Friday 29 March 2024

Even our religion has pagan roots

Krista Sulllivan

The anti-Halloween leaflet addressed parents with a lot of warnings; here is my informed response.
1) “This is a feast with its roots in paganism”.  So is the Catholic religion. So what’s the big deal?

2) “It involves the occult”. The dictionary definition of occult is: beyond the range of ordinary knowledge or understanding; mysterious.  Isn’t all religion mysterious, personal and beyond the range of ordinary knowledge? So far beyond ordinary knowledge in fact that wars have been fought over it. It seemingly gives man the right to kill.

3) “Halloween is dedicated to fear and death, torture, mutilation and strange killing.” Strange killing? Like a man tortured, hammered and left to die on a cross? Hmmm.

4) “Exposing vulnerable children to impressionable images which can lead to nightmares”.  Please see point 3 and then wait for Good Friday to see actual re-enactments of the macabre event.

5) “Other things to be warned about are heavy metal music, negative role playing, sadistic pornography, reading about Satan.” This statement is so baffling and bewildering. How can this wide rage of activities be swept into one bag without further ado? This leaflet is obviously the work of a paranoid, delusional mind which has been indoctrinated in fear and is victim to its own faith. Because the only time I ever read about Satan was in the Bible. Yes there are other books which are Satanic but it takes a specific personality to enjoy that kind of reading, not Halloween.

Furthermore some of the most loving, decent people I know are into heavy metal and they don’t enjoy sadistic pornography. Sir, you who came up with this, what films have you been watching?

The truth about Halloween is that it stems from a time when people’s harvest was the most important part of their lives. It was a feast our ancestors celebrated by creating big bonfires, playing music, dancing and exchanging goods before going into their homes for the cruel winter. The shadows of the fires gave rise to ghost images and it is associated with death in symbolism of the changing season which led to honouring the lives of deceased family members. Remember that feasts were massive events; local people did not see each other every day like we do. They worked hard in fields, and survival of and through the elements was paramount.

Nature ruled people’s lives, so it stands to reason that they would want to honour the seasons, their livelihood and their relationships with each other, does it not? Eventually Samihain (Halloween) was banned by the church and replaced by All Souls Day which was celebrated in a similar way and is what we know today as All Saints Day.

My point here is that yes, Halloween has its roots in paganisim and Catholic ritual has its roots in Halloween. Get it?

 

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