Understanding the “Hallow” in Halloween

The word Hallow means to “make or set apart as holy” and to respect or honor greatly; revere.  Jesus himself told the disciple an example of prayer is what we call “The Lord’s Prayer” and he used these words; “hallowed be thy name.”  It is obvious that the word ‘Hallow’ is directly linked to God [our Father which is in heaven].  How did this word change to Halloween and how we celebrate it today/

Originally this celebration was an unholy ritual used by the Roman’s and the Celtic Druids [you can look this up anywhere on the internet]. During the Middle Ages (about 600 years ago), the Roman Catholic Church at that time, decided to make the change-over from pagan religion to Christianity a bit easier, and therefore allowed the new converts to maintain some of their pagan feasts. It was agreed, however, that from now on they would be celebrated as "Christian" feasts. So instead of praying to their heathen gods, they would now pray to, and remember the deaths of saints. For this reason the church decided to call November 1 the "Day of All Saints," and the mass to be celebrated on that day "Alhallowmass." In consequence of this, the evening prior to this day was named, "All Hallowed Evening" which subsequently was abbreviated as "Halloween." In spite of this effort to make October 31 a "holy evening," all the old customs continued to be practiced, and made this evening anything BUT a holy evening!

As we know, Halloween is definitely not celebrated as a Holy Day or Eve.  It tends to be directed toward things of evil which is against Christian beliefs because of the comparison of a Hallowed God the Father and the Hallow of evil practices by cults.  It also brings the danger of young people dabbling in things of evil spirits.

Is there anything wrong in our children dressing up in costumes and going out to gather up candy?  Probably not in itself, because most of these children are not thinking they are doing anything evil; they are just having fun.  Knowing the history of Halloween, it is up to parents to decipher the pros and cons for their children.  The Bible says we should train up our children in the ways of the Lord.  If you feel this does not oppose the Word of God, you will probably let your children Trick or Treat. 

Going on about the word ‘Hallow’, let me show you how the world has incorporated this word into an evil entity.  Let’s look at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  The sign of the Deathly Hallows 

represents three objects symbolically: the Wand, the Stone, and the Cloak. 

• The Elder Wand, known throughout history as the Deathstick and the Wand of Destiny, is an extremely powerful wand.
• The Resurrection Stone allows the holder to communicate with the dead. According to the fairy tale concerning the origin of the Deathly Hallows, using the Resurrection Stone drove its original owner, to commit suicide.
• According to the legend, the Cloak of Invisibility has the power to shield the wearer from being seen by Death. It is a true invisibility cloak, in the sense of being able to completely shield the wearer from sight.

There is nothing I can add to all the teachings and comments about the evil of the Harry Potter series.  However we can see how this worldly approach turns Holy things of God into Evil things. 

We have alternatives to Halloween such as Harvest Parties, Family Get-togethers or School activities.  Kids can dress up like cartoon characters, Bible characters or animals, but dressing up like something dead or evil should not be something you should select for your children.   Some of these things must be so offensive to our heavenly Father, like pregnant angels, or pregnant nuns; cute little devils or ghosts.  How about zombies?  They might sound funny to some, but are against the Word of God. 

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” [Hebrews 9:27]  People are not going to wander around half dead and half alive.  The Devil isn’t cute!  God’s heavenly creation – angels are not going to be pregnant for they are neither male nor female.  Lets be real; there is nothing funny about evil! 

A word of advice, when you are out trick or treating on Halloween and you get a creepy feeling that someone or something may be watching you or following you, you are probably right.  Just remember these spirits are not from God, so where do you think they came from? They are not 'hallowed', so they must be 'hollow'.