Unmasking Halloween
Greetings
Halloween is a famous worldwide holiday but it’s especially popular in the United States. With over 73% of Americans planning to partake. Halloween ranks among the most celebrated holidays in the United States. Often landing in the top five, just behind Christmas and Thanksgiving. With billions spent on costumes, candy, and decorations every year.
But how did such a famous holiday come to exist? How did it become so popular and is it truly all just innocent fun?
Hello Dear readers and welcome back to another Truth & Roots Blog! Today I want to bring to you the truth about Halloween and whether we as believers and followers of Yeshua should partake in it. It is a topic I have been dying to bring to the table and have been looking into for a long time. So today I want to share with you what I know and what I have found.
I know it’s a topic that many believers struggle with, and I hope that this post today helps bring you clarity. Its our job as believers to discern what is good and what is sin, to take things and test it against Yehovah’s word. So let’s do that today!
Tracing The Origins
Where did Halloween originate from? How did it come to be? Those are indeed the questions. Ones that to find the answer too we will need to go back a few thousand years.
Around 2,500-2,700 years ago a Celtic tradition known as Samhain (pronounced “SOW-in”) existed. It was an ancient Celtic religious festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, traditionally celebrated around October 31st to November 1st.
During Samhain, the ancient Celts believed that the veil between the living and the dead grew thin, allowing spirits to cross into the earthly realm. It was thought that those who had died in the past year could finally pass into the afterlife, and families would prepare meals, set extra places at the table, or leave offerings at the doorstep to welcome them.
Fun fact: In my deep dive into Samhain, I came across many blogs and websites where modern witches, pagans, and New Agers openly describe doing these same things today. They went into great detail on how they welcomed spirits, honored the dead, and how celebrating this night to them was sacred. Many of them state that, “Smart witches know to harness Samhain's energy to make their magic more potent.” In fact, you can find whole blogs dedicated to explaining how to celebrate Samhain and how it’s a prime time to practice magic and divination.
Celtic villagers, especially the poor or children would go from house to house in disguise, asking for food or small gifts. This practice was known as “souling,” because the offerings were often collected on behalf of the dead, to honor them or help their spirits find peace, and also to appease and prevent misfortune. Disguises were worn during souling to confuse or mimic spirits with the hopes it will protect the living from being recognized or harmed.
Bonfires were also lit on hilltops as both beacons and barriers. Guiding friendly spirits home while warding off malevolent ones. Just like how People dressed up during souling people up dressed in animal skins or as deities to confuse or appease wandering spirits, and some accounts suggest that sacrifices both animal and human were offered to ensure protection and favor from the unseen realm. Early jack-o’-lanterns, often carved from turnips, were said to contain human fat or ashes and were placed in circles around homes to repel dark forces. Spiritually, what was happening wasn’t just remembrance it was invocation. The dead were not only honored but sometimes called upon for guidance, protection, or insight. Divination rituals were common, and the night was filled with attempts to communicate with the other side. For the average Celtic family, Samhain was a night of reverence and fear. A sacred threshold where the natural and supernatural collided.
It is widely agreed upon by scholars and sources like the Brittanica, that Samhain was an important precursor to Halloween. Due to its striking parallels in timing, symbolism, and ritual practices. For example,
Shared Timing
Samhain was celebrated from October 31st to November 1st, marking the end of harvest and the beginning of winter.
Halloween falls on October 31st, directly mirroring Samhain’s calendar placement.
Spiritual themes
Samhain was believed to be a liminal time when the veil between the living and the dead was thin. People feared and honored spirits, often leaving offerings or disguising themselves to avoid harm.
Halloween retains this theme through ghosts, costumes, and fear-based imagery, though often commercialized.
Rituals and Symbols
Samhain involved bonfires, costumes, and divination. Supposedly all meant to protect or communicate with the spirit world.
Halloween echoes these with jack-o’-lanterns, trick-or-treating, and spooky storytelling. (not to mention almost all the traditions we perform on Halloween literally came from Samhain.)
But to be frank I have a pretty good hunch that Samhain and Halloween both can be traced to an old tradition or festival from ancient Babylon. But that’s just a theory and I’m still looking into. But I do have some possible worthy candidates that I will share more with you in the future if it does indeed to turn out to be true or related in some way. But I have a deep gut feeling it is, lol.
Regardless, Samhain and Halloween are just too conveniently alike to pretend they aren’t somehow related. The overlap is undeniable. From the timing and themes to the rituals and symbols. It’s not just coincidence; it’s continuity. The spiritual DNA of Samhain runs straight through Halloween, even if modern culture tries to dress it up as harmless fun. The connection is there.
The “Christian” Connection
Although despite such overwhelming and solid evidence many people still argue Halloween is a “Christian holiday”. With many people quoting that it comes from All Hallows’ Eve a holiday authorized by Pope Gregory III. So therefore its “Christian” and okay to partake in.
But here’s the question, where did All Hallows’ Eve originate from? How did it come to be?
Well before we examine the Church’s involvement, we first need to take a look back at the Roman Expansion in 43 AD. Prior to the Catholic Church’s existence Rome was famously pagan empire. With many gods and many pagan festivals and holidays of their own.
The Romans were conquerors and they conquered many people including the Celts. This conquering of the Celts and not to mention other cultures caused traditions and beliefs to merge with each other. This is what happened to the Celtic Samhain, it was merged with the Roman holidays Pomona and Feralia. Feralia, a solemn day to honor the dead with grave offerings, and Pomona, a harvest celebration devoted to the goddess Pomona of fruit and orchards. Feralia’s rituals of leaving bread soaked in wine and violets at tombs to appease restless spirits mirrored Samhain’s offerings to the dead and belief in a thin veil between worlds. Pomona’s symbols, especially apples, aligned with Samhain’s seasonal timing and were adopted into Celtic divination games like apple bobbing, used to predict romantic fate or spiritual favor. The Romans brought ancestor veneration and agricultural symbolism; the Celts contributed fire rituals, disguises, and spiritual fear. Together, they formed a hybrid celebration rooted in death, harvest, and supernatural contact. A fusion that laid the groundwork for what would later be rebranded as Halloween.
Scholars like Nicholas Rogers (Oxford University Press) confirm that Halloween’s origins lie in this blending of Roman and Celtic traditions, and sources like Britannica and History.com affirm that the Church later absorbed these practices through strategic syncretism. Even historian R. Ann Siracusa notes how Feralia and Pomona’s themes were seamlessly folded into Samhain’s framework, creating a spiritually potent mix that the Church didn’t erase, just renamed. Some scholars also point to Lemuria, an older Roman festival held in May, where the head of the household would walk barefoot at night, tossing black beans to ward off evil spirits. This ritual of spiritual cleansing and protection echoes Samhain’s fire rites and Feralia’s grave offerings. This too over time, merged into the Celtic framework, creating a layered spiritual tradition that the Church later renamed but never truly transformed.
So actually, based on all the evidence, All Hallows’ Eve and even All Saints’ Day are not original Catholic inventions, nor are they carefully designed Christian traditions. They are rebranded spiritual hybrids, born from the merging of pagan festivals, most notably the Celtic Samhain, and the Roman holidays Pomona and Feralia. Samhain laid the foundation with its rituals of honoring the dead, disguises to ward off spirits, and divination practices. Feralia added ancestor veneration and grave offerings, while Pomona contributed harvest symbolism. Especially apples, which were absorbed into Samhain’s spiritual games.
When the Catholic Church sought to expand its influence, it didn’t eliminate these traditions—it absorbed them, renaming the celebration as All Hallows’ Eve and placing All Saints’ Day directly over Samhain’s calendar. The rituals remained; only the names changed. What was once done to appease spirits was now framed as honoring saints and praying for souls in purgatory. But the spiritual DNA death, fear, and supernatural contact remained intact. This wasn’t sanctification. It was syncretism.
So, in the end to be fair those who say Halloween came from all Hallow’s eve aren’t entirely wrong. They have a part of the picture but not the whole picture. Halloween manifested through layers of spiritual compromise, beginning with Samhain, then absorbing Feralia and Pomona, and finally being rebranded by the Catholic Church as All Hallows’ Eve. The Church didn’t invent the holiday it inherited it, renamed it, and reframed it. The rituals stayed the same: honoring the dead, invoking spirits, disguises, offerings, and divination. Only the labels changed.
Halloween is essentially All Hallows’ Eve, just renamed and repackaged. The term “Halloween” comes from the Scottish contraction of ‘All Hallows’ Evening’, where “hallow” means holy person or saint, and “eve” refers to the night before. Over time, the phrase “All Hallows’ Eve” was shortened to “Hallowe’en”, and eventually became Halloween. While the name still carries echoes of its religious rebranding, secular society has downplayed its spiritual origins, turning it into a night of costumes, candy, and entertainment. But beneath the surface, the rituals and symbols are still rooted in Samhain, Feralia, and Pomona remain largely unchanged.
So much so that Occultists, Satanists, Wiccans, witches, New Agers, and other spiritual practitioners still recognize and celebrate Halloween as a night of profound spiritual power. They understand its original roots. A time when the veil between worlds was believed to be thin, when offerings were made to the dead, and when divination and spirit contact were central. For them, Halloween isn’t just cultural it’s sacred. It’s a night for rituals, invocations, spellwork, and honoring spirits. They know it carries spiritual significance and impact on the soul, because its foundation was never truly Christian, it was pagan, and it still is. The Church may have renamed it, and society may have dressed it up in candy and costumes, but those who walk in spiritual darkness still celebrate it for what it always was: a night of death, fear, and supernatural contact.
Refuting Common Christian Justifications for Halloween + Final Conclusion
Regardless of Halloween’s clear roots in pagan traditions, beliefs, and practices. Many believers still argue in defense of the holiday. With arguments like:
“God knows my heart. I’m not doing it for pagan reasons.”
“Yehovah will protect me from evil,”
“We’re celebrating how Yeshua triumphed over death.”
“Everything belongs to God, so we’re reclaiming it.”
But let me ask you a question. Are you speaking in defense of yourself and from your feelings and perspectives or Yehovah’s? Have you stopped to consider if He’s okay with it? If He sees it the same way you do? If He condones it? Have you stopped to consider that He may just be crying with distress in heaven from the sadness and pain of watching millions of His children spiritually defile themselves?
If you’ve been paying attention, then you should have noticed that all the things done on Halloween are of demonic origin. I’ve been repeating this throughout this whole article. They are demonic despite the Catholic’s churches attempt to redeem and “christianize” it. I do believe some things can be redeemed but I don’t think the holidays can be.
It’s a genius plot made by the devil to spiritually corrupt and defile Yehovah’s chosen. His own followers recognize it, and they spend practically 365 days of the year preparing for it. But we Yehovah’s chosen can’t discern between good and evil, but Satan’s children can!? That’s just messed up. We’re supposed to be warriors, ambassadors of Yeshua and good examples of the light. How can we be good examples if we don’t know what’s light and what’s dark, or that we are “light” but walk in darkness, or that we put our needs and desires above Yehovah’s? If that’s the case, then were not examples and are still sick and in need of healing. We are not children of the world but children of Yehovah we are not called to fit in but to stand out.
Trick-or-Treating comes from Samhain, Feralia, and medieval “souling”. People believed that by doing this they would appease the spirits and earn blessings. That giving or receiving offerings could affect the spiritual realm. So they went door to door offering prayers for the dead in exchange for food or treats. The Catholic church rebranded it as a fun community activity to offer prayers for the saints and dead souls in purgatory. Secular society stripped it of spiritual meaning for “innocent fun and entertainment”. But the Bible plainly says that communication with the dead or any kind of spirit is abomination and will be punished with hellfire. That there is only one mediator (YESHUA). That death is final there is no second chances only judgement. Nor does Yehovah accept offerings that originally belonged or was intended for Idols. Nor does he want us having any connection nor possession that is tied to idolatry. For He says its abomination and less we be doomed or snared by it. He commands us to instead uttlery abhor it.
Wearing costumes during Halloween comes from Samhain, where people dressed in animal skins or grotesque masks to confuse or ward off spirits. They believed disguises could protect them from being harmed by the dead. The tradition was later rebranded by the Church as dressing like saints, and by society as playful self-expression. But the Bible says we are to walk in the light, not mimic darkness. Yehovah does not accept rituals rooted in fear or deception. He calls us to be set apart, not to blend in with spiritual confusion. Plus as previously stated the only spirits on the earth are demons and fallen angels and when you dress up your opening doors to the spirit world and manifest them. When you dress up you act out and pretend to be who you dressed up as, you take on that character's personality, habits, and looks in effort to be them. It sounds innocent on the surface but can be a form of spiritual manifesting. Not to mention again that Yehovah wants us to have zero connections with anything sinful or tied to idolatry.
Jack-o’-lanterns originated in Samhain, where carved turnips or pumpkins were lit to ward off evil spirits or represent trapped souls. The story of “Stingy Jack” added folklore, and the Church later adopted candle lighting for saints. Today, it’s seen as harmless decoration. But Yehovah says not to use symbols or objects for spiritual protection. Our refuge is in Him alone not in carved faces or flickering lights. Should we not seek our God? He is the only one who truly can protect us. Fallen angels and demons say they will protect us, but they lie. They will secretly lead you to your doom. What began as a tool of fear and spirit contact remains spiritually defiled. Once again Yehovah doesn’t want anything in our possession that ties us to sin or idolatry less it doom and ensnare us.
Decorating homes with skeletons, ghosts, and symbols of death comes from ancient rituals meant to honor or repel spirits. Samhain and Feralia both used imagery of decay to connect with the dead. The Church reframed it as remembrance, and society turned it into spooky entertainment. But Yehovah is not the God of the dead, but of the living. He commands us to have no part in darkness, and to utterly reject what is tied to death and fear. Not to mention again that he does not want us having anything in our possession, person, or ties with anything sinful or idolatry less it dooms and ensnare us. We are called to be the light how can we be the light if we look like darkness? We cannot represent life if we disguise ourselves with death.
Lighting candles and offering prayers for the dead was central to Feralia and All Hallows’ Eve. People believed they could help souls in purgatory or guide spirits home. The Catholic Church institutionalized this through masses and rosaries. But the Bible says judgment is final after death, and there is no purgatory or second chance after death. Praying for the dead is not intercession it’s necromancy which is a form of sorcery. Which Yehovah calls an abomination. There are no ghosts or dead human souls wandering earth only demons and fallen angels.
Apple bobbing and other Halloween games come from Pomona and Samhain, where fruit was used in rituals to predict marriage, fate, or spiritual favor. These were acts of divination. Seeking supernatural insight through objects. The Church allowed it as harmless tradition, and society turned it into party fun. But Yehovah says divination is an abomination. He alone reveals truth not games, rituals, or symbols. What began as spiritual manipulation remains spiritually dangerous. Again, He wants us having no part with evil less we become corrupted and spiritually defiled.
Deuteronomy 18:10–12 (NKJV) "There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord..."
1 Chronicles 10:13–14 (NKJV) "So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. But he did not inquire of the Lord; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse."
Isaiah 8:19 (NKJV) "And when they say to you, 'Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,' should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?"
Galatians 5:19–21 (NKJV) "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand… that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."
Revelation 21:8 (NKJV) "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
1 Timothy 2:5 (NKJV) “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.”
Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV) “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”
Luke 16:22–26 (NKJV) The Rich man and Lazarus.
Deuteronomy 7:25–26 (NKJV) “You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing.”
Ephesians 5:11 (NKJV) "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them."
Luke 20:38 (NKJV) "For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."
Luke 16:26 (NKJV) "And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us."
2 Kings 21:6 (NKJV) “Also he made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and consulted spiritists and mediums. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.”
Acts 19:19 (NKJV) “Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.”
1 Corinthians 10:21 (NKJV) “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.”
Jeremiah 10:2–3 (NKJV) “Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not learn the way of the Gentiles… For the customs of the peoples are futile.’”
2 Corinthians 6:14–17 (NKJV) “What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?... Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.”
Revelation 22:15 (NKJV) “But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.”
Romans 1:28–32 (NKJV) "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them."
The explanations I gave to each tradition were taken and just repeated from the Bible. Trust me these were not my own ideas but conclusions I came to via reading His word, prayer, and fasting. Between me and you a dark part of my heart wishes that sorcery and all these things weren’t abominations. In my testimony on the home page, I shared how I once begged Yehovah to speak to me. But what I didn’t say was that if Yehovah didn’t answer me I was to turn to witchcraft. I’m not joking. It’s a temptation I’ve faced more than once, but I rebuke it every time, knowing it’s an abomination. So far, I’ve kept it in its lane.
But these are my convictions, this is what I personally believe and have concluded through the guidance of the holy spirit. I hope this blog today has brought to you some clarity and that it was enlightening and fascinating. Or maybe it’s sent you into utter turmoil, if that’s the case then I know how you feel. But that means you are being convicted, and I beg you out as someone who has been convicted and ignored it before and suffered dearly for it. Please. Please listen to your conviction because that is the holy spirit talking. It’s Yehovah telling you something.
But thanks so much for dropping by! I can’t wait to see you again in my next post. I have some of my sources and links linked below and I have some reading material in resources if you want to see where I sourced my info or want to do some research yourself. But nevertheless, that is all I hope you all have a blessed day!
