EXCERPT FROM THE QUESTION: WHY DONT JEHOVAHS WITNESSES CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN? The repeatedly stress paganism as the main reason. (JW answer below). BUT the truth is, Christianity is based on all kinds of pagan events and beliefs! Christmas, for one, is pagan and is celebrated in December to coincide with the pagan celebrations. Easter as well has pagan roots, as well as other celebrations in the Catholic church. I have to laugh, as my Catholic family from my exhusbands side saw me as a pagan because i was not Catholic! That is the problem with organized religions that are judgmental and separatist-- they are often far from correct! (They were naive about the truth, so i dont hold that against them though it was very isolating!). That attitude learned from such thinking can be very unkind, therefore-- not really Christian as the term is meant! JW ANSWER: IT IS ROOTED IN PAGANISM Excerpt: Halloween’s roots, although not found in the Bible, can be traced back to a pagan origin. The pre-Christian Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all celebrated a festival for the dead. These ancients believed that on these occasions the spirits of the dead returned; therefore food was left for them and lamps were kept burning so they would not lose their way. The Celtic order of Druids worshiped Samhain, lord of the dead, as well as a sun-god to whom the horse was sacred. On November 1, which was also their New Year, they held a joint festival in honor of these gods. It was believed that the souls of those who had died the previous year because of their sins were confined to the bodies of lower animals, and at the time of this festival Samhain assembled them together, and they were released to go to the Druid heaven. On the eve of the feast of Samhain the pagan Celts used to keep bonfires burning, believing that this would protect them from evil spirits. The many features of today’s Halloween and Day of the Dead celebrations can be traced directly back to paganism. The ancients associated this time of the year with the supernatural and with the thronging of dead spirits, so it was right in line with Catholic church policy to adopt this date for their All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day. The people were thus able to keep their pagan customs and beliefs and still celebrate what are called Christian festivals of the highest rank. But the varnish applied by Christendom to these pagan feasts is so thin that there is no questioning the fact that Halloween is rooted in paganism. https://answers.yahoo/question/index?qid=20081001175253AAK3Cy5
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 01:34:08 +0000
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