jack made a deal

in 1999, i took in a new roommate to my much-coveted large, top floor dorm room. she was a sweet girl, and a recently converted neo-pagan. at the time, i could not have cared less. halloween was an extremely important holiday for her, so i decided to study up in efforts to understand where she was coming from.
a month later i came to Christ. i don't see this as coincidental.
here's the 411:
jack made a deal with the devil to have immortality. the devil gave jack a hollowed-out turnip with a candle in it to see in the darkness. jack fooled the devil, and the devil has been after souls ever since. people began putting out lit hollowed gourds on their porches to keep the devil away. now we carve pumpkins.
the celtic calendar ends following our october 31st, so that the beginning of november is a new year. for a culture worshipping nature, including the moon and stars, the change to something new is austere. they believe that on all hallowe's eve the line between life and death is blurred, so that ghosts and spirits can carry on in the human world on that night. for this reason, people placed foods at their doorsteps and remained indoors to keep safe from the spirits. now we dress up as spirits and go knocking on people's doors. for all of those doubters who say that Christian holidays are pagan/Hallmark, this is literally a pagan holiday. the root of the matter is important to know. in opposition, november 1st is all saints day, which i do celebrate.

i've got nothing against getting dressing up, having festivals and bazarres, and giving children candy. do you remember the fishing booth at the halloween fair? someone behind the sheet would tug at your line like a fish biting a hook, and then you'd reel back the line and find a treat on the end! man, part of me will always be a child. awesome.