History of Halloween

Halloween was originally called "Samhain" -a Gaelic word pronounced "sow-in" (in Ireland), or "sow-een" (in Wales), or "sav-en" (in Scotland) - meaning "summer's end." The Celtic culture had established itself throughout the British Isles from approx. 600 BC to 50 AD, and Samhain was an ancient Celtic type of harvest festival, marking the beginning of winter and the first day of the Celtic new year, celebrated on the evening of the 31st of October. The Druids (Celtic priests) also believed that on this day (exactly between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice) the barriers between the human and supernatural worlds were broken, allowing demons, witches and lost souls to harass the living and play tricks on them. People tried to protect themselves from attack by disguising themselves as witches, devils and ghosts, and carved grotesque faces in things like pumpkins, which they kept illuminated by candlelight, to ward off evil spirits. They also left out treats, like cakes, as a peace offering. When the Romans came to Britain (successfully in 43AD after failed attempts in 55BC and 54BC) they added the traditions of their own harvest festival, "Pomona", to Samhain, such as bobbing for apples in water barrels and putting nuts in the fire to watch where they jump to.



richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Christian views of Halloween

What all this means is that Richmond Park Church has never regarded Halloween, even in the guise of All Hallows Even and All Saints Day, to be a real Christian festival. However, as Halloween is a popular excuse for many to party, and we ourselves enjoy a good party, we see it as a great time to give children and families an opportunity to celebrate Jesus the light of the world rather than celebrate the darkness that the popularist Halloween represents.



Sunday 31st October 2010:

Hallelujah Party (an alternative to Halloween) for children in church from 5.30 to 7.30pm with games, food, and entertainment.


richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Christian views of Halloween

However, some Christians use the Biblical definition of all Christians being saints, and then choose to celebrate All Saints Day to remember the example and strengths of past Christians and thank the Lord for the work done through them.

And another more generous interpretation of the traditional church's actions is that they were trying to proclaim the supremacy of the gospel over the superstitions of ghosts, but even if this is true, their attempts to "Christianise" Halloween failed because All Hallows Day and All Hallows Even continued the theme of focusing on the dead (not the risen Jesus) and it was easy for people who didn't want to give up the perceived mystery and excitement of Samhain to merge the old and the new, which the church encouraged by keeping the dressing up and parades.



richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Christian views of Halloween

Considering All Hallows Even and Day, although Anglican and Catholic churches still follow the "church calendar" that was developed in the six hundred years following the death and resurrection of Jesus, many non-denominational churches, such as Richmond Park Church, don't follow all the old church traditions, preferring to try and be more like the church as described in the New Testament. We believe in the Biblical definition of a "saint", that all Christians are saints, not because of anything great we've done, but because we have Jesus living in us. We don't believe that the church has the authority to declare some people saints, and therefore we don't celebrate "saints days".

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Christian views of Halloween

However, other Christians argue that Halloween is a rare time of year when you actually get to meet your neighbours -taking the kids trick or treating, or opening your door to neighbour's children- and that Christians should use it as a "meet and greet" opportunity instead of remaining aloof from this community activity. They point out we will not be bolstering the kingdom of Satan by joining in, and we have nothing to be afraid of with Jesus on our side!



richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Christian views about Halloween

You can see from the history where the practise of "trick or treating" comes from -leave out a treat or risk having a trick played on you by those from the other world- but we don't think it is nice to threaten people with pranks unless they hand over sweets. It can be very intimidating, and is definitely not something Jesus would do! It's the same with dressing up as ghosts and witches, and carving pumpkins -it was part of Samhain and it's focusing on fear and can be intimidating.


richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Christian views of Halloween

What do Christians today think of Halloween?



Hmmm...there are mixed views!

Most non-Christians and some Christians view Halloween as "a harmless bit of fun". However, Halloween's pagan Celtic origins revolve round placating, and trying to hide from, the roaming dead and evil spirits - in other words, Halloween is about FEAR, over-emphasising evil and telling people they have to save themselves by dressing up in disguise and offering gifts. There is NOTHING in Halloween of the peace and love of God, or the saving power of Jesus, or the fact that Jesus has conquered death and sin. The Bible says "fear not" 366 times! God doesn't want us to be scared or afraid.


richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

History of Halloween

The date was chosen on purpose to rival Samhain and involved similar traditions, including dressing up as a saint, an angel or a devil and joining a parade, with the aim of weaning people off of the pagan festival. By the 9th century, Samhain traditions were still going strong, so the church tried to take-over the evening of the 31st of October itself by making it another feast day, "All Hallows Even" (evening) and this and Samhain (remember, it's pronounced something like "sow-een") merged to become "Halloween". Because of it's Celtic history it is only popular in the UK, and the USA and Canada, taken there by the Irish who emigrated to America in their tens of thousands after the 1845 potato famine.


richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

history of Halloween

As Christians were killed for preaching about Jesus and standing up for their beliefs, those surviving chose to commemorate the death of these martyrs or saints by celebrating "martyrs days" or "saints days". These were usually local festivals, though the martyrdom of some of the apostles were more widely celebrated. Pope Gregory III (731-741AD) decided to have one day a year in the church calendar to celebrate all the martyrs or saints, instead of lots of different regional saint's days, and this was set as the 1st of November, and known as the "Feast of All Saints" or "All Saint's Day" or "All Hallows Day" ("hallow" is an old English word for saint or holy person).



richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

history of Halloween

They also left out treats, like cakes, as a peace offering. When the Romans came to Britain (successfully in 43AD after failed attempts in 55BC and 54BC) they added the traditions of their own harvest festival, "Pomona", to Samhain, such as bobbing for apples in water barrels and putting nuts in the fire to watch where they jump to.

Meanwhile, after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus in 30AD, the "new" controversial religion, Christianity, spread to Asia Minor, Greece and to Rome, and so through the Roman Empire, largely as a result of persecuted Christians having to flee Jerusalem.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

History of Halloween

The Druids (Celtic priests) also believed that on this day (exactly between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice) the barriers between the human and supernatural worlds were broken, allowing demons, witches and lost souls to harass the living and play tricks on them. People tried to protect themselves from attack by disguising themselves as witches, devils and ghosts, and carved grotesque faces in things like pumpkins, which they kept illuminated by candlelight, to ward off evil spirits.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

History of Halloween

Halloween was originally called "Samhain" -a Gaelic word pronounced "sow-in" (in Ireland), or "sow-een" (in Wales), or "sav-en" (in Scotland) - meaning "summer's end." The Celtic culture had established itself throughout the British Isles from approx. 600 BC to 50 AD, and Samhain was an ancient Celtic type of harvest festival, marking the beginning of winter and the first day of the Celtic new year, celebrated on the evening of the 31st of October.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Nehmiah Rebuilds Jerusalem's Wall (drama sketch)

And on top of all that, Nehemiah kept receiving letters from Tobiah saying:

You’re rebuilding project is a stupid plan! It doesn’t have my approval and I’m a very important person round here! Woe to you if you don’t stop such foolishness!

But Nehemiah replied: I’m going to get the wall rebuilt!

And after 52 days of hard work the entire wall was finished! Nehemiah said:

I got the wall rebuilt! I got the wall rebuilt! I got the wall rebuilt! Praise the Lord!

A big celebration party was planned to dedicate the wall and give thanks to God that, against all the odds, the wall got rebuilt! All the people joined in and the joyful noise of songs of thanksgiving could be heard far and wide!


richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Nehmiah Rebuilds Jeusalem's Wall (drama sketch)

And he prayed to God for the strength and courage to carry on. Then Shemaiah told Nehemiah that God had said to tell him:

Those officials are going to kill you! Quick! Let’s hide!

But Nehemiah replied: That’s not what God says to do! I’m going to get the wall rebuilt!

And he was right! God hadn’t told Shemaiah to say that at all; the nasty officials had! And some other so-called prophets also tried to frighten Nehemiah into stopping the work, saying:

Doom and gloom! It’s all going to end badly, very badly, for you if you don’t stop building the wall!

But Nehemiah replied: I’m going to get the wall rebuilt!



richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.