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This article is from Today's
Native Father, issue #99, September/October, 1998. Related articles from
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HALLOWEEN IS NOT JUST HARMLESS
FUN by Stephen A. Nelson |
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People who plan to celebrate this Halloween with an evening of trick-or-treating need to look at the big picture and recognize the pagan roots of their revelry, says a former high priest in witchcraft. Gene Aven is now an expert in the occult who advises law-enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the RCMP, in occult-related crime. The Washington state resident says Halloween celebrations can no longer be considered harmless fun. Aven, who became a Christian after five years as a witch, notes that Halloween has its origins in pagan Druid rituals “which frequently involved human sacrifice.” The Celts of ancient Europe believed that on the night of October 31 Samhain, the lord of the dead, came out of his realm demanding appeasement. Sometimes this meant food offerings, but often meant human offerings, Aven says. When the victim had been sacrificed a pumpkin would be hollowed out and the smiling face of Samhain would be carved into the side. A lit candle made from human tallow was placed inside the pumpkin. The grinning face glowing in the dark showed that Samhain had been appeased and that he was happy with the sacrifice. This is where we get the custom of making a jack-o-lantern. The practice of trick-or-treating began when people would put food outside their doors hoping this would satisfy the demands of Samhain. Peasants soon discovered that was a good night to fill the winter larder simply by disguising themselves as Samhain, or a demon, and going door-to-door to collect food offerings. If there were no offerings they would knock on the door and say “trick or treat.” The treat they wanted was food. The trick was having the home cursed and a life taken. Today members of the occult religions, including the Druids, witches and satanists, perpetuate these practices at Halloween, which is for them one of the high “holy” days of the year. “It’s interesting how much the holiday is resorting to its pagan roots and getting increasingly ugly and violent each year,” Aven says, pointing to the numbers of abductions, missing persons and animal mutilations that take place in the days preceding Halloween. For Aven, this history raises the question of why anyone “would want to reenact, even in cartoonized form, traditions that have roots in these worship rituals.” Aven, who has six children of his own, says that young people are being constantly bombarded with occult messages and ideas from all around them, in everything from movies and rock music to Saturday morning cartoons. And they are increasing embracing the occult doctrines of rebellion and violence. In this context, Halloween can no longer be seen as harmless and is in fact cause for concern, he says. Even now, “very few parents allow their children to go out and trick-or-treat indiscriminately.” Aven says he and his family strive to emphasize the Christian symbolism in holidays, but with Halloween “it’s virtually impossible to do that.” So they don’t participate in the Halloween rituals. But those who do need to look at the big picture and think about what they are doing. Reprinted from the Brandon Sun, October 28, 1991. Used by permission |
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