Tag: Is Halloween pagan

Podcast Episode: Halloween, Jack-O-Lanterns, and the Christian Call to Be Set Apart

Podcast Episode: Halloween, Jack-O-Lanterns, and the Christian Call to Be Set Apart

Pip: There is a moment every October when a carved pumpkin sitting on a pastor’s doorstep becomes a theological crisis — and cj found that moment.

Mara: This episode follows one post from The Way of the Rabbi, walking through the history of the Jack-O-Lantern, what an African missionary saw in it, and what the call to be set apart actually demands of a believer.

Pip: Let’s start with the gourd.

Halloween, Jack-O-Lanterns, and the Christian Call to Be Set Apart

Mara: The post opens with a story: an African missionary visiting American homes in October, seeing Halloween decorations at house after house, saying nothing — until he saw a carved pumpkin on the host pastor’s own doorstep.

Pip: That’s the frame. A man who recognized something that the pastor had stopped seeing — or maybe never looked at closely enough.

Mara: The missionary’s words, quoted directly in the post: “I cannot believe that Christians in America, would light the gourd.”

Pip: And the pastor’s response was essentially: relax, it’s just a cultural tradition. Which is exactly the kind of answer that sounds reasonable until you ask what the tradition actually is.

Mara: The post traces two separate histories. The first is the Jack-O-Lantern itself — rooted in Irish folklore about Stingy Jack, a trickster who tricked the Devil, was refused entry to both heaven and hell, and was condemned to roam the earth with a burning coal inside a hollowed turnip. Irish immigrants brought the custom to America in the 1840s and switched to pumpkins because they were easier to carve.

Pip: So the symbol is literally a man wandering in darkness, shut out of both destinations. That’s the decoration.

Mara: The second history is the one the missionary carried with him. The post explains that in parts of West Africa — likely the Congo region — lit gourds placed at a compound’s entrance served as a visible receipt: proof that a household had paid tribute to a witchdoctor and was under that practitioner’s protection.

Pip: Which means the missionary wasn’t reacting to a quaint autumn custom. He was looking at something he had seen used as a mark of occult allegiance, now sitting on a Christian pastor’s front step.

Mara: The post anchors all of this in Psalm 1 — “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers” — and in the Matthew 7 warning: “I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.”

Pip: The argument isn’t that every person carving a pumpkin is making a conscious spiritual declaration. It’s that appearances carry weight, that compromise accumulates, and that loving your neighbor poorly includes modeling a life that blurs those lines.

Mara: The post puts it plainly: living in compromise does not show compassion to the lost. The call is to return to the feasts of God and turn from the traditions of man — including the ones that feel harmless because they have always been there.

Pip: The missionary’s grief was the signal. The question the post leaves open is whether the western church has the ears to hear it.

Mara: What stays with me is the image of the lit gourd — the same object, two continents, two completely different frames of reference.

Pip: Context is everything. And sometimes it takes someone from the outside to hand it back to you.

Mara: More from The Way of the Rabbi next time.

Read the entire post here: Podcast Episode: Halloween, Jack-O-Lanterns, and the Christian Call to Be Set Apart

Halloween, Jack-O-Lanterns, and the Christian Call to Be Set Apart

Halloween, Jack-O-Lanterns, and the Christian Call to Be Set Apart

In one of my letter conversations that I had with two Mormon Missionaries I mentioned the story of the gourd. It was inspired by a telling of a personal antidote from a speaker at a conference that I attended. The speaker was an African missionary, and he told a story of his first trip to America. It was in October and the celebration of Halloween was in full swing. Coincidentally, it was also October this time around when I had the honor of hearing him speak.

On his missionary journey here to the Americas he was speaking at various churches and conferences. Informing the western church of what was happening in the African church. On his first trip ever to America, specifically the United States, he was traveling with the host pastor of the conference. They went to visit a few of the folks who were unable to get to church for various reasons.

At several of the stops there was Halloween decor on the outside of the home, including carved pumpkins, otherwise known as Jack-O-Lanterns. The missionary didn’t say anything, keeping quiet about the pumpkins and Halloween decor. It was when they arrived at the pastors house and the missionary saw pumpkins on pastor’s doorstep that the missionary finally succumbed to his emotions.

His countenance shown in his face, that of a man of sorrow. The pastor asked him what was the matter? To which the missionary said, “I cannot believe that Christians in America, would light the gourd. The pastor brushed it off as though the missionary just didn’t understand American culture and that this tradition was simply harmless fun.

I didn’t have full context when I heard this story. In fact had you asked me of my opinion on Halloween before walking in to hear the missionary I probably would have sounded like the host pastor. But something struck me hearing the missionary recount the story. That year I told my family we weren’t going to carve the pumpkins that we had already purchased. We didn’t and I haven’t since.

As I studied more on the subject I discovered the source of the missionaries grief. And I understood the severity of appearances. Psalm 1 is as good of place as any (there are plenty to turn to) to capture the essence of what the missionary and now I feel.

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the Instruction of Yahweh, and on His law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does. 4 Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For Yahweh guards the path of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

The ties of the gourd to witchcraft, witchdoctors, and secret society are numerous. Here’s just a snapshot. These examples come from the History Channel, and the Encyclopedia Brittanica websites.

Concerning the missionary and his grief over the lighted gourd I found this information particularly enlightening. While a “lighted gourd tax” is not a continent-wide anthropological term, the missionary was likely describing a localized practice from regions and countries of West Africa (e.g., Nigeria, Cameroon) or the Congo Basin. If my memory serves me here it is my recollection that he was indeed from the Congo; but I am not exactly sure.

  • The Spiritual “Tax” (Tribute): In many historical contexts, certain powerful secret societies (like the Ekpe or Leopard Societies in West Africa) or corrupt spiritual practitioners operated as shadow governments, this included witchdoctors who were considered spiritual leaders.
  • The Tribute: They demanded regular tributes of food, livestock, or goods from villages. If a village or household refused to pay, they were threatened with curses, illnesses, or physical raids by the society’s masked enforcers.
  • The Gourd as a Receipt: Dried gourds (calabashes) were widely used as containers for sacred medicine, charms, or shrines. These were specifically used in witchcraft, occult practices, and by witchdoctors. When a family or village paid their required tribute, the witchdoctor would often leave a designated charm or marked item at the entrance of the compound.
  • A traditional oil lamp: Hollowed-out gourds were frequently used as primitive lanterns or oil lamps. Placing a lit gourd lamp outside a dwelling served as a visible, night-time receipt showing the compound was under the “protection” of the witchdoctor and should not be harassed.

Now knowing this information wouldn’t change much of a western christian’s mind. Especially one who enjoys the spirit of Halloween. The argument could be made that this is a cultural expression separate from western culture all together. But do most ‘christians’ know the origins of the pumpkin, also known as a Jack-O-Lantern? Again, the following examples are taken from the History Channel and the Encyclopedia Brittanica websites.

Halloween’s Jack-O-Lantern

  • The tradition of the jack-o’-lantern comes from an Irish folktale about a mischievous man named “Stingy Jack” and ancient Celtic harvest customs.
  • Trickster’s Fate: According to Irish folklore, Stingy Jack tricked the Devil multiple times. When Jack died, God refused him entry into heaven, and the Devil—keeping his promise not to claim Jack’s soul—turned him away from hell as well.
  • The Wandering Ember: The Devil sent Jack into the dark night with only a burning coal for light. Jack placed the coal inside a hollowed-out turnip and has been condemned to roam the Earth ever since, becoming known as “Jack of the Lantern”
  • Samhain Festival: The custom is tied to the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain, when people believed the boundary between the living and the dead is blurred.
  • Moving to America: During the 1840s Great Potato Famine, Irish and Scottish immigrants brought the tradition to North America.
  • Why Pumpkins: Immigrants discovered that American pumpkins were much larger, softer, and easier to carve than turnips. The carved pumpkin quickly evolved into a staple decoration of modern Halloween. Even taking on the name Jack-O-Lantern.

With all the other aspects of Halloween, the idea that westernized christianity is ok it baffles me. Although, I also see its allure since for most of my life I also celebrated it. However, once the veil was removed from my eyes there was no way I could justify my compromising belief. My hypocritical belief to be more specific. Since then my love for Yahoshua has only grown with a desire to live for Him.

As Yahoshua said, “The greatest commandment is this: To love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” To share any part of that with anything remotely evil, pagan, or of the occult, is unthinkable. Still, Yahoshua didn’t stop there He continued, “And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. And all the Torah and Prophets hang on these two.”

How can I say that I love God and participate in a man made tradition. Even more, one that is so intertwined with evil it can’t separated which leads to compromise. Moreover, how can I say I love my neighbor while causing they to stumble. Living in a place of compromise does not show compassion to the lost. No, if anything it sets up a lifestyle of compromise that makes it easier to turn to worldly tradition than to God’s Instruction.

Part of living in Covenant with Elohim is abstaining from evil, shunning it really. God does not play around. Is He patient? Yes! Is He forgiving? Absolutely! Is He unchanging? You better believe it! Hebrews 13:8 tells us, “Yahoshua Messiah, is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Yahoshua, is the Word made flesh, He is the Living Torah, the Manifestation of God’s Instruction. And Yahoshua says:

21Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Adonai, Adonai,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Adonai, Adonai, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’

That word lawlessness, is to say, ‘without Torah. So to be clear, Yahoshua says, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who are without Torah.” Which brings us back to Psalm 1.

1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the Instruction of Yahweh, and on His law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season, whose leaf does not wither, and who prospers in all he does. 4 Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For Yahweh guards the path of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

It is time to come back to the Feasts of God and turn from the traditions of man, including all of mans pagan rooted holidays.

You are loved, cj