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Pagan Halloween
Pagan Halloween
Even after November 1 became a Christian feast day honoring all saints,
many people clung to the old pagan beliefs and customs that had grown up
about Halloween.
Some tried to foretell the future on that night by performing such rites as
jumping over lighted candles. In the British Isles great bonfires blazed for
the Celtic festival of Sambain. Laughing bands of guisers, young people
disguised in grotesque masks, carved lanterns from turnips, and carried
them through the villages.
The treat, usually candy, is generally given and the trick rarely played.
Some parents feel this custom is dangerous. There have been numerous
instances in which sharp objects or poisons have been found in candy bars
and apples. To provide an alternative to begging for candy from strangers,
many communities schedule special, supervised parties and events at
Halloween. The United Nations has used the Halloween observance to
collect money for its children's fund.
The Celtic festival of Samhain is probably the source of the present day
Halloween celebration. The Celts lived more than 2000 years ago in what is
now Great Britain, Ireland and Northern France. Their new year began
November 1; a festival that began the previous evening honored Samhain,
the Celtic lord of death. The celebration marked the beginning of the season
of cold, darkness, and decay. It naturally became associated with human
death. Celts believed that Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to return
to their earthly homes for this evening.
On the evening of that festival, the Druids, who were the priests and
teachers of the Celts, had a three-day festival and ordered the people to put
out their hearth fires. They believed that on the last night of October spirits
of the dead roamed abroad, and they lighted bonfires to drive them away.
They built a huge new year bonfire of oak branches, which they considered
sacred. They burned animals, crops and possibly even human beings as
sacrifices. Then, each family relit its hearth fires from the new year's fire.
During the celebration, people sometimes wore costumes made of animal
heads and skins. They told fortunes about the coming year by examining
the remains of the animals that were sacrificed.
Halloween customs
3-Dressing up in costumes: This was done so that the spirits of the dead
would not recognize people. The Druids would actually sacrifice animals
and sometimes humans and dress in these animal skins. Wearing these
clothes, they would engage in fortune telling. Another explanation is that
today, kids who dress represent these spirits.
Many early American settlers came from England and other Celtic regions
and they brought various customs with them. But because of the strict
religious beliefs of other settlers, Halloween celebrations did not become
popular until the 1800's. During that period, large numbers of immigrants
arrived from Ireland and Scotland and introduced their Halloween customs.
During the mid 1900's trick-or-treating became less popular in large cities
where many neighbors did not know each other. Halloween pranks, which
had once been harmless, sometimes became rowdy and destructive. Traffic
accidents also became a problem on Halloween. As a result, family parties,
large community celebrations gained popularity. Today many communities
sponsor bonfires, costume parades, dances, skits, and other forms of
entertainment to celebrate Halloween.
"Mankind has been blessed with intellect and natural inclination to the
truth. In addition to these great blessings and this great eminence which
Allah has given to mankind, He also gave them the blessing of intellect
which raises them to the level of taking on responsibilities given by Allah,
and it also enables them to achieve and comprehend them. He All-Mighty
also provided them with natural inclination to the truth which agrees with
that which the Messengers of Allah salallaahu alayhi wa sallam came with:
the noble revelation and the true religion which Allah prescribed, and laid
down as the way to be followed for mankind upon the tongues of his noble
Messengers." (The Methodology of the Prophets in Calling to Allah, that is
the way of wisdom and intelligence)
So with this intellect that Allah has blessed us with, let us not forget the
truth of Halloween. Everything about Halloween involves some kind of
associating partners with Allah. Halloween must be seen as it really is: