Guest Column: Unmasking Halloween tradition

Have you ever worked your fingers to the bone for something and not seen the results you were hoping for? Have you ever prayed for genuine change in the community and feel like there is little to show for your efforts?

According to the Bible, GOD instructed the Israelites to pray for the peace and prosperity of the community He placed them in, because if it prospered, they too prospered.

Unequivocally, our destinies are connected with the status of our community. Having said that, GOD is very interested in the traditions we hold dear; looks at what we celebrate individually and corporately. So as children of the light, do we celebrate the light or the dark?

The LORD Almighty says this in Haggai 1 : “You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied. You drink, but you never have your fill. You put on your clothing, but no one is warm enough. And he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”

When it comes to fall traditions, as the people of GOD, we need to “consider our ways.”

Halloween is one tradition in our culture that continues to raise concern. In 1975, Richland County Commissioner Freeman Swank and the mayors of Mansfield, Ontario, and Lexington together made a joint statement declaring that there would no longer be trick or treat activities due to the concerns of increased vandalism, disturbing the peace, and child safety.

Interestingly, Halloween originated from a Celtic pagan festival named Samhain (pronounced Sam-ween), where disguised druids ordered people to start a sacred bonfire to burn animals, crops, and even human beings as sacrifices. This was done to honor Samhain, the “lord of death.” This tradition has been carried over today as Halloween and is considered a high holiday in paganism.

Researcher George Otis Jr. points out that spiritual strongholds can be sustained across generations. “Religious festivals are many times deeply rooted in history and can afford the successive generations the opportunity to consciously ratify the choices that were made by their ancestors. For participants, it gives them the chance to identify with their forefathers with cultural points of origin; it’s like a generational baton pass.”

Some young people raised in this tradition continue to hold this festival dear. The Halloween party in Athens at Ohio University attracts 20,000 people annually. This past Halloween, 182 were arrested for underage consumption; 45 were taken to the hospital for over-indulgence of alcohol, and thousands of taxpayer dollars were spent on additional officers for police patrol. This same dilemma took place at Kent State where 105 were arrested during Halloween Weekend.

In fact, drunk driving over Halloween has surpassed drunk driving on New Year’s Eve. On Halloween night in 2008, 58 percent of all highway fatalities involving a driver or a motorcyclist were alcohol-related, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is known by its own fruit, and Halloween is known by death.

The city of Detroit had a tradition the night before Halloween as abandoned buildings were set fire. Nicknamed the “Devil’s Night,” 800 fire were started in 1984 during a 48 hour period. On the last three days of October in 2007, at least 147 fires occurred.

According to the Columbus Dispatch this past Fall 2009, a haunted house in Pataskala, Ohio showed a scene of a man pulling a trigger, and committing suicide; this did not bode well with the local suicide prevention services.

Can we honestly in good faith say that observing the festival of Halloween is harmless to our society ? GODS’s people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.

With the recent proliferation of “haunted attractions” in our community, it would be very wise to not sweep this issue under the rug. Make no mistake, our city must not be a “ghost town. We must continue to seek those things which attract the presence of the Living GOD.

Reverend El Akuchie is Pastor at Godsfield House of Prayer and Executive Director of Richland Community Prayer Network.