It feels like every year I write the same post. My favorite <a title="Paganism" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism">pagan</a> holiday -- <a title="autumn: pumpkins &amp; apple pies" href="http://christiannoob.wordpress.com/2010/10/25/autumn-pumpkins-apple-pies/">All</a> <a title="all hallows’ eve: the forbidden" href="http://christiannoob.wordpress.com/2010/10/30/all-hallows-eve-the-forbidden/">Hallows</a> <a title="hallows eve" href="http://christiannoob.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/hallows-eve/">Eve</a> -- is coming! If you're in NYC, you'll see the weirdest of the weird come out that night. <a title="Halloween" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween" target="_blank"><em>Hallowe'en</em></a> (the spelling I learned as a child) is definitely the <a title="Ghost of New York Walking Tours" href="http://www.ghostsofny.com/" target="_blank">strangest night in NYC</a>. This all begs to ask what the <a title="Hell" href="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell" target="_blank">hell</a>'s this thing called <em>Hallowe'en</em> ? The festivities of the Hallows Eve started as a <em>"yearly</em> <a title="Holiday" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiday"><em>holiday</em></a> <a title="Halloween around the world" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_around_the_world"><em>observed around the world</em></a> <em>on October 31, the eve before the</em> <a title="Western Christianity" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Christianity"><em>Western</em></a> <a title="Christianity" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity"><em>Christian</em></a> <em>feast of</em> <a title="All Saints' Day" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day"><em>All Hallows</em></a> [that] <em>initially incorporated traditions from</em> <a title="Paganism" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism"><em>pagan</em></a> <a title="Harvest festival" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvest_festival"><em>harvest festivals</em></a> <em>and</em> <a title="Festival of the Dead" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festival_of_the_Dead"><em>festivals honoring the dead</em></a><em>, particularly the</em> <a title="Celts" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celts"><em>Celtic</em></a> <a title="Samhain" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain"><em>Samhain</em></a><em>"</em> (<a title="Halloween" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween</a>).

<img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-7880" src="http://provoketive.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Skye_nicolas_zuzanna2-300x180.jpg" alt="Zuzanna II (The Mortelle Series, Skye Nicolas &amp; Marlon Richards; Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)" width="300" height="180" />Since I've grown a fascination to the relation (<a title="Parallels between the Christian gospels and Pagan mythology" href="http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jcpa1.htm" target="_blank">similarities</a>, <a title="Christian Feast Days and Their Relationship to Pagan Holidays" href="http://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/rel232/resource/RileyPaper.htm" target="_blank">papers</a>, etc) between <a title="Christianity and Paganism" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_and_Paganism" target="_blank">Paganism and Christianity</a>, as well as the <a title="Neo-romanticism" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-romanticism" target="_blank">romanticism</a> and <a title="The Beauty of Death - Does God Exist? - SepOct97" href="http://www.doesgodexist.org/SepOct97/TheBeautyOfDeath.html" target="_blank">beauty of death</a> (<a title="Science fiction" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction" target="_blank">sci-fi</a>/<a title="Horror film" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_film" target="_blank">horror movies</a>) as portrayed in the painting Zusanna II (pictured), <a title="Halloween" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween" target="_blank"><em>Hallowe'en</em></a> remains as my favorite time of the year. The whole concept of the dead walking the earth always makes me curious. I guess that it's a sacrilege and simply wrong as a Christian or acceptable as a <a title="Neo-Pagan Christianity" href="http://christiannoob.wordpress.com/2010/12/07/neo-pagan-christianity/">Neo-Pagan Christian</a>, in which <em>"the environment that I grew up in, Pagan traditions co-existed with Christian (Catholic) ones."</em> The latter may be better explained in following text from the <a title="Library of Congress Home" href="http://www.loc.gov/" target="_blank">Library of Congress</a>.
<blockquote>"Halloween had its beginnings in an ancient, pre-Christian Celtic festival of the dead. The Celtic peoples, who were once found all over Europe, divided the year by four major holidays. According to their calendar, the year began on a day corresponding to November 1st on our present calendar. The date marked the beginning of winter. Since they were pastoral people, it was a time when cattle and sheep had to be moved to closer pastures and all livestock had to be secured for the winter months. Crops were harvested and stored. The date marked both an ending and a beginning in an eternal cycle."
-- <a title="Halloween: The Fantasy and Folklore of All Hallows (The American Folklife Center, Library of Congress)" href="http://www.loc.gov/folklife/halloween.html" target="_blank">Halloween: The Fantasy and Folklore of All Hallows</a>, Jack Santino, <a title="The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress" href="http://www.loc.gov/folklife/" target="_blank">The American Folklife Center</a>, <a title="Library of Congress Home" href="http://www.loc.gov/" target="_blank">Library of Congress</a></blockquote>
One thing that I find ironically strange between various faiths is the belief of spirits, regardless of the belief of <a title="CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Heaven" href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07170a.htm" target="_blank">heaven</a>, <a title="CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Hell" href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07207a.htm" target="_blank">hell</a>, <a title="Reincarnation" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation" target="_blank">reincarnation</a>, <a title="Ghost" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost" target="_blank">ghosts</a> or whatever other belief. As such, the whole idea of life and death as part of a continuous cycle (<a title="Sa%E1%B9%83s%C4%81ra" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa%E1%B9%83s%C4%81ra" target="_blank">Sam.sa-ra</a>) <a title="Cosmic cycle of life and death - Times Of India" href="http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-01/edit-page/31111239_1_cycles-soul-path" target="_blank">intrigues</a> me. It's almost as if life and death, <a title="Paganism" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism">Paganism</a> and <a title="Christianity" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity" target="_blank">Christianity</a> were one and the same. As such, many <em>experts</em> have accused <a title="Christianity" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity" target="_blank">Christians</a> of taking <a title="Paganism" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism">pagan</a> legends and/or rites like the <a title="Sacrament" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacrament" target="_blank">sacrament</a> of the <a title="Last Supper" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Supper" target="_blank">Lord's Supper</a>. The <em>experts</em> have quoted texts like the <a title="Mithra" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithra" target="_blank">Mithraic</a> (<a title="Zoroastrianism" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism" target="_blank">Zoroastrianism</a>) <a title="Communion (Christian)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communion_%28Christian%29" target="_blank">communion</a> liturgy, which states,
<blockquote>"He who will not eat of my body and drink of my blood, so that he will be made on with me and I with him, the same shall not know salvation."
-- <a title="Mithra's Contributions" href="http://www.innvista.com/culture/religion/deities/mithra.htm" target="_blank">Mithra's Contributions</a>, Innvista</blockquote>
while the Bible says,
<blockquote>"53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
-- <a title="John 6:53-54 KJV - Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, - Bible Gatewa" href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%206:53-54&amp;version=KJV" target="_blank">John 6:53-54</a> (KJV)</blockquote>
These similarities make some <em>experts</em> like <a title="Mithra the Pagan Christ | Mithraism and Christianity | Mithras the Sun God" href="http://www.truthbeknown.com/mithra.htm" target="_blank">D.M. Murdock</a> use the term <em>Pagan Christ</em> quoting Swami Prapannananda (reknown <a title="Hinduism" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism" target="_blank">Hindu</a> <a title="Guru" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guru" target="_blank">guru</a>)
<blockquote>"Mithra or Mitra is... worshipped as Itu (Mitra-Mitu-Itu) in every house of the Hindus in India. Itu (derivative of Mitu or Mitra) is considered as the Vegetation-deity. This Mithra or Mitra (Sun-God) is believed to be a Mediator between God and man, between the Sky and the Earth. It is said that Mithra or [the] Sun took birth in the Cave on December 25th. It is also the belief of the Christian world that Mithra or the Sun-God was born of [a] Virgin. He travelled far and wide. He has twelve satellites, which are taken as the Sun's disciples... [The Sun's] great festivals are observed in the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox -- Christmas and Easter. His symbol is the Lamb..."
-- Swami Prapannananda, Christ the Saviour and Christ Myth (<a title="ISBN 8188446491" href="http://www.google.com/search?q=ISBN+8188446491" target="_blank">ISBN 8188446491</a>, <a title="Vedanta Press" href="http://www.vedanta.com/" target="_blank">Vedanta Press</a> , 1990)</blockquote>
and <a title="Tom Harpur" href="http://www.tomharpur.com/" target="_blank">Tom Harpur</a> who seems to a favorite at the <a title="Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science" href="http://www.richarddawkins.net/" target="_blank">Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science</a>.
<blockquote>"Harpur discovered that the New Testament is wholly based on Egyptian mythology, that Jesus Christ never lived, and that -- indeed -- the text was always meant to be read allegorically."
-- <a title="The Pagan Christ - CBC-TV - RichardDawkins.net" href="http://old.richarddawkins.net/videos/2057-the-pagan-christ" target="_blank">The Pagan Christ</a>, <a title="CBC Television" href="http://www.cbc.ca/television/" target="_blank">CBC-TV</a>, 2007</blockquote>
Other <em>so-called experts</em> like <a title="About the near-death.com website and the webmaster" href="http://www.near-death.com/about.html" target="_blank">Kevin Williams</a> have considered <a title="Christ" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ" target="_blank">Christ</a> as the <a title="Resurrection" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection" target="_blank">resurrection</a> of <a title="Mithra" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithra" target="_blank">Mithra</a> who was said to be the <a title="Resurrection" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection" target="_blank">resurrection</a> of <a title="Osiris" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osiris" target="_blank">Osiris</a>, <a title="Tammuz (deity)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammuz_%28deity%29" target="_blank">Tammuz</a>, <a title="Adonis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adonis" target="_blank">Adonis</a>, <a title="Baldr" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldr" target="_blank">Baldr</a>, <a title="Attis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attis" target="_blank">Attis</a> and <a title="Dionysus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysus" target="_blank">Dionysus</a> and perhaps even more <em>deities</em> of the ancient world.
<blockquote>"Virtually all of the elements of Orthodox Christian rituals, from miter, wafer, water baptism, alter, and doxology, were adopted from the Mithra and earlier pagan mystery religions. The religion of Mithra preceded Christianity by roughly six hundred years."
-- <a title="Jesus as a Reincarnation of Mithra" href="http://www.near-death.com/experiences/origen048.html" target="_blank">Jesus as a Reincarnation of Mithra</a>, Kevin Williams</blockquote>
Considering all this information regarding the <a title="Parallels between the Christian gospels and Pagan mythology" href="http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jcpa3.htm" target="_blank">relationship</a> between <a title="Christianity" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity" target="_blank">Christianity</a>, <a title="Paganism" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism">Paganism</a>, <a title="Jesus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus" target="_blank">Jesus</a> <a title="Christ" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ" target="_blank">the Christ</a> and <a title="Mithra" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithra" target="_blank">Mithra</a> although heavily contradicted by <a title="CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Mithraism" href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10402a.htm" target="_blank">the Catholic Church</a> and groups like the <a title="Was Christianity Borrowed from Mithrasim? : Make A Defense Apologetics Ministry" href="http://www.makeadefense.com/index.php/topics/was-christianity-borrowed/mithrasim-geisler/" target="_blank">Christian Apologetics</a> (not to mention the <a title="Persecution of pagans by the Christian Roman Empire" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Pagans_by_the_Christian_Roman_Empire" target="_blank">persecution</a> <a title="Gordon Robertson: How Christianity Survived in Pagan Rome" href="http://www.cbn.com/special/DaVinciCode/GRobertson_Christianity_PaganRome.aspx" target="_blank">of</a> <a title="Christian persecution of paganism under Theodosius I" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_persecution_of_paganism_under_Theodosius_I" target="_blank">Pagans</a>), I might've to consider <a title="Halloween" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween" target="_blank"><em>Hallowe'en</em></a> a real religious <a title="Holiday" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiday">holiday</a>. Of course, I must admit that, although I see and understand the <em>almost certain</em> possibilities that <em>real Christianity</em> was corrupted by <a title="Paganism" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism">pagan</a> beliefs and traditions, I still believe that Jesus is <a title="Incarnation (Christianity)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incarnation_%28Christianity%29" target="_blank">God incarnate</a>.

For more information, I'd recommend reading the following.
<ol>
	<li><a title="Celtic Christianity" href="http://www.gracemagazine.org.uk/articles/historical/celtic.htm" target="_blank">Celtic Christianity</a> (Grace Magazine)</li>
	<li><a title="Religion Essays - Christianity Pagan Romans" href="http://www.ukessays.com/essays/religion/christianity-pagan-romans.php" target="_blank">Christianity Pagan Romans</a> (UK Essays)</li>
	<li><a title="The Christmas Tree Debate" href="http://www.askelm.com/doctrine/d911101.htm" target="_blank">Christmas Tree Debate</a> (Associates for Scriptural Knowledge)</li>
	<li><a title="New Enemies of Christianity" href="http://www.orthodoxphotos.com/readings/LG/enemies.shtml" target="_blank">New Enemies of Christianity</a> (OrthodoxPhotos)</li>
	<li><a title="Pagan Christian Holidays" href="http://www.godkind.org/pagan-holidays.html" target="_blank">Pagan Christian Holidays</a> (The God Kind)</li>
	<li><a title="Pagan Origins, Pagan History, Pagan Beliefs" href="http://www.patheos.com/Library/Pagan.html" target="_blank">Pagan Origins, Pagan History, Pagan Beliefs</a> (Patheos)</li>
	<li><a title="RussianSIG - Russian Paganism and Christianity" href="http://russiansig.wikispaces.com/Russian+Paganism+and+Christianity" target="_blank">Russian Paganism and Christianity</a> (RussianSIG)</li>
	<li><a title="We Should Be More Pagan | The American Conservative" href="http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/we-should-be-more-pagan/" target="_blank">We Should Be More Pagan</a> (The American Conservative)</li>
	<li><a title="Why Did Christianity Succeed? - The Great Appeal | From Jesus To Christ | FRONTLINE | PBS" href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/why/appeal.html" target="_blank">Why Did Christianity Succeed?</a> (Frontline, PBS)</li>
	<li><a title="Why Do Christians Celebrate Pagan Christmas?" href="http://einron.hubpages.com/hub/whychristianscelebratepaganchristmas" target="_blank">Why Do Christians Celebrate Pagan Christmas?</a> (einron, HubPages)</li>
</ol>