Trick or the Greatest Treat?
This was Friday, Oct 25, 2013, 7:02 IST, Mumbai, DNA news…here’s an excerpt…
If you see a ferryboat full of women donning black robes and long, conical hats arrive at the Gateway of India on October 31, don’t be scared. They are witches…will send out ‘positive’ vibrations. Explaining why safety of women was chosen as the theme for their ritual, ‘witch’ Swati Prakash claimed the theme was ‘revealed’ to her while she was performing the last Samhain ritual. So, ‘Shakti’ was chosen for this year. In a country where witches, known as ‘dayaans’, are traditionally considered evil with their supernatural powers, the group is not wary of coming out in the open. They subscribe to the Wiccan philosophy, founded in the 1950s in Europe. Wiccans worship and celebrate the different cycles of nature such as solstices and equinoxes by performing rituals on those days.
Today is Halloween!
In India costume parties are held and scaring one another is a favourite pastime.
Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. This is also known as All Hallows’ Eve and come one day before All Saints Day On All Souls Day…a day later my family visited the graveyard and left flowers and lit candles on the graves of my Grandma and Granddad. I have memories of my Dad and Mom doing this and me tagging along. We then went for a great breakfast at an Irani restaurant in Byculla.
But what actually is Halloween? And how did it infiltrate into the Christian church in India. I really think I ought to give you my thoughts.
In the late 90s the Lord took me to Wales, and I got to know of many Celtic traditions and stuff they do. The Celts celebrate their New Year on 1st November. It was a time when the summer harvest was over and also a time when winter stepped in with dark long days. Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). This involved pagan rituals and at this time, spirits and fairies would congregate at certain spots and food and drink would be left for them. This was a time of feasts where the spirits of the departed would be called to attend, as divination rituals played a major part.
Later in the 9th Century the Catholic Church shifted the date to 1st November that became the official All Saints Day, and then 2nd Nov that is now the All Souls Day, which the Anglican Church celebrates with vigour.
Here is what William J Schnoebelen, a former witch high priest says:
Halloween used to be called Samhain, and is still celebrated as an ancient pagan festival of the dead by witches all over the world. Unfortunately, just giving the date a “holy” name like All Hallows’ Eve or All Saints’ Eve cannot change its grisly character. Halloween is an occasion when the ancient gods (actually demons) are worshiped with human sacrifice.
The apostle Paul warns us: “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils” (1 Cor. 10:20).
If you are a Christian parent, God has given you a precious responsibility in your children. Remember, their ability to resist spiritual wickedness is much less than yours. If you allow your children to participate in Halloween (Trick or Treating, costume parties, etc.) you are allowing them to play on “the devil’s turf,” and Satan will definitely press his home court advantage. You are opening up doorways into their young lives for evil by bringing them into a kind of “fellowship” with these ancient “gods”.
Today, Halloween has always been a holiday filled with mystery, magic and superstition. Friendly spirits are set places at the dinner table, left treats on doorsteps and along the side of the road and lit candles to help loved ones find their way back to the spirit world. Furthermore today’s ghosts are often depicted as more fearsome and malevolent, and our customs and superstitions are scarier too. We avoid crossing paths with black cats, afraid that they might bring us bad luck. We try not to walk under ladders for the same reason. And around Halloween, especially, we try to avoid breaking mirrors, stepping on cracks in the road or spilling salt. In fact when demons come during a time like this, they often cause massive disturbances, depressions, sicknesses and troubles, and even financial loss.
Superstitions, fears and traditions, stop the hand of faith and mar the Truth of the Scriptures. God’s Word is enough. Truth brings freedom, and true freedom brings strength
When I was young neither my Dad nor my Mum knew of the Truth. I followed blindly, but more so enjoying the breakfast afterwards. Today the Truth needs to prevail. And we have a responsibility to pass on…that not everything that seems innocent and harmless can profit us in the coming future.
True ‘Shakti’ has already been demonstrated by Jesus who rose from the dead, conquered sin and Satan, now sits in Heaven, and promises to return soon! This is the greatest ‘treat’ we have been given freely.
