloween


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and days of the dead have evil intent (e.g., 1Corinthians 10:20). Tere has been consider-

able paganism that has been associated withHalloween over the years. Even evil acts such asvandalism, fires, destructive pranks, pretendingpeople are something they are not by dressing up,and particularly by the glorification of sensuality,

death, and demons, are in strong opposition tothe fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:19–23). So,a word of caution must be given to Evangelicals who promote some of the questionable modernpractices of Halloween.

If anything, an alternative in opposition toHalloween should be offered by Christians.Psalms 24:1 points out that everything belongsto the Lord. Terefore, there is no reason to letSatan have Halloween. It is not his day in the

first place! When Satan tried tempting Jesus, he offered Jesussomething that was not his to offer (Matthew4:8—all the kingdoms of the world). Jesus obvi-ously didn’t succumb because it wasn’t Satan’s togive, nor did Satan exercise any authority overHim. Many today believe that Halloween is


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Satan’s day and recommend staying away fromit. But recognizing such a thing would be to

disregard that Satan owns nothing and that alldays belong to God. Christians can take this dayand make better use of it, such as by celebratingReformation Day, a Harvest festival of praise fora God who provides, an extra day of the Lord’s

Supper to remember Christ’s sacrifice to end sac-rifice, and so on (Colossians 2:16–17).

So where do you go from here? Please encour-age your pastors and elders to have some sort ofchurch function to counter modern practices of

Halloween. Of course, one of the only nice thingsthat Halloween really has to offer could also beinvolved—sweet treats (in moderation of course)!

If a Christian alternative is not possible in yourlocation, then take advantage of this opportu-nity to share with people the message of thegospel and how Jesus Christ has conquereddeath and the forgiveness that can only befound in God when you greet “trick or treaters.”

Death is a terrible reality for all of us—notsomething to celebrate or treat as fun. Deathis the punishment for sin. Since all of us are


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sinners (Romans 3:23), we must realize thatdeath is coming. But God is a God of grace andmercy, and in His love He has offered a meansof salvation through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who suffered and died the ultimatedeath in our place. All who repent and believecan receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of Godis eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans6:23).

THE GOOD NEWS

Answers in Genesis and its Creation Museumseek to give glory and honor to God as Creator,and to affi rm the truth of the biblical record


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of the real origin and history of the world andmankind.

Part of this real history is the bad news that therebellion of the first man, Adam, against God’scommand brought death, suffering, and sepa-ration from God into this world. We see theresults all around us. All of Adam’s descendants

are sinful from conception (Psalm 51:5) andhave themselves entered into this rebellion (sin).Tey therefore cannot live with a holy God, butare condemned to separation from God. TeBible says that “all have sinned, and come short

of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and thatall are therefore subject to “everlasting destruc-tion from the presence of the Lord and from theglory of His power” (2 Tessalonians 1:9).

But the good news is that God has done some-thing about it. “For God so loved the world thatHe gave His only begotten Son, that whoeverbelieves in Him should not perish but haveeverlasting life” (John 3:16).

Jesus Christ the Creator, though totally sinless,suffered, on behalf of mankind, the penalty ofmankind’s sin, which is death and separation


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from God. He did this to satisfy the righteousdemands of the holiness and justice of God, His

Father. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice; He diedon a cross, but on the third day, He rose again,conquering death, so that all who truly believein Him, repent of their sin, and trust in Him(rather than their own merit), are able to come

back to God and live for eternity with theirCreator.

Terefore: “He who believes in Him is notcondemned; but he who does not believe iscondemned already, because he has not believed

in the name of the only begotten Son of God”(John 3:18).

What a wonderful Savior—and what a wonder-ful salvation in Christ our Creator!

You can reach us at Answers in Genesis, PO Box510, Hebron, KY 41048, or contact a Bible-believing church in your area, where the pastoraccepts the accuracy and authority of the Biblefrom its very first verse in Genesis (including

the Genesis accounts of a recent creation and aglobal Noah’s Flood).


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Endnotes

1. I am hesitant to call this a holiday, since a holiday

is a “Holy Day” and there is little, if anything, holyin today’s Halloween. But for the sake of this book-let, I will call it a holiday.

2. Te Celts were descendants of Gomer and wereoften equated with ancient Gauls or Galatians.For more on this see the book ower of Babel: TeCultural History of Our Ancestors , Bodie Hodge,Master Books, Green Forest, AR, 2012.

3. Ancient Origins , History.com (A&E elevisionNetworks, 1996–2008). Online here: http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=Minisite_

Generic&content_type_id=713&display_order=1&mini_id=1076.

4. Christine Nyholm, “Halloween Based on AncientBeliefs,” http://ancienthistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/ancient_beliefs_and_halloween, accessed June

13, 2008.5. “Halloween,” Encyclopædia Britannica (Chicago:

Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008)

6. Te modern definition and use of the term saint in the Roman Catholic Church was not insti-

gated until 1588 by Pope Sixtus V. At this point,Catholics began their stage of proclaiming saintsin a three-step procedure: Venerable, Blessed, and


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then a “Saint.” Tere is no reason to assume thatbefore this, saints were different than the view ofsaints that Protestants held to. Even Luther used

the term saints correctly in his 95 Teses and hadno complaint toward its use. It wasn’t until afterLuther that the word was redefined, and its use wascorrupted.

7. “Day of the Dead,” Encyclopædia Britannica (Chi-

cago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008) and Wiki-pedia, “Day of the Dead,” http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Day_of_the_Dead, accessed April 7, 2008.

8. Te date is the tenth day of the month of ishri onthe Jewish calendar. When translated to the currentGregorian calendar that we use today, it falls inSeptember or October. Te Jewish calendar has a360-day year, with a leap month every few years toget it back to about 365 days per year. So, the datemoves around on the Gregorian calendar.

9. James Ussher, Te Annals of the World , translated

by Larry and Marion Pierce (Green Forest, AR:Master Books, 2003), p. 18.

10. I doubt that Noah’s death was the reason for thedays of the dead since Noah lived for about 250after the event at Babel if Ussher’s calculations are

accurate. Tough it is possible that news wouldhave spread through the world about Noah’s death,it seems less likely so many years after the disper-sion of Babel.


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11. Alfred Rehwinkel, Te Flood: In the Light of theBible, Geology and Archaeology , 17th Printing (St.Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1951),

pp. 169–171.

12. John Urquhart, in Bible League Quarterly . Octo-ber–December 1931, pp. 181–183.


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Te For the Record booklet series:

Doesn’t Carbon Dating Disprove the Bible? —Mike Riddle

From Evolution to Creation— Dr. Gary Parker

Millions of Years and the Downfall of the Christian West —Dr.Terry Mortenson

Te Questions booklet series

Are Es and UFOs Real? —Dr. Jason Lisle

Is Tere Really a God? —Ken Ham

Six Days or Millions of Years? —Ken Ham

What Really Happened to the Dinosaurs? —Ken Ham

Where Did Cain Get His Wife?— Ken Ham

Where Did the ‘Races’ Come From? —Ken Ham

Why Is Tere Death and Suffering? —Ken Ham & Mark Looy,eds.

How Should Christians Respond to “Gay” Marriage? —Ken Ham

Was Tere Really a Noah’s Ark and Flood? —Ken Ham

Other AiG booklets

Te Seven C’s of History —Ken Ham, Stacia McKeever

Evolution, Creation, and the Culture Wars —Ken Ham

Pocket Guide for Effective Evangelism—Ken Ham

What Does the Bible Say about Astronomy? —Dr. Jason Lisle

From Creation to Bethlehem—Ken Ham


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