The Pagan roots of Halloween

By Michael Snyder | End of the American Dream

(Photo Credit: lobo235/Flickr)

Most people that celebrate Halloween have absolutely no idea what they are actually celebrating.  Even though approximately 70 percent of Americans will participate in Halloween festivities once again this year, the vast majority of them are clueless about the fact that this is a holiday that is thousands of years old and that has deeply pagan roots.  If you are going to celebrate something, shouldn’t you at least know what you are celebrating?  Before it was ever known as Halloween, this festival was known as Samhain.  According to Wikipedia, Samhain “is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and is known to have pre-Christian roots”.  The ancient Celts believed that Samhain was the time when the veil between the spirit world and our world was lifted and the ghosts of the dead were able to freely mingle with the living.  It was also a time to honor the Lord of the Dead known as Bel (note the similarity to Baal) or Chrom.  Almost every major Halloween tradition including the jack-o’-lantern, trick-or-treating and wearing costumes is rooted in ancient Celtic practices.  In many areas of early America, Halloween was considered to be so evil that it was banned.  But today most Americans don’t even think twice about celebrating it.

To most people these days, Halloween is just a fun time to dress up, eat candy and attend parties.

But there are others that take this holiday extremely seriously.

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