The forces of radical atheism are
at war with more than Christmas. Even
Halloween is frequently under attack by those who would tell you that it's a
Pagan holiday. Nothing could be further
from the truth. One need look no further
than Mexico
to see that their Halloween traditions are tightly tied to religion. Of course this is because Halloween is a
Christian holiday. The name Halloween
comes from the word hallowed, which means "holy" and the word ween
which is an old English word meaning "to think". In other words, Halloween is a day
for thinking holy thoughts.
Unfortunately,
the forces of radical atheism threaten to rob this great day of the symbols of its
proud Christian heritage. If these people have their way all traces
of Halloween's Christian roots would be erased and all references to Jesus
would be stricken from Halloween parades, store displays, and the hopeful
mouths of trick or treating Christian children. We must all
stand together against this atheistic tyranny.
One
of the stories, atheists don't want you to know is the story of the Jack
O'Lantern. In Ireland,
Christians were persecuted for many centuries. One of the reasons that
St. Patrick was celebrated for driving the snakes from Ireland is
because they used to feed Christian children to the snakes.
Christians were kept poor and not
allowed to hold jobs. Their possessions were simple, but their faith was
mighty.
As
the Irish traveled along the countryside at autumn harvest time looking for
work picking crops, they were frequently met with signs that said Christians
need not apply. Even a non-Christian who hired a Christian to pick
his crops faced persecution from the Irish King.
The
Irish needed a subtle symbol to let others know that they welcomed
Christians and that the light of Jesus shined within them. They
came up with the idea of taking a pumpkin and carving a smiling face on
it. They then placed a candle inside the pumpkin and placed it in
the window.
The
Irish named this pumpkin Jack of the Light or the Americanized version,
"Jack O' Lantern". Christians knew if they saw one of
these Jack O'Lanterns in any home, they could receive help there. If they needed shelter they could stay there
and if they needed food, they needed food, the home owners would share whatever
meager provisions they could.
Some
families of more well to do Christians began to get a reputation for their
generosity. Unfortunately, this also
drew the attention of those powerful people in the government who were against
Christians. They began to pay attention
to the people who came to those houses and to record their names.
After
the first arrests, the Irish Christians got a bright idea. They began to wear disguises and costumes to conceal
their identities from government spies.
It became a beautiful tradition, which we exported when Halloween was
brought to America.
Nowadays,
pumpkins are carved into the most grotesque and hideous shapes imaginable and
the original meaning of the Jack O'Lantern has been lost. Costumes
likewise, have become more about displaying skin than about obscuring
identities However, Ireland has become one of the most
Christian countries in the world. How
many prayers would have remained unprayed if not for Jack of the Light.
America may not have had Ireland's
religious persecution, but Halloween has remained an important holiday since it
was brought to this country by Irish immigrants in the 19th century. By the early part of the 20th century, the
holiday had spread throughout the entire United States. The concept of Trick or Treating became
especially important in the years of Roosevelt's
Great Depression when candy was replaced by canned goods and the peas or stewed
tomatoes a child earned trick or treating might be all the food that his family
had to eat for dinner that night.
Records
from the period are spotty at best, but I firmly believe more families made it
through the Depression because of trick or treating than from any expensive
social program that President Roosevelt launched in a misguided attempt to
create a safety net for the poor.
