Some of your Evil Traditions

     I live in a small town that has actually broken records for having the most churches.  That being said, you would think that this town then would be a kind, gentle community that is not judgmental by any means.  Well it is and it isn’t. There are still a good bit of people around here, and other areas of the world who actually believe Halloween is evil. My family goes through this every year when October rolls around and frankly, it gets old.  We happen to enjoy the traditions of Halloween which include dressing up in costume and running amuck collecting candy.  We are quite fond of spooky stories, bonfires, and traditional Halloween games.  How is any of this evil? 

     Halloween is believed to have originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.  People would light bonfires and dress in costumes to ward off roaming ghosts.  It was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween.  Over time, the holiday has evolved into the secular event that is children and family friendly with activities such as trick or treating. Yes it came from traditions (and each and every thing involved including bobbing for apples) had purposes.  But yet, this is the ONLY thing considered “evil” that came from centuries old traditions?  Perhaps people should dig a bit deeper into history and I bet they would learn that they have been participating in “evil” or “Pagan” or whatever sort of traditions all along. 

     First off, everybody loves birthday parties, right?  Presents, games, a cake with lighted candles to send prayers and wishes up to the gods.  Yes, you read that right.  One of the stories in history is how people used candles on a birthday cake so that the smoke from them will carry the birthday person’s wishes to the gods in the skies so that they may be granted.  I have never once seen a birthday cake without lit candles on it.  More so, I have never not heard somebody say “Make a wish!” right before the person blows their candles out.  Another superstition is the tradition of the birthday party itself.  Did you know that a birthday party celebration originated in Europe because it was believed and feared that evil spirits were attracted to people on their birthdays.  Having a gathering of family and friends around the birthday person was said to protect them.  So think about all of that fun birthday stuff the next time you think about celebrating. 

     What’s next?  Oh yes…Christmas.  Christmas is a holiday where Christians (like me) celebrate the birth of Christ. Now the way I was taught, nobody really ever knew the exact date of Christ’s birth so a date was just selected to observe this holy day.  But what I learned later on through reading history (which is something I enjoy doing a lot) was that December 25^th was selected to try to convert the Pagans without interfering (and upsetting) with the already traditional Pagan holidays.  How many of you celebrate Christmas with a Christmas tree?  Did you know that the Christmas tree tradition comes from the Ancient Roman practice during Saturnalia, their Winter festival, which honored the god of agriculture?  So the next time you are decorating your tree during the holidays, thinking about that. 

     Who enjoys a good wedding?  The beautiful décor, the romance in the air, the bride in her beautiful dress and veil covering her face.  Did you or your bride have a veil?  In ancient Rome people believed that evil spirits were attracted to the bride so they covered her face to conceal her features and confuse these spirits.  In medieval times it was used to cover the bride to hide her from the evil eye.  Though some beliefs are that the veil came from arranged marriages but then again, there are tons of Halloween traditions that are overlooked too because people want to hear only some. So were you or your wife hidden from evil on your special day? 

     Now, I know everybody uses or at least has used a calendar at some point in their life.  Did you know that our calendar originates from a mixture of pagan and mythical beliefs?  The days of the week are based on Greek mythology.  Now it is convenient for Christian people to conform to society norms.  But whether we are religious or Christian or not, we do not think of the calendar of a pagan thing.  It is just merely a way to tell time.  Just like a wedding veil is not really believed these days to keep evil spirits away from the bride.  And the Christmas tree is used as a traditional centerpiece in a Christian holiday and not to worship the agriculture god.  And birthday candles and parties are fun traditions that have been done for quite some time and we don’t necessarily believe our wishes will be granted by the gods in the sky when we blow our candles out.  And finally, we don’t celebrate Halloween to worship other gods or even the devil according to popular belief for that matter.  Perhaps some people just simply like costumes, candy, bobbing for apples, and spooky stories around a bon fire for fun.  So before you judge, oh mighty Christians, perhaps you should dig a little deeper in your personal traditions.  You might be shocked by what you find.