Happy Halloween???

I woke my 6 year old today, and he practically sprang out of bed, from being asleep to wide awake and smiling in 0.23 seconds ( I’m on the phone with Guinness now to see if it’s a new record) as I handed him his socks he turned to me and said “ Happy Halloween Daddy” with all the wide eyed wonder and excitement one would expect from Christmas. He then ran to the bathroom, stopping to tell his mother the same thing, and leaving precise instructions that mother pass on this greeting to his still slumbering brother when he wakes up.
The lad couldn’t wait to climb into his Darth Vader costume to go to school, I think If I had let him, he would have worn the mask while eating his breakfast. Mom had decided that he would not take his Gloves and cape to school but he would don the full Sith regalia this evening during Trick or Treat, he took it ok.
It was nice to see him so excited for a holiday….but it got me wondering.

WIKIPEDIA says…


“The modern holiday of Halloween has its origins in the ancient Gaelic festival known as Samhain (pronounced /ˈsˠaunʲ/ from the Old Irish samain). The Festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is erroneously[3] regarded as 'The Celtic New Year'.[2] Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. The Ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, where the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them.[4][5] When the Romans occupied Celtic territory, several Roman traditions were also incorporated into the festivals. Feralia, a day celebrated in late October by the Romans for the passing of the dead as well as a festival which celebrated the Roman Goddess Pomona, the goddess of fruit were incorporated into the celebrations. The symbol of Pomona was an apple, which is a proposed origin for the tradition of bobbing for apples on Halloween”

So I thought about this, and again we see the early church adopting Pagan rituals to pull them into the ever loving embrace of The Church.

To Clarify….The scene is a early Gael and a early Christian priest talking

Gael: This is our festival of Samhain, it celbrates the end of the harvest etc etc.

Priest: Um…Wow!! We have one of those to, and it happens to be today as well, Imagine that, all of this under one roof.

Gael: Really?
Priest: Why yes…we are practically the same religion….say why don’t we trim the fat, stream line operations and downsize abit and bring it all under one roof brother?

Gael: um…

Priest: Sure, bring your decorated fur tree’s and Sam…whats ya call its and bring it in house. Now pass the collection plate my friend.


Pretty clever huh? These early fellas put bank mergers to shame, they merged religions.