I have been wanting to write a blog on this for a while, and after seeing many post on facebook or hearing everyones opinions on Halloween I thought what better time to write a blog on Camoflaged Paganism. Below you will read things that will be completely shocking and new. I'm not writing this to condemn or critisize anyone. I just want to share some things I have studied off and on for some time and present them to you! So here we go!
We have all been trained or programmed from birth with various traditions, rituals and customs. I often find it amusing that so many christians are fast to condemn Halloween for what it stands for, the history, behavior and rituals, and rightly so I might add. If we look into Halloween for what it is then, what I'm about to share about other traditions that we celebrate will be no different.
Halloween - This word comes from 2 celtic words Hallowed Evening. The roots of this holiday come from druid demon worship. Witches were said to fly brooms over the crops to "Teach them how to grow".
When the roman catholic missionaries encountered these druids, they were met with stubborn resistence.The inhabitants of Angle-Land (England), Sweeden, Neder-Land(Netherland), Northern Germany, Finland, and Erie-Land (Ireland) were very nationalistic.The rituals we embrace here in America were originally called Feast of the Dead, Samhain (pronounced Sa-Ween) and was on November 1st. Gifts especially food were left outside for roaming ghost. This was done so that the hope of no harm would come to there household. The druids would choose certain children to be burned alive on Bone-Fires ( now called bonfires) as an offering to the sun. Parents would tie yellow ribbons around the trees as prayers to the sun to have their children spared.
The fat left over from a child was made into a candle and placed into a carved out pumpkin or hallowed out vegitable with a round sun shaped design. The victim was called Jack of the lantern. Prisoners and unliked people were burned alive in whicker cages shaped as animals and hung from trees. This was ultimately to pay homage to the sun.
The catholic church made allowances to accomidate the druids instead of forcing the pagans to drop their practices but accept christianity. They called it acculturation. They sanctified the ritual by absorbing it and camoflaging it. They later renamed it "All Saints Day" the day chosen to honor "hallowed" saints.
The pagans used yellow nimbuses and floating gold hoops in stone carvings,paintings and stained glass as well as statues to identify their deities and founders as being inhabited by the sun. This is where we get "Halo" from. The next time you see a halo about the head of someone or something get away from them! There is nothing sacred about it!
Easter - (Es'ter) Ostrara or Eastre was the goddess in spring in the religion of the ancient Angles and Saxons. Every april a festival was celebrated in her honor. The word has been adopted from pagans into christianity. Easter was one of the two biggest celebrations observed by pagans long before christianity came along. Easter was celebrated by Assyrians, Phonecians and the Phillistines. Pagans believed the earth mother was impregnated by the sun. They engaged in ritual sex acts and used symbols of fertility like eggs, rabbits and hot cross buns. The babylonian symbol for female was and is still a circle with a crux below. The round cakes were baked for the queen of heaven and great mother with the cross symbol indicating the female. The symbol also indicated the Equinox when the earhs orbit crossed the celestrial equator. To ensure a prosperous growing season, pagans rolled eggs with bright colors of spring on their fields hoping to infuse fertility. These eggs were then hidden from "evil spirits" in rabbits nests. Easter is the name of the babylonian mother of harlots. Ishtar is the same word we have today in Easter. It's Nimrods mother, also known around the world as Ashera,Astoreth,Ishtar,Eostre,Astarte,Maia,Gaia,Diana,Ninurta,Nana,Ceres,Ostara,Austron,Isis,Aphrodite.
Venus,Indrani,Devaki,Tanit,Cybele,Artemis,Athena,and many others.
Pictured (Athena)
Her image stands as the sungoddess "Lady Liberty" in New York harbour. Her headpeice has 7 horns of sunrays to indicate her true identity.Her emblem is the french flower the lily Fleur-de-lis. The American Society and Easter Seals use this logo and have no religious affiliation. Most churches decorate with lillies on Easter morning. The word in the greek that underlies the word easter is Pascha- meaning passover.
So how did we get Easter mixed up with christianity? The roman emporer, Constantine 1, formed what is called the Nicene council. This council is made up of 220 elders in order to unify basic doctrines and establish common practices. This produced the Roman catholic church. Constantines council sought to institute new tolerances for pagan practices and owtlaw the patterns that the savior lived by and taught. By not repenting and turning away from foolishness it was simpler to just absorb the behavior. By keeping rituals in place control was maintained with a minimum effort. Rather than make 99% conform to a total new behavior it was easier to eliminate the 1% and put a twist on the pagan custom.
Christmas- How did this character Santa Claus get mixed in the holiday? Santa clause is not only in the English world but is shared all around the world.
A pagan festival of the winter solstice. An ancient belief that the winter sun was slowly dying, because it was seen rising further and further south. By December 25th the ancient solstice could be recognized as to begin rturning northward and was said to be reborn. It marked a time for celebration that lasted days. Carved idols (dolls) were exchanged. People hung wreaths on their doors or wore them around their necks.
At the death of Nimrod, the wife/mother taught the young to go into the groves and place a gift on a tree at the winter solstice. This was an offering to the father, Nimrod, who is now considered the sun. The custom of tying a yellow ribbon around an oak tree represents a prayer to the sun. Branches of trees came to symbolize nimrod also. Decorating homes of holly,boughs,and wreaths was the custom. Branches twisted in circles repreented the sun. (Ez. 8:14-18) Boniface saw druids bringing oak trees into their homes. He deverted them to consider the evergreen tree and used it to teach them about eternal life. So how did all this get to America? The Irish from Ireland during the 18th and 19th century grew dependant upon the potatoe. A fungus destroyed the crops causing a famine. Many people died, so much so that the only escape from death was to migrate.
Most Irish came to the US fleeing the great famine. What they brought to the US for the first time was Catholicism.
These Irish had the rich cultural background of druidism, which blended together with roman catholics. Their belief in elves,banshees,leprechauns,fairies,luck and all sorts of celtic majic came with them. They brought their pumpkin ritual (halloween), the christmas tree tradition which had been outlawed as pagan in many colonies. Whatever pagans were doing before became mixed with roman catholics.
"Santa" the dutch who told the story of Saint Nicholas spoke in a very pronounced accent. When they said Saint Nicholas it came out sounding like Saintni - Cholas. The english hearers took it down as "Santy Claus" Later on it took the more spanish form "Santa" The original character was an irish transplant coming from people wh had based their beliefs on druid majic and elves. Originally Santa was no more than 2 feet tall,skinny and wore green.He had a long white beard and he had majical powers to grant wishes,watch you without being seen, and so on. He could also do harm.
In the 1800's a bubbly beverage was introducedcalled Coca Cola. By the 1930's it was a major business, and had it's own advertising department, strategist, and artist. One of the artist Rosenblum decided to try something new. The Dutch/Irish character Santa Claus was beginning to gain a lot of attention. Rosenblum used his artistic imagination to change the image of Santa Claus. Rosenblum made him a full size man,jolly and plump. He used the red & white product colors to clothe Santa in. He added a drooping wizard hat.As a marketing message the company encouraged customers to leave a bottle of cola near the hearth when he visits at midnight.
Valentines Day - The mythology of the Romans taught that the empire begin with 2 orphaned boys Romulus and Remus who were nurtured by a she-wolf.
Every year on February 15th a purification festival was held called "Lupercalia" or wolf festival. Two youth boys (who represented Romulus and Remus) ran around the city in the nude laughing and whipping strips of wolf skin dripped in blood.
Unmarried girls exposed their backside to be lashed with these bloody wolf hides, to supposedly infuse fertility. Every elligible girls name was collected and placed in a jar and all the young men would draw a name. This is where we get the phrase "luck of the draw". Whatever name was drawn that girl would be his companion in the festival. Later this festival was changed to Valentines Day and moved to February 14th and christianized. The shape of the heart is after the ivy leaf. The symbol of Bacchus the male deity of wine and love.Other names he refers to is Nimrod, Tamuz,, Sagitarius, the archer, Orion the hunter and cupid.
The arrow penetrating the heart is a symbol representing mating. Bacchus is seen wearing a leaf of ivy leaves on his head during mating rituals. So even the heart comes from pagan rome.
This is just the start of all the pagan customs we are involved in here in America. Let me tell you this has me in such " awe". As I right this I am just as overwhelmed by the paganism in our everyday life and we do not even know it! All I can say is we must look to God's holy word everyday. He gives us the light and lets us see what we are doing right and wrong.
