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How Halloween splits the faithful
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Melanie Peters October 31 2009 at 07:44AM |
Get IOL on your mobile at m.iol.co.za |
Submit your comment For many people Halloween is a harmless opportunity to dress up and have fun, but for some it has far more serious import. Various clubs, pubs and restaurants have created themes for the evening and are throwing parties to draw clientele. The ancient Celts believed that today, the boundaries between the physical world and the spirit world became blurred, allowing spirits freedom to roam the earth. They believed that the dead could visit them and wreak havoc. So to scare off the dead spirits jack o' lanterns are lit, bonfires made and scary costumes are worn. But the Christian Action Network has slammed the celebration of Halloween, saying good Christians were unwittingly taking part in something that was "diabolical". The Network's head, father of four Peter Hammond, of Pinelands in Cape Town, allegedly took his children on a paintball shooting spree on Halloween night four years ago, firing at trick-or-treaters. Dubbed "the Paintball Pastor" for his efforts, he said many people would unintentionally be celebrating Halloween without realising its "dark origins". He said Halloween has strong roots in paganism and witchcraft. It began as the Druid festival of Samhain. "On Halloween, for thousands of years, druid priests conducted diabolical worship ceremonies in which cats, horses, sheep, oxen and even human beings were rounded up, stuffed into Wicca cages and burned to death. These human and animal sacrifices were apparently required to appease Samhain and keep the spirits from harming them." He said to obtain these sacrifices, druid priests would go from house to house. Those who gave were promised prosperity, and those who refused to give were threatened and cursed. This was the origin of "trick or treat". He said the jack o' lantern had its origin in the candlelit pumpkin or skull, which served as a signal to mark those farms and homes that supported the druids' religion, and thus were seeking the "treat" when the terror of Halloween began. "The World Book Encyclopaedia says the apparently harmless lit pumpkin face of the jack o' lantern is an ancient symbol of a damned soul," said Hammond. Asked if there would be any paintball shenanigans tonight, he replied, "Goodness me, no! I'll be reading my Bible and praying for these lost souls." However, Wiccan high priestess Raene Packery, who runs the Witch School of South Africa, said Halloween or the ritual of Samhain was celebrated today in the northern hemisphere but in South Africa in April and May. "Our Sabbats are celebrated according to the seasons and cycles of nature, which means that they will be celebrated at different times and according to the appropriate season in each hemisphere," she said. "Most people don't know this and do not understand the tradition, spiritual significance and symbolism behind our Sabbats - if they did, there would not be a Halloween craze and local shops wouldn't be making a fortune selling costumes and props this time of the year. "When Samhain was celebrated a silent supper was held to honour the ancestors. "Our ritual space is consecrated and usually decorated with Halloween images of skulls, skeletons, ghosts and spiders in accordance with the festival of spirits. "We drape our altars in black cloth and adorn them with pumpkins, squash, fruit and nuts and other autumn crops. Mementos of loved ones who have passed into the spirit world are placed on the altar. Feasting, dressing up in costume and making merry is a big part of our after-ritual activities." In response to Christian organisations saying that the celebration was "evil", Packery said there were no satanic links to Halloween or Wicca. She said critics were misinformed and they would continue to try to debunk these false accusations. "They got the wrong end of the stick."
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Showing page 1 of 2 comment pages, 16 total comments
3 Weeks ago Cat wrote :
To the Pastor who thought it would be fun to teach his children how to shoot other children with Paintballs which Bible did you read? If my child or myself had been one of your targets you would be in a jail cell right know. Can I suggest that you possibly read your Bible again and then read a couple of books and get an education with regard to what Samhain or Holloween actually is all about. As a Wiccan I seem to understand your New Testement teachings better than you.
3 Weeks ago Mish wrote :
There is no god named "Samhain". What it is is the Gaelic word for November and a holiday. To put in the simplest terms and compare it to something that you might have some familiarity with, it's similar to El Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), widely celebrated in Mexico. It's a day to honor loved ones who have passed away and other ancestors, among other thing none of which were gruesome as descirbed in the poorly research article (or to give the author some credit, an article based on sources fundamentalist Christian and other false sources).
3 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
I'm at a loss for words... Everyone, STOP trying to 'help' the Pagan community along, because you're NOT doing any good !!!
4 Weeks ago Damon Leff wrote :
You call this professional journalism? Good grief!
4 Weeks ago Anonymouse wrote :
It is clear that Peter Hammond is a nut job and has no idea of the history of Halloween. Halloween is actually derived from All Hallowed Eve which preceeds All Saints Day and is actually a Catholic holiday. In Mexico the Catholics still have a big Day of the Dead Festival every 1 November. Samhain is seasonal and only applies to the Northern Hemisphere and is the halfway point between Autumn equinox and Winter Solstice and marked the ancient agricultural year end. Doesn't matter which religion you investigate - Halloween has nothing to do with Satanism.
4 Weeks ago TeeJay wrote :
How about the FACT that "Holy Communion" celebrated by Christians ALSO stems from pagans eating flesh and drinking blood many years ago?
4 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
IN other words the author of this article has no idea what Samhain is. Hint: it's not a "god".
4 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
The retails industry loves the fact that people will go out and spent millions on a night that really means nothing here in the Southern Hemisphere. Just goes to show they say it is to honour a "god" and they don't even know where this "god" originates and where it is now...shame people. Live life to the full and as many readers have already said, we should rather be celebrating life. Christ said that He cam so that we can have LIFE in adundance....what more do we need.
4 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
What has SA's got to do with halloween? Be careful parents, give proper guidance to ur kids. Don't allow ur kids to get too excited about things you don't even know the origion of
Proudly SA
4 Weeks ago Loving Life wrote :
What a Bizarre festivity...celebrating the DEAD...pumpkins...spirits...and what not...Why not celebrate LIFE...and those who are LIVING...why look to the DEAD...what a gorry way for children to celebrate...
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