Nika Kravchuk

Why is the Church not allowed to celebrate Halloween?

What does the satanic overtones of Halloween have in common with All Saints' Day? What danger are teenagers and young people at risk of disguising themselves as witches and devils? Let the kids go to the Halloween party or better convince them not to go?

What did the Celts celebrate on October 31?

The history of the Halloween holiday is a vivid example of the struggle between Darkness and Light, Evil and Good. It originates from the Celtic tribes of England, Ireland and northern France (Gaul), from the time of paganism.

On the night of October 31, the Celts celebrated Samhain - the beginning of the new year. On this day, there were no boundaries between the earthly and otherworldly worlds: the gods calmly entered human life. But all these deities had a bad character: cruel, they always opposed each other and fought. People had only one option to buy off temporarily: to make a sacrifice.

Celtic priests - druids - extinguished the light in all its manifestations (bonfires, lamps). In the evening of the next day, they kindled a huge fire, on which they brought sacrifices to Samhain - the god of death and darkness. Frankly speaking, Satan is like the prince of darkness.

If Samhain is satisfied, then the dead will be able to visit the living - the Celts believed. In addition, it was believed that the souls of the departed were terribly hungry. They had to be fed, otherwise the god of death would be angry and would certainly punish people. Therefore, they prepared all kinds of treats.

Do you see parallels with modern Halloween celebrations?

People dress up as ghosts, witches and various spirits, symbolizing the souls of the departed.
They roam the whole night.
Begging for sweets (trick-or-treating) - it is no coincidence that this expression literally translates as "nuisance or treat". The seemingly harmless treat for children actually originates in the appeasement of the hungry souls of deceased relatives.

The Church's Attitude Toward Halloween, or Between the Feast of Darkness and All Saints' Day

But how could the bright holiday of all saints celebrated by the Western Church be linked with such a day of darkness, death and fear? This is due to the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. The most important role in this was played by the well-known Saint Patrick.

On the festival of Beltane, celebrated on May 1, it was forbidden to light a fire until the druids had prepared a fire to burn sacrifices. But Saint Patrick disobeyed and kindled a fire, which symbolized the Divine Light. It was he who resisted darkness, fear and death.

After some six months, Ireland has changed a lot. And where fear reigned before, love was now preached. The holiday, which was previously associated with fear and death, became the Day of All Saints, who stopped the forces of Samhain and the spirits of darkness.

And already in the 9th century, Pope Gregory IV declared this holiday common for all Catholics. Even the name Halloween itself is an abbreviated version of All Hallows "Eve - All Saints' Eve.

Why is Halloween dangerous?

Today's celebration of October 31st is a return to pagan roots. Under the seemingly bright and memorable fun, in fact, terrible things are hiding. To be completely frank, they are satanic. Why?

First, adolescents and young people usually become their participants, who:

often do not have a strengthened opinion of their own and are easily influenced by the authorities and the mood of the masses;
want to stand out from others;
active, want to try everything;
entered the period of sharpening of sinfulness.

They simply do not understand what the danger is.

Secondly, the very inheritance of dark forces is dangerous for a person. This is why the Church's attitude towards Halloween is negative.

Surely you have heard the stories of actors who played the role of dark forces or people stuck in some kind of sin. When you try to portray this, you yourself involuntarily inherit such habits.

And what will happen if a young girl dresses in a witch costume, starts laughing loudly, and attracts the attention of guys with her indecent behavior? Or will the young man dress in some kind of spirit of malice? After all, it's not enough just to try on a costume, you still need to somehow get used to the role for the best effect, so that all friends understand how it suits me!

All events in one way or another affect a person. Nothing goes unnoticed. Unfortunately, the stormy Halloween celebration, costumes, mummery and general mood as well.

Often such parties can end with alcoholic intoxication and fornication. It could be even worse. For some time in America, young people even began to vandalize, for example, breaking glass. To stop this, the Boy Scouts came up with a movement with the slogan "Sane Halloween!"

In Sweden, more than 200 schoolchildren were injured in connection with the fire of the premises, celebrating October 31.

Not so long ago, the American Church of Satan decided to "promote", calling this holiday "theirs." Nobody considered this a threat, but after such facts, can the negative attitude of the Church towards Halloween change?

I would specifically not want to oppose our culture to the American one and say that other people's holidays have come to us, they are imposing something on us. We ourselves choose whether to accept it or not.

I would like to focus on something else - on the perversion of the understanding of good and evil. Halloween along with costumes of ghouls, tomato juice instead of blood, minor manifestations of violence (supposedly "for fun)", cookies in the form of coffins and skulls are already negatively affecting the child. He begins to think that all this is normal and even good.

Child psychologists, psychotherapists, priests face different consequences: neuroses, nightmares, constant fears, fear of being alone.

There are even known stories when such an "innocent" dressing up as crafty spirits could lead to madness, when an evil spirit actually entered a person. A man once decided "for fun" to portray the action of evil, fell into the mud. For some, it is easy to clean it, while for another, even expensive stain removers and dry cleaners will not help. Therefore, it is better not to get dirty initially.

Who benefits from a mass rage?

Who benefits from the modern Halloween holiday as a return to paganism? You can answer in one word: the devil. And he acts through people.

On the one hand, it tempts young people, partially corrupts them, provokes indecent behavior, fornication and debauchery. Of course, a lot depends on the company. For some, Halloween will turn into a fun party, with pumpkins, costumes and a good mood - everything seems to be decent. And for others it is a night of testing by all kinds of vices.

On the other hand, the evil one also tempts the organizers of such events, people who set unrealistic prices for the costumes of witches and vampires. For example, Americans are planning to spend $ 6.9 billion this year on celebrations and costumes. By the way, about the latter.

The evil one has yet another way to look for people - to pull the hook of envy and pride. Like, your neighbor has such an expensive suit, but what about you? Can't you buy yourself something just as good? Or is it even better? You must look the most worthy of all! And how much easier if you don't participate in all this.

Looking for alternatives

If a school is preparing a costume party and you realize that your child will only get worse from participating in it, talk to the homeroom teacher and think about an alternative.

Children want a holiday - so arrange it for them in the family circle. Let mom bake a cake, the children will help her with this, dad will try to come home from work early. You can spend this time together, leisurely talk about school, summer plans, books, travel ideas and… the history of Halloween.

You can even get together with other families who do not approve of the modern symbols of Halloween and have their own party. Light and kind. Indeed, it was precisely the victory over darkness that he symbolized when it became the Day of All Saints in the Western Church.

Take it for yourself, tell your friends!

Feast of Evil

Halloween is a religious day, but not Christian. Tom Sanguinette, a former high priest of the religion of sorcerers and magicians, said: “The modern holiday that we call Halloween starts from the day of the full moon closest to November 1st, the new year of the witches. It is assumed that at this time the spirits (demons) are at their peak and are visiting planet Earth again ... Halloween is completely and absolutely evil, and there is and will not be anything that can make it acceptable to the Lord Jesus. "

Death date

Halloween has its roots in paganism and witchcraft. It began as a festival of the Samhain druids. The Celts considered November 1 as the day of death, because in the northern hemisphere this day was the beginning of winter, the leaves fell off, it began to darken earlier, and the temperature dropped. They believed that their sun god was losing strength and Samhain, the lord of death, was superior to the sun god. The Druids also taught that on the eve of the holiday, October 31st, Samhain collected the spirits of all who had died in the past year so that they would return to their former homes to visit the living.

Sacrifice of Humans and Animals

For thousands of years, during Halloween, Druidic priests performed devil-worshiping ceremonies in which cats, horses, sheep, cattle, humans, and other victims gathered in one place and stuffed into witches' cages, where they were burned alive. Obviously, such sacrifices of people and animals were required in order to please Samhain and so that the spirits would not harm them.

Wallet or Life

In order to obtain people and animals for these sacrifices, Druidic priests went from door to door and asked for the fattest calves, black sheep and people. Those who gave were promised prosperity, and those who refused were threatened and cursed. This is the origin of the expression “ wallet or life”.

Jack-O-Lantern ("Glowing Jack")

The "Glowing Jack" originated from the custom of lighting a candle inside a pumpkin or skull, which served as a signal to mark those farms and homes that supported the Druidic religion and thus sought " life”When the Halloween terror began. The World Book Encyclopedia says: “The innocent-looking, illuminated face of the pumpkin,“ Glowing Jack ”is an ancient symbol of the cursed soul."

Dance of Death

When humans and animals screamed in agony as they burned alive, druids and their followers dressed in costumes made of animal skins and heads. They danced, chanted monotonously and jumped over the fire, hoping to ward off evil spirits from themselves.

House of Horror

One of the popular Halloween heroes, Count Dracula, was also a real person. Dracula lived from 1431 to 1476. During his 6-year reign, he killed over 100,000 men, women and children in the most horrific ways. He came up with a plan to rid his country of the worries of beggars, the disabled, the sick and the elderly by inviting them to a feast in one of his palaces. He fed and watered them well. Then he asked: "Do you want to be carefree so that you don't have a shortage of anything in the world?"When his guests shouted: “ Yes!”, Dracula ordered to surround the palace and set it on fire. Nobody escaped from this present " houses of horror.”

Word of god

“When you enter the land that the Lord your God gives you, then do not learn how to do abominations that these peoples have done: you should not be with you who leads his son or daughter through the fire, a soothsayer, a fortuneteller, a sorcerer, a sorcerer, a charm, calling spirits, magician and questioner of the dead; For everyone that does this is an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord thy God drives them out from before thee. be blameless before the Lord your God; for these nations, whom you drive out, listen to diviners and soothsayers, but the Lord your God gave you something else. " (DEUTERONOMY 18: 9-14).

They must teach My people to distinguish what is sacred from what is not sacred and explain to them what is unclean and what is pure. " (EZEKIEL 44:23)

“My people will be destroyed for lack of knowledge: since you rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from the sacred rite before Me; and since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children. " (OSIA 4: 6).

"Instruct the young man at the beginning of his path: he will not deviate from him when he is old." (PROVERBS 22: 6)

“But whoever seduces one of these little ones who believe in Me, it would be better for him if they hung a millstone around his neck and drowned him in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of temptations, for temptations must come; but woe to that person through whom temptation comes. " (MATTHEW 18: 6-7)

“Love [let it be] unfeigned; turn away evil, cling to good; " (ROMANS 12: 9).

"... so let us reject the works of darkness and put on the weapons of light." (ROMANS 13:12).

“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of the demon; you cannot be partakers in the Lord's meal and in the demonic meal. " (1 CORINTHIANS 10:21).

“Do not fall under someone else's yoke with the unbelievers, for what is the fellowship of righteousness with iniquity? What does light have to do with darkness? What is the agreement between Christ and Beliar? Or what is the complicity of the faithful with the infidel? What is the compatibility of the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God, as God said: I will dwell in them and will walk [in them]; and I will be their God, and they will be my people. And therefore come out from among them and separate yourself, says the Lord, and do not touch the unclean; and I will receive you. " (2 CORINTHIANS 6: 14-17).

"And do not share in the fruitless works of darkness, but also expose." (EPHESIANS 5:11).

“Finally, my brethren, what is only true, what is honest, what is just, what is pure, what is kind, what is glorious, what is only virtue and praise, think about this.” (PHILIPPIANS 4: 8).

“But the Spirit clearly says that in the last times some will depart from the faith, heeding deceiving spirits and the teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of false believers, burned in their consciences” (1 TIMOTHY 4: 1-2)

“Submit yourselves therefore to God; resist the devil, and he will flee from you. " (JAMES 4: 7).

"Pure and undefiled piety before God and the Father is that to look down on orphans and widows in their afflictions and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." (JAMES 1:27).

"Beloved! do not imitate evil, but good. He who does good is from God; but the one who does evil has not seen God. " (3rd JOHN 11)

Participation in Paganism

Instead of taking part in paganism, walking with witches and being in tune with Halloween, instead of our children celebrating ruthlessness and mindless fun on the day of death, we should focus the attention of our families and churches on celebrating Reformation Day on October 31st.

Reformation Day instead of Halloween

It was on October 31, 1517 that Dr. Martin Luther nailed 95 Abstracts at the door Schlosskirche (castle-church) in Wittenberg, Germany. His bold challenge against the unscriptural principles of the papacy of medieval Rome inspired the Protestant Reformation. All Bible-based churches should celebrate the greatest revival of faith and freedom in history. The Reformation was one of the most important turning points in world history. The energy unleashed from the reopening of the Bible in plain language led to the most outstanding spiritual Renaissance in history. The Reformation freed the Christians of Northern Europe from the destructive influence of Renaissance paganism and led to the greatest freedoms and scientific discoveries in history.

Any Bible believing Christian should celebrate the day of the Reformation. No Christian should take part in the celebration of the occult Halloween.

We are in a state of worldwide spiritual warfare. Animal cruelty, vandalism, and even murder are significantly more common during Halloween. Every year during Halloween, many thousands of animals and even humans are sacrificed in satanic rituals around the world, while millions of others, including well-meaning Christians, take part in the Halloween celebrations. Halloween is a prime time for witches and Satanists to attract people into their ranks. Many people testify that they were involved in the occult during a Halloween party. Halloween is a very religious holiday, but not Christian.

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (ROMANS 12:21).

Choose Life

October 31, this year, actively oppose Halloween: organize your family and church to celebrate the day of the Reformation and take part in spiritual battle, sincere prayer; praying the Psalms, sharing the Gospel with their friends and neighbors, especially those who, perhaps without thinking, take part in this occult festival of fortune telling, divination, human sacrifice and cruelty to animals.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the might of his might. Put on the whole armor of God so that you can stand against the wiles of the devil, because our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spirits of evil in heaven. For this, take the whole armor of God, so that you can withstand on the wicked day and, having overcome everything, stand. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and shod your feet with the readiness to preach the gospel of peace; and above all, take the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the fiery arrows of the wicked one; Take the helmet of salvation, and the spiritual sword, which is the Word of God. With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and strive for this very thing with all constancy and supplication for all the saints ”(EPHESIANS 6: 10-18).

Dr. Peter Hammond, Africa Christian Action
PO Box 23632
Claremont, 7735
Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town, South Africa

MOSCOW, October 31 - RIA Novosti, Milena Faustova, Marina Borisova.On the night of November 31 to November 1, many people in Russia, as well as around the world, following the United States and Canada, are preparing to celebrate Halloween, a pagan holiday, the meaning of which few people understand today.

"This disgusting mask show contradicts the spiritual and cultural traditions of the peoples of Russia" ... "The distortion of the human face with the help of masks depicting bestial and demonic creatures cannot but leave an imprint on the emotional state of a person, it cannot but touch his soul" ... "Among Muslims an extremely negative attitude towards this event, Halloween shows signs of outright devilry, so you will not hear about it in a positive way from any Muslim - neither in Europe, nor in America, anywhere "...

With rare unanimity, religious and public figures denounce this "commercial project" and a means of "cultural colonization", educators and psychologists worry about the fragile children's psyche, for which "playing with images of evil" can be dangerous, and young Orthodox activists gather "with posters and leaflets "walk the streets and" explain to passers-by why it is not worth celebrating or promoting Halloween. "

Meanwhile, "those who like to dress up and scare others" in all available ways are vying with each other to buy masquerade costumes, visit "fun parties", "horror discos" and "freak balls" in nightclubs, all kinds of Halloween quests and even a "terrifying bike ride". The people are stubbornly preparing to have fun recklessly, not thinking about what they are actually celebrating.

Halloween history: Celts or Indians?

It is believed that Halloween (All Hallows Evening - the evening on the eve of All Saints' Day, or in Old English - All hallow ees - the mass of the celebration of All Saints, which is celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church on November 1) originates in the culture of the Celts, who had four distinct designated beginning of the seasons. One of them - the holiday of Samhain, which was celebrated on October 31 - marked the arrival of winter and had an agricultural and seasonal significance.

Historians believe that the perception of it as a dark and pagan holiday associated with the cult of the dead is due to Christian monks of the 10th - 11th centuries. They reinforce their version by interpreting the presence of traditional Halloween attributes, for example, the so-called Jack lamp.

According to Irish legend, a cunning and stingy farmer named Jack managed to deceive the devil himself, by luring him into promising not to take the farmer's soul to hell after death. And since Jack was not allowed into heaven for his sins, the devil, remembering his word, "helped" his friend - he gave him smoldering coals from a hellfire so that Jack could light his path. And so that they burn longer, I cut a lantern from turnips and put them in it. Since then, Jack's lantern or lamp has been a symbol of a restless soul that wanders in the dark, illuminating its path with embers. In Western Christian teaching, the place where such souls languish is called purgatory.

In the late Celtic tradition, it was turnips or rutabagas that were used as "Jack's lamp". Pumpkin appeared much later: the vegetable, most likely, was brought to Europe by missionaries who visited North and Central America. From there, in all likelihood, some of the ritual side of modern Halloween was borrowed. Indeed, it is in Mexico, as well as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador since the time of the ancient Indian tribes of the Olmecs, Mayans and Aztecs in late October and early November, the Day or Carnival of the Dead was celebrated (and is still celebrated), and the theme of death plays one of the leading roles there. ...

Long before the emergence of Christianity, Indian tribes as a gift to the goddess Mictlansihuatl - "Lady of the Dead" - these days brought the skulls of their deceased ancestors, which were carefully kept in their own homes as a great family heirloom and demonstrated during various rituals as a symbol of death and peculiar - of course, not Christian - resurrection.

The ancient Indians believed that the souls of the dead on the day of the Carnival of the Dead return to the skulls that once belonged to them, and thus reunite with the living for a while.

The ancient Indian Day of the Dead was connected with Christian ideas about All Saints Day in the 15th century - after the discovery of America and the active Christianization of the local population. And over the centuries, he began to acquire the features of that Halloween, which is known throughout the world today. These are pumpkin skulls (pumpkin in America is the cheapest and most affordable vegetable) as a kind of Celtic "Ariadne's thread" in purgatory, and carnival costumes depicting skeletons, dead people, mummies, otherworldly monsters, witches, sorcerers, and the tradition of begging for sweets. The latter, despite the fact that it has its roots in pre-Christian pagan rites, in the Middle Ages was closely intertwined with the customs of another Catholic celebration - the Nativity of Christ.

Despite the fact that Halloween, which began to be widely celebrated only at the end of the 19th century in America and Canada, today has gained popularity all over the world and, of course, has a spiritual (sacred) component, in the religious environment it is treated with some caution and even hostility ...

Attitude towards Halloween in Russia

As the director of the information service of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, priest Kirill Gorbunov, explained to RIA Novosti, Halloween is a "folk festival of pagan origin", which is mistakenly considered a Catholic holiday. Moreover, some Catholics do not even know about its existence - for example, in Cameroon, Uruguay, Korea. However, at one time, since Halloween has long been adjacent to the two great Catholic holidays - All Saints 'Day (November 1) and All Saints' Day (November 2), the Roman Catholic Church tried to "use" Halloween to strengthen the Christian faith.

"Even the holy fathers said that evil does not tolerate ridicule, because the essence of the devil's sin is pride, but it cannot stand when they laugh at it. Therefore, as a mockery of the forces of evil opposing God, this holiday could exist, and the church did not had nothing against it, "- said the Catholic priest, adding that when the holiday turned into" a purely secular festival, in which there was too much cruelty, violence and sexual licentiousness, "the feasibility of holding it disappeared.

News and trendy flash mob inspired Halloween costume makersHalloween is celebrated in the United States and other English-speaking countries annually on October 31, on the eve of All Saints' Day according to the Catholic calendar. In accordance with popular superstitions, it is on the eve of this holiday, only once a year, that evil spirits can come to earth.

"In the 18th-19th centuries, it was more of a children's holiday, because children are very fond of horror stories. Now this masquerade has become popular among adults who perceive it as a day of permissiveness, and it is no longer possible to see the Christian understanding of evil and the attitude of the church towards it" , - Kirill Gorbunov is sure. However, the director of the information service of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow considered it "excessive to declare Halloween dangerous for our society and to prohibit it."

The Russian Orthodox Church has been warning against celebrating Halloween for decades. And in different cities of the country, the clergy and ordinary believers have been coming out for a year now with a variety of initiatives to ban Halloween both at the regional and federal levels. Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations between Church and Society of the Moscow Patriarchate, however, in a conversation with a RIA Novosti correspondent, expressed confidence that "just bans will not help."

As you know, this vile holiday, imposed on us by the West, is approaching. I would like to warn all Orthodox Christians not to be drawn into this obscurantism by accident. After all, Halloween was banned by the Orthodox Church back in the days of the Russian Empire. For a long time, the holiday was banned, as it has a pagan origin.

What does light have to do with darkness?
What is the agreement between Christ and Beliar? "
(2 Cor. 6: 14-15)

The worst thing is that after the collapse of the USSR, this holiday is now increasingly actively cultivated in Russia and Ukraine. Undoubtedly, this trend is evidence of the ever-increasing propaganda of Satanism everywhere. Let's see where the roots of this "holiday" come from.

"Halloween" originates from the Celtic ritual festival of Samhain, adopted by the Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons and Jutes) who migrated to Britain after the 6th century AD. Halloween has become one of the main folk festivals in British Ireland. In the 19th century, waves of Irish emigration brought the holiday to the United States, where it has been celebrated since 1846. In the United States, the holiday has become especially popular thanks to the gay community. In the 1970s, San Francisco became a popular drag show in the city's gay neighborhoods. They donned bright theatrical costumes and paraded down the street in the district. Over time, such events began to be held everywhere, with the participation of children or adolescents. The costume tradition was stylized to match the existing images of monsters and characters from children's horror stories.

Halloween has a very rich paraphernalia, interest in which is actively exploited by modern companies producing goods for children (costumes, masks, candies, decorations, etc.). The desire of various companies (mainly American) to increase their profitability is largely due to the spread of Halloween outside the United States, since in this country the market for Halloween goods is already oversaturated.

One of the main attributes of the "holiday" is the "Jack lamp" in the form of a head carved from a pumpkin with lighting. Cornices, balconies and entrances of houses are usually decorated with artificial spider webs, spiders, bats, witches, owls, cats, witch brooms, etc.

Halloween costumes are also based on the themes of witchcraft and its imagery in cinema and literature. Children, dressed in costumes and masks, go to beg for sweets from the homeowners, while uttering the traditional phrase "Trick or Treat!" - "candies or life!". Particularly popular are the outfits of witches, magicians, sorcerers, vampires, the dead, werewolves, ghosts, mermaids, fairies, elves, various nocturnal animals (cat, bat, wolf, etc.). Parties, carnivals are held, accompanied by ominous, graveyard music, howling wolves , owls hooting and other sounds recorded in audio or video format. Popular posters and spread out books depicting Dracula, witches, vampires and their symbols (aspen stake, black rosary, etc.).
It turns out that a new era of hellish propaganda has begun. Promotion of social occultism! If earlier only a small part of society could touch the secrets of magic, now the doorknob to the world of demons is made low enough that even a child, without much effort, could open it.

Occultism begins with candy, colorful fancy dress, orange lights, and harmless Caspers dangling helplessly in the trees. The childhood dream of being smeared with soot and scaring someone has become extremely accessible! The child is no longer afraid of evil! Cemeteries, skeletons, bloody zombies no longer cause a natural feeling of rejection. Everything that has been perceived for years as a fiend of hell is now fun. It turns out that evil can be good and even necessary. This is called releasing adrenaline into the bloodstream. Have you noticed that children love to play hide and seek and at the same time scare each other with shouts? Most of the rides offer health risks. You will be thrown headfirst, twisted, lowered down steep hills, taken through a dark cave with mysterious rustles and sudden cries of Egyptian mummies, you will be attacked by the cemetery dead. Screaming, screeching are so natural, because it is for such a "pleasure" that you paid!

And only growing up, we understand that Santa Claus does not exist, and Kashchei the Immortal is not so immortal. The teenager is getting bored! The search for such adrenaline is even more intensified and here, like a magic wand, comes the "good holiday" of Halloween. It brings a slight nostalgia for childhood and at the same time makes it possible to spend this time not at all childish.

The Russian Orthodox Church does not bless its children to participate in the pagan Halloween holiday in any form for a number of reasons:

1. The origin, form and essence of this "holiday of death" are pagan and incompatible with faith in the Risen Christ - the Conqueror of hell and death. Its origins date back to the beliefs of the ancient Celts, who believed that on this night the door to the other world was opened and the inhabitants of hell penetrated the earth. Glorifying the pagan god Samhain (Lord of Death), the ancient Celts brought him sacrifices, hoping that the “kindly” Samhain would allow the souls of the dead to visit their homes on that day. This is where the custom of wandering around on Halloween night, dressed in costumes of ghosts, witches and all kinds of other spirits, symbolizing communication with the afterlife and evil spirits, originates in the pagan world.

2. Halloween is a blasphemous mockery of All Saints' Day and of the saints themselves: on the day when the saints are remembered, Christians wear the costumes of demons, which, according to church canons, is a grave sin.

3. In addition, the very celebration of All Saints' Day on November 1 is unacceptable for Orthodox Christians, because the Orthodox Church celebrates All Saints Day not on November 1 (on this day, the memory of all saints has been celebrated in the Western Church since 835), but on the Sunday following the feast of Pentecost, that is, at the beginning of summer.

4. All the symbolism of this holiday is unacceptable for an Orthodox Christian, because it is a substitution of Christian values \u200b\u200band ideas with anti-Christian ones: fortune-telling, witchcraft, personification of death and evil spirits, pagan rituals of sacrifice to evil spirits, the custom of displaying a pumpkin with a terrible face carved on it, serving as an image dead, as well as pranks of a dubious nature. The association between wild "rites" of Halloween and Satanist cults is so obvious that even in the United States itself, many consider Halloween a holiday of Satanists.

5. Halloween is a means of dehumanizing and demonizing children's consciousness, introducing a fashion for paraphernalia and clothing depicting death, destruction, disharmony, and poeticizing cruelty. Playing in a demonic worldview, like any game for a child, is associated with trying on the image of a hero. Children copy the human sacrifices of Satanists, scoff at human suffering and death - this cannot pass without a trace neither for their mental state, nor for personal development. Removal of the taboo and internal censorship, natural for the human and especially vulnerable child's psyche, on mockery of death and human suffering, on the use of the blood of victims even in a playful form as a treat, acts of vandalism, etc., leads to serious mental and personal disorders of the child.

At the same time, all the beliefs that Halloween and similar holidays, despite their clear pagan origins and idolatrous essence, are harmless, innocent and of little importance, thereby undermines traditional spiritual foundations. If, for any reason, an Orthodox Christian was drawn into the sacrilegious rites of this holiday, he needs to bring sincere repentance before God in confession.

The officially registered American Church of Satan has openly declared Halloween as its main holiday. For them, the purpose of the celebration, which ends with the most important black mass of the year, is to demonstrate their worship and devotion to the devil. In addition to Satanists, it was also chosen as their main holiday by those who in our day deliberately betray themselves to the service of evil - sorcerers, witches, all different restorers of ancient pagan cults. Halloween night for them is the time of one of the four main covens.

Despite all this, Halloween is slowly starting to become a national holiday. (Why is that?) Sociologists consider the acceptance of such holidays by society as the most disturbing sign of our time. In their opinion, the celebration of Halloween and similar events speaks of a cultural crisis. People simply stop distinguishing between good and evil.

The traditions of this holiday, represented by harmless fun, are in fact ancient rites of imitation of the dead, offering sacrifices to spirits directly related to Satan. On this "joke holiday" you have a "rare opportunity" to feel like a demon, to act like a demon ...

An interesting prospect, isn't it?

For believers, such words sound like betrayal. This is a betrayal of God, a betrayal of one's own culture. There are actions that cannot be done even playfully. For example, playing hostage-taking terrorists ... Also playing Halloween with the obligatory sacrifice to demons is a spiritual betrayal. Remember why children are forbidden to play with matches - you can start a fire, with electricity - because they can shock, with a knife - so as not to accidentally cut yourself.

Let us pray for the preservation of the light of Christ in us and for driving away the darkness of false teachings. We are bad at worst; therefore it is not marvelous that lies will prevail. She even now walks the streets of the city openly, whereas before she cautiously hid from the gaze of believing Christians.
Saint Theophan the Recluse (1893).

As you know, this vile holiday, imposed on us by the West, is approaching. I would like to warn all Orthodox Christians so that they are not accidentally pulled into this obscurantism.

still from the movie "Halloween"

Priest Alexander Usatov

“What does light have to do with darkness? What is the agreement between Christ and Beliar? "

(2 Cor. 6: 14-15)

The Russian Orthodox Church does not bless its children to participate in the pagan Halloween holiday in any form for a number of reasons:

1. The origin, form and essence of this "holiday of death" are pagan and incompatible with faith in the Risen Christ - the Conqueror of hell and death. Its origins date back to the beliefs of the ancient Celts, who believed that on that night the door to the other world was opened, and the inhabitants of hell penetrated the earth. Glorifying the pagan god Samhain (Lord of Death), the ancient Celts brought him sacrifices, hoping that the “kindly” Samhain would allow the souls of the dead to visit their homes on that day. This is where the custom of roaming on Halloween night, dressed in costumes of ghosts, witches and all kinds of other spirits, symbolizing communication with the afterlife and evil spirits, originates in the pagan world.

The attitude of the Orthodox Church towards the celebration of Halloween

2. Halloween is a blasphemous mockery of All Saints' Day and of the saints themselves: on the day when the saints are remembered, Christians wear the costumes of demons, which, in accordance with church canons, is a grave sin.

3. In addition, the very celebration of All Saints 'Day on November 1 is unacceptable for Orthodox Christians, because the Orthodox Church celebrates All Saints' Day not on November 1 (on this day the memory of all saints has been celebrated in the Western Church since 835), but on Sunday following the feast of Pentecost, that is, at the beginning of summer.

4. All the symbolism of this holiday is unacceptable for an Orthodox Christian, because it is a substitution for Christian values \u200b\u200band ideas with anti-Christian ones: fortune-telling, witchcraft, personification of death and evil spirits, pagan rituals of sacrificing to evil spirits, the custom of displaying a pumpkin with a terrible face carved on it, serving as an image the dead, as well as pranks of a dubious nature. The associative connection between wild "rites" of Halloween and Satanist cults is so obvious that even in the United States itself, many consider Halloween a holiday of Satanists.

5. Halloween is a means of dehumanization and demonization of children's consciousness, introducing a fashion for paraphernalia and clothing depicting death, destruction, disharmony, poeticizing cruelty. Playing in a demonic worldview, like any game for a child, is associated with trying on the image of a hero. Children copy the human sacrifices of Satanists, scoff at human suffering and death - this cannot pass without a trace either for their mental state or for personal development. The elimination of the taboo and internal censorship, natural for the human and especially vulnerable child's psyche, on mocking the death and suffering of a person, on using the blood of victims even in a playful form as a treat, acts of vandalism, etc., leads to serious mental and personal disorders of the child.

The attitude of the Orthodox Church towards the celebration of Halloween