By Shanna Fournier

When people see a large family these days, they tend to stop and take a second look. They are often curious. They wonder how things are done and what it is like to live in big family. Because we are a large family, we fit into this category! Wherever we are, we are very noticeable. I have had numerous people ask me questions such as, "Do you enjoy having so many brothers and sisters?" "How do you all cook for such a large family?" "What about all the laundry you have, how do you do it?"

I thought it would be fun to take a few minutes and share with each of you a little about what it is like to live in a family of thirteen…

Now living in a large family probably is not much different than most other families, except there are more mouths to feed, dishes to clean, clothes to wash, beds to make, messes to clean up, and generally there is more stuff to do. However, in a large family there are so many more hands to help, smiles to delight in, brothers and sisters to enjoy, and love and laughter to go around! I honestly am so thankful that the Lord placed me in a large family, and I would not want it any other way.

It probably is true that we do go through more gallons, pairs, containers, pounds, and packages of things than most other families though. To give you a little bit of an idea…

We wash approximately five loads of laundry per day. This means thirty-five loads each week and one hundred and fifty loads a month. The grand total per year reaches the sum of one thousand, eight hundred and twenty-five loads of laundry! The other day, one of my sisters calculated that we use about sixty gallons of laundry soap to wash all of our clothes each year! How do we buy our groceries? Well, we order many of our main food staples in bulk from a local co-op. We go through about twenty-five pounds of cheese, twenty pounds of pasta, and fifty pounds of wheat berries each month. We also go through a twenty-five pound bag of both brown rice and rolled oats every two to three months. And this does not include the two grocery carts of food and one grocery cart of personal items that we have to buy in town every week! We use our large, twelve quart pots for cooking and our twelve by fifteen casserole pans for baking. Even so, we don’t eat as much as some people might think! I remember one time when our family was invited to have dinner at the home of another family who made us a twenty-four quart pot of spaghetti! We hardly put a dent into that huge pot of spaghetti, and their small family probably ate leftovers for a long time!

We all enjoy sitting down together during our mealtimes. Our dining room table is two tables put together to make a twelve and one-half foot long table! Meal time clean-up for thirteen may be a little larger than your usual meal time clean-up! Momma has always said that with the amount of girls she has, she has plenty of "dish washers." My sisters and I enjoy clean-up. Actually we have found that it is a good opportunity to spend time singing together. And not only that, but many hands make light work! Now we may not have more floors and bathrooms than most other families, but we do have to sweep and clean them a few more times a day than most people just because of the traffic from so many of us in the house. We have found that they just don’t make things like they used to though. We tend to go through more appliances and household items than most smaller families. In the past year we have had to replace our stove and dryer, and we have gone through three toasters, two cheese graters, and three ironing boards!

With so many helping hands around our house it is not at all uncommon to find your clean laundry mixed up in someone else’s drawers or other items "put away" in the wrong place! Now, my mother’s motto is: There is a place for everything and everything should go in its place. However it seems that someone is always looking for something that someone else has misplaced. We have found that a quick announcement at meal time is the most effective way to solve the mystery. Even so, we have come to the conclusion that we must have a black hole somewhere… We always seem to have unmatched socks and the younger children frequently seem to be missing their sweaters, socks, or shoes. Of course it always seems to happen when we are trying to get out the door!

We travel in a big, white fifteen passenger van. I remember being on a trip once as a family, and while we were waiting at a stop light, an older gentleman looked over to my dad from the next vehicle and asked through the window, "Are they all yours?" My dad nodded with a big smile and motioning with his hands, he told the man that there are eleven of us children. The man smiled and gave my dad a thumb up! When we go out as a family and decide to go in a store all together (which is not very often) we have to walk in pairs of two down the isles so that we don’t take up the whole isle or overwhelm the store employees and their other customers! This usually is quite a sight! We often find ourselves chuckling at other people’s surprise at seeing such a large family all at one time.

My parents have found that you don’t have to have everything the world has to offer to raise a large family. There are things we have learned to go without. We have also learned to be both industrious and creative. We grow our own garden, bake from scratch, and sew a lot of our own clothes. Ever since I can remember my mother has always gotten the end of the newspaper rolls from the local newspaper office. We have used the ends of the newspaper rolls to make personalized wrapping paper for gifts. For birthday gifts we write each other blessings and usually make each other handmade gifts. One custom-made birthday gift my siblings and I would often give to our parents when we were quite small was a coupon book. In our coupon book we would list all the different things our coupons were good for, such as two backrubs, five cups of hot tea, breakfast in bed, etc…

As a family we love one another, and we love spending time together. We love to read together and sing together. We also enjoy family outings and games. I am so thankful that the Lord placed me in a large family. Like I mentioned earlier, people often take note of large families. We realize that people are always watching us. This thought is very sobering. We desire to be a testimony of a family who loves one another and loves the Lord Jesus.

I am so thankful for the many things the Lord has taught me by placing me in a large family. The Lord has used (and still uses) just the amount of brothers and sisters in our family to give my brothers, sisters, and I so many opportunities to learn to give preference to one another in love! And not only that, but by being a part of a large family we have learned to be diligent and enjoy work, as we must all work together in order for our home to run smoothly. More than anything else though, I am so very grateful that we, as a family, get to walk together loving and serving the Lord Jesus. It is our greatest desire to honor our Lord Jesus by our lives.

"Therefore we also have as our ambition... to be pleasing to Him." 2 Corinthians 5:9

written by Shanna Fournier

What is a day in the life of the Fournier family really like? What is it like to live in a family of thirteen? In these next few minutes I hope to take you on a tour of a typical day in the life of the Fournier family. Let’s pretend that you are an unseen guest. We can’t see you, but you can take a day to peep into our lives. The first thing I must tell you though is: arrive early, for we are early risers!

You can comfortably sit on the couch for a couple of hours as our morning begins. Around 4:00 a.m. you will see Jessica and I come out of our bedroom and get ready for the day. We gather our Bibles and separately find our quiet places to spend time with the Lord. Quiet foot steps upstairs let you know that a couple of more people are awake as well. It is Daddy and Momma. Together they join hands and hearts in prayer before beginning their day and individual quiet times. Sometime later you will hear a couple of alarm clocks and the shuffle of feet as Christopher then Racheal makes their way downstairs for their quiet times. Soon after Brianna wakes up, Kirsten and Naomi wake up to spend time with the Lord as well. Quietness fills the air as each individual spends time alone with God.

Around 5:30 a.m. I make my way to the kitchen to make breakfast for the family. I always plan the night before what we will have for breakfast so that I don’t spend too much time deciding that morning what we will have to eat. This morning we will have yogurt (we make yogurt by the gallon) and granola. We will also have scones and fruit. As I am preparing breakfast you can take a moment to peep on the four youngest children who are still soundly sleeping, although they will be awakened in a little while to smiling singing sisters.

It is now 6:00 a.m. Brianna, Racheal, and Kirsten can be heard as they wake up their little brother and sisters and help them to get dressed. As soon as the little girls are dressed, they go downstairs to Jessica so that she can brush and put up their hair. After Stephen, Shava, and Hannah are dressed and ready for the day, they come to me and help me finish the last few preparations before breakfast. At 6:15 a.m. Hannah can be heard in her sing-song little voice, "It is time to eat! It is time to eat!" She goes upstairs and downstairs searching for everyone’s quiet places to tell them that it is time to eat. Her delighted little voice can be heard as she tells first one sibling and then another that Shanna made her favorite breakfast. Everyone arrives at the family table for breakfast and Daddy leads us in prayer and a blessing for the food. After prayer, Momma and us older girls begin serving plates. It takes a little while to serve thirteen plates! Oops! A cup spilled. "Stephen, run and get a towel," about half a dozen voices chorus. Soon the mess is cleaned up and the table is back in order. "What are our plans for the day?" I ask. "I think we will have a normal school day today," Momma replies. Normal? We laugh. Oops! There goes a second cup. A couple more people jump up and get towels. "Will you please pass the fruit?" "Yes, it is coming," is the reply from the other end of the table. "Can I have a scone?" "Yes, here is a scone." "Please pass the strawberry cereal." "Thank you. Oh, no! There goes a third cup." "I think we need to skip cups for lunch," Momma says. We all agree that she is probably right. Suddenly there is an echo of voices as all the children say in unison, "Thank your for breakfast, Shanna." As soon as breakfast is over and cups are moved, everyone pulls out their Bibles for family devotion. We don’t always get very much time to read the Word together, but we do enjoy the few verses that we do read and the discussions that we have about them.

It is now a little after 7:00 a.m. You might have to stand back a little as Momma and a couple of the older girls hurry to put Daddy’s lunch together. With his lunch and a cup of tea in hand Daddy leaves for work. The whole family troops out to the porch to wave him off. "Good bye! Good bye! Have a good day," we all yell.

After coming back inside Jessica reminds the younger children that it is time to clean up breakfast. Brianna runs to the stove and puts on the timer. "Let’s see if we can get the table cleared in one minute!" All the children run here and there trying to clear the table as quickly as possible. Uh, oh Stephen and Shava ran into one another and got hurt. Jessica suggests that we not use the timer so that the children don’t get hurt and so that clean-up is not done too hastily. With sighs everyone complies. Kirsten then comes up with a bright idea. "Let’s carry the food and dishes on our heads like the girls in India do," she tells her little sisters. "Do you have to play while you work?" Jessica asks, slightly overwhelmed. "It helps us work faster," was the reply.

After breakfast Momma and all of us children gather together for worship and prayer. I can not overstate how much of a blessing it is to pray together as a family and lift our hearts to the Lord as we begin our day. After prayer time we begin school. I begin by teaching writing class to Christopher, Brianna, Racheal, and Kirsten while Momma reads Proverbs with the younger children. After writing class we begin math hour. Jessica teaches spelling next while Momma works with Stephen and Shava teaching them how to read. School work continues minus the small interruptions such as the mail lady’s arrival when two or three of the girls race to the mailbox to get the mail!

Who is that? I hear a scream. I think…it is coming from up stairs. I run upstairs and find Hannah in the bathroom with her hands covering her eyes and yells of "Help, help me!" "What is it, Hannah?" I ask. I put my arms around her. "There …there is a ladybug on the ceiling, and I am scared," Hannah replies fearfully. I stifle a laugh as I comfort her and tell her that ladybugs will not hurt her.

At 11:00 a.m. Kirsten, Naomi, Charis, Stephen, Shava, Hannah, and I begin our unit study. The time quickly flies. Soon it is noon and Jessica can be heard calling everyone to the table for lunch. As we gather around the table we touch base again. Momma asks, "How are you all doing in your school work?" Everyone shares what they accomplished that morning and we all discuss what we must do during the afternoon. "Oh! The phone is ringing," Naomi and Charis say as they jump up to look at the new feature on our phone. The caller ID causes much excitement for the girls as they look to see who is calling. "It is a number we don’t know," Naomi says, "It must be for Daddy’s business. "Girls, give the phone to Momma," Brianna directs. "Children, be quiet so Momma can hear," the older children remind the younger ones. Momma takes the phone call and sets up an appointment for Daddy to meet with the new customer. "Can I have seconds?" "Yes, here you go." "Please pass the water." Uh, oh, I guess we decided to set out water for lunch after all. Hopefully we won’t have any spills. The conversation at the lunch table dies down and gets quiet as we see Naomi’s fingers 1, 2, 3. In unison all the children yell. "Thank you for lunch, Jessica."

With lunch over Momma takes the three youngest children up stairs for stories before naptime while some of the older children take care of lunch clean-up. The afternoon continues with grammar, reading and comprehension for Naomi and Charis, and science and history for the older children. I go to my room to reconcile the business bank statement and to make a couple of invoices. Jessica is busily printing CD covers and assembling them for our new children’s CD.

Momma as always is very busy. She directs, encourages, instructs, and teaches each of her children as they need it. She answers numerous questions from her children each day. These questions range from how to trim hair, sew a new dress pattern, make a new recipe, and iron shirts to what to put on insect bites and how to help relieve tummy aches and coughs. Momma keeps our home running smoothly and knows exactly what to do when a crisis occurs.

After nap time, around 3:30 p.m., Christopher takes the younger children outside for P.E. Together they play kick ball and four square. Christopher is always planning fun outdoor activities for his little brother and sisters to do with him. The younger children absolutely love it!

At 4:00 p.m. it is chore time. Each of us children knows our specific chore for this week. One person straightens the living room and vacuums the rug. Another person mops the dining room floor. Others clean the bathrooms, sweep the stairs etc… After each of our chores is done, we all gather to fold laundry. And when we fold laundry (which is about every other day) we fold laundry! (We wash around five loads a day) "Stephen and Shava what are you both doing?" Racheal asks. "Oh, just stuffing clean towels in our shirts to give us muscles." There goes Naomi and Kirsten carrying piles of laundry on their heads as they go to put it away. Oops! Naomi’s stack fell off of her head. "Everyone please come and get the socks that I matched for you," I call. (The matched socks make up a pile about one foot high, two feet wide, and two feet long.) "Hurry, everyone, finish the laundry before Daddy gets home," Momma says. Everyone scurries to get the laundry done and the living room back in order before Daddy gets home.

When Daddy arrives home, Momma and we children run outside to welcome him home with hugs. Daddy and Momma talk for a minute and then Daddy takes a shower before dinner. Soon we hear Brianna calling us for supper. Tonight was Brianna’s night to cook and she made her favorite-taco salad! With Charis as her helper they finish the last few things as we all gather around our big table and sit down. (Note: When you have a table as big as ours it is nice to serve each dish of food into two separate bowls for serving purposes.) Daddy leads us in prayer. As Momma and us older girls serve the younger children’s plates, we find out how Daddy’s day at work went and we tell him about our day. Momma tells us that she received a call from Aunt Julie. All of us children stop talking and listen. "Well," Racheal says, "What did she say?" "She said that their family would be coming to visit us in two weeks," Momma replies. Hurrahs fill the air. "I can’t wait until Uncle Bob, Aunt Julie, and Joshua come to visit us!" all of us children excitedly exclaim. Trying to be unnoticed by the cooks Shava holds up her fingers and counts to three. You can then hear the family join in saying, "Thank you Brianna and Charis for dinner!"

After dinner and clean-up we gather in the living room as a family. We enjoy reading biographies and missionary stories as a family during the evenings. Everyone finds something quiet to do with their hands while Daddy reads. Momma and we older girls find things to hand sew, cross stitch, or crochet while Christopher paints or sketches and the younger children color. A lot of times one of us children will give Daddy a foot rub while he reads to us. We enjoy our family time together as we read about and discuss the characters in our story.

Before bed time Daddy says a word of prayer. He thanks the Lord for our day and commits us into the hands of the Lord for the night. We tell each other good-night and give Daddy and Momma hugs and kisses.

A typical day in the Fournier family has ended. Yes, our days are busy, but we enjoy one another and have fun. We desire to place Christ as first and foremost in our day and to exalt Him through our lives. Yes, we have a schedule, but we only use it when it works for us. We love company. Dearest family and friends, please stop in any time. We would love to make your visit with us a part of our day.

~By Kelly Fournier

I am a mother of eleven, ages 4 through 20 who are all still at home, and I am honestly loving every minute of it!! Though there are times when looking at the tasks of everyday life can be overwhelming-just keeping up with the daily routine of five loads of laundry, preparing economical meals for 13, and keeping our house clean, picked up, and in order (just in case someone stops in-which is often) can be overwhelming! Then there is the grocery shopping that takes half a day and four grocery carts later. Now add homeschooling nine children, talking to customers, overseeing the bookkeeping and scheduling jobs for my husband’s carpentry business, editing The King’s Daughters, recording and sending out our CD’s, helping Jessica oversee our barn, which right now includes: one pony, two donkeys, three momma goats, four kids, two bucks, one lamb, 30 chickens, 27 chicks, 4 cats and our newest addition last week of 5 kittens. (And yes, the mother cat is getting fixed!!) On top of all this, I am helping Christopher, my seventeen year old son, oversee his greenhouse business, which employees several of my daughters, and just recently, I started helping Brianna, my fifteen year old daughter, get her stationary and scriptural card business started. Daily I seek to point my children to Christ and the way of His cross, and it is a blessing to have older believing children who are walking with me who can encourage my younger ones in that way. Of course all of my little ones still need mama-time, and I enjoy stopping my day to spend it with them. The Lord also gives me opportunities to serve others in many different ways. I am grateful for the precious sisters in Christ that the Lord has put in to my life. Many times I can be found on the phone encouraging and praying with another sister in the Lord. Then there are times when I have one sick child or several of us will come down with something all at the same time! There are honestly not very many normal days around our house!

You might wonder how I can keep up with all the busy activities of managing a large household. In the past I have asked myself the same question. I know that the answer is that I cannot, but Christ in me can! He gives me the strength and grace to serve and lay down my life for my husband and children. I love being a wife and mother, and I would have it no other way. As a wife and mother these are some of the things I face everyday. If I choose to look at my circumstances I could get very overwhelmed. Yet, I choose to press on to know Christ and find His heart in all things. I know that I cannot do anything on my own, but only through Christ who strengthens me. "But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).

Yes, by the grace of God I am a professional home executive. I am a mother, counselor, school teacher, bookkeeper, editor, baker, cook, disciplinarian, seamstress, maid, nurse, animal doctor, and business administrator, but, most importantly, a carpenter’s wife-which means I am my husband’s helper. Therefore, if you come over to my house, you may see me swinging a hammer along side of my husband or running some of his power equipment to give him a helping hand. So on top of all of my homemaking skills, I am also learning how to be a framer, plumber, electrician, painter, roofer and an all-around handyman’s wife. But most importantly I am learning how to build up my husband, my children, and my house, and I have found that there is more than one meaning to being a keeper of the home.

    It is not an uncommon thing to see people drive along side our white, fifteen passenger van on a four-lane highway and start pointing their fingers in a counting gesture at the untinted windows of our van.  No, it is not the windows that they are counting.  They are counting the sweet faces of the children they see through the windows of this fish-bowl van of ours.  The fun part for us is to see their eyes widen and their mouths drop at the realization that there are eleven children inside!  We just smile and wave back to them.  This type of reaction has probably honored many of you who have four or more children gracing your presence.

    Why is it that in our culture today parents begin to get comments such as, “Are they all yours?” or “I don’t see how you can manage them all; it is hard enough for me with only two,” after they exceed the third or fourth child mark?  How far we have gone from the Biblical view that sees many children as being a blessing, and from the first command given to us in God’s word: “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it’” (Genesis 1:27-28).  The first command that God gave to mankind is “Be fruitful and multiply.”  Fulfilling this command is obtainable for most families—it simply takes self-denial on the parents’ part.  In most cases the parents who have many children will not physically become the richest people in the world, and they will need to deny themselves of many material pleasures, but in reality, if they teach their children to love the Lord their God with all their hearts, souls and minds, then they will be the happiest and most richly blessed people in the world.  “The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, and he who sires a wise son will be glad in him” (Proverbs 23:24).

    “But the sons of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty, so that the land was filled with them” (Exodus 1:7).  The Jewish nation from early on took heed to the command from God to be fruitful and multiply.  Within five generations, starting from Jacob until the time of Moses’ children, all the men of Israel age 20 and up numbered 603,550 people!  This number did not include the women and children.  The reason why the Israelites multiplied so greatly was because they understood the truth written in Psalms 127:3 even before it was written through the wisdom of Solomon: “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.”

    “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.  They will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gates” (Psalm 127:4-5).  If you were engaged in a battle and were equipped with a bow and a quiver consisting of thirteen arrows (that is the number of arrows found in the quiver of a warrior), I am sure you would take every effort to shoot those arrows as skillfully as you could.  You have thirteen shots and every one counts.  If one of those arrows were missing, bent, or broken in any way you would not even think of going into the heat of the battle until it was replaced.  Those arrows are all that you have to combat your enemy, and where that arrow lands determines the honor that your king will receive from that shot.  Know this, that your children are as arrows in your hand, and that it is your responsibility to train them for the Lord and prepare them to fight against our enemy, the devil.  Our enemy is crafty in his schemes.  He has sought to persuade God’s people to believe that God’s words, “Be fruitful and multiply,” do not apply to us today.  He uses a variety of lies and half-truths in order to cause God’s people to stop making arrows for God’s army.  He says, “You can be more effective for the ‘ministry’ if you only have one or two children to raise”, or “You are not wise enough to train that many children”, and so on.  In our day and age with birth-control at their fingertips, parents have an easy way to rid themselves of the blessings God desires to give them.  God is all-knowing and all-seeing, and He desires to use families for His kingdom.  May He be given the freedom to choose the number of arrows each family’s quiver can hold!  Parents must be diligent to sharpen their arrows and to protect their children from the evil influences of this world, so that when they are shot forth for the glory of the King, they will hit the mark with effectiveness.

    I am not saying that having a large family makes one more righteous than anyone else, but I will say this: if you choose to fully surrender to God and allow Him to plan your family, then He will be able to use your family for the glory of His kingdom in ways otherwise impossible.  Just think how much glory a few generations of God-fearing men and women can bring to God’s name.   Say that you were to have six children.  That is not a large family, yet at the same time, it is not a small one either.  (However, it would be an adequate amount to give you a few stares and comments!)  If you had six children and your children had six children and your children’s children had six children, and they were all taught to love the Lord their God with all their hearts, souls, and minds, then by the fifth generation there would be 7,776 people of your offspring loving the Lord and serving Him with all their hearts. This is why our enemy wants to keep parents from being fruitful and from producing a Godly seed on the earth. He knows that a few generations will become a great multitude, and a great multitude of God-fearing people can have a great impact on the earth.


    I am eighteen years old and the third born of eleven children. Although I do not have a family of my own yet, I have been blessed with the opportunity of watching my parents walk in these truths.  I am so grateful that my parents have chosen to walk according to all that is in the Lord’s heart no matter what the world thinks of them.  I have heard one person tell my parents that they are plum crazy for having eleven children, and another say that we should have lived a century ago. Hearing comments such as these has given me a desire to walk down the same ancient path that my parents are walking down.  The Apostle Peter says, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).  If we are a peculiar people, then our lives should be different from the lives of those in the world.  So take courage all of you who have chosen to be different by walking according to God’s Word.  We were not created in order to please those who are in this world; rather, we were created to please the Lord. We are aliens in this world—this world is not our home.  We eagerly await the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus, so that we may claim our citizenship in the kingdom of our Great King.

    “Thus says the Lord, ‘Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls’” (Jeremiah 6:16).

                                    ~Christopher Fournier

In her book. "Halloween", author Helen Borten opens with the following lines: "October 31 is a night for make-believe witches and ghosts in pillowcases. It is for funny masks and pirate hats and devil's tails. It is for glued-on mustaches and wearing mommy's lipstick. October 31 is for ringing doorbells and giggling. for shouting BOO and guessing who."

Is Halloween that innocent? How did it originate? What is the meaning behind Halloween's many symbols and customs?

Originally. Halloween was a festival of fire, the dead, and the powers of darkness. It was the second of two Celtic fire festivals and was called Samhain. According to MAN, MYTH AND MAGIC: AN ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE SUPERNATURAL. It was a "...mystical occasion, being concerned with the links between living and dead." (1) It involved. "the ritual" and "the cauldron and the Four Foods of the Dead." (2)

It Is Interesting to note that Samhain is one of eight public observances still recognized by the Druids. According to Gerald S. Hawkins, the Druids were "the holy men, medicine men, teachers and judges of the Celts," Later he adds, "the Gauls affirm they (the Druids) were descended from a common father, Dis...the god of the dark underworld." (3)

Another Important fact is the date of Samhain. It was observed on the eve of November 1st, or October 31st. It identified the end of fall and the beginning of winter and also marked the beginning of the New Year on the Celtic calendar.

In an attempt to eliminate the Druid celebration of Samhain, the Roman Church instituded ALL SAINT'S DAY, also known as ALL HALLOW'S DAY. Later it intenistfied it's effort by adding ALL SOUL'S DAY. All Saint's day honored deceased saints and martyres, while All souls day was marked by prayers for the souls of the dead. Since All Hallow's Day fell on November 1st, and Samhain on October 31st, it wasn't long before Samhain became known as ALL HALLOW'S EVE and later as HALLOWEEN.

With regard to Halloween's occult tones, Sir James Frazer wrote, "Throughout Europe, Halloween, the night which marks the transition from autumn to winter. seems to have been of old the time of year when the souls of the departed ... revisited their old homes in order to warm themselves by the fire and to comfort themselves with the good cheer provided by their affectionate kinsfolk." (4) This fraternization with and fear or the dead is of major importance when evaluating Halloween from a Christian perspective.

During the night of All Hallow's Eve (Halloween), the hills of Wales. Britain and France would glow with huge fires. These fires were intended to light the way for the dead who stalked the countryside in search of their kinsfolk and the food offered by them.

Food items such as apples, nuts and corn were made availiable for roaming ghosts. Spirits finding no food would cast spells, cause havoc, steal infants, destroy crops, kill farm animals, and haunt the living who failed to treat them. Here we find the origin of the cry, "Trick-or-Treat." In view of this, it is not surprising that Halloween vandelism is extraordinarily high.

Witches and black cats are also an integral part of Halloween. In times Past, black cats were thought to be witches in disguise or reincarnated witches. They were often thrown into Halloween fires accompanied by the cry, "Fire! Fire! Burn the witches." Before you write this off as mid-evil ignorance, let me assure you that witches are more than mid-evil folklore. In the November 1983 issue of THE WRITTEN WORD, Bob Larson wrote, "The I.R.S. has officially recognized witchcraft as a religion and granted tax exemption to the Church and School of Wicca (Seekers of Wisdom )." "if it takes one to know one, then famed witch Sybil Leek knows in excess of 5,000. She claims there are nearly 6,000 witches in twentieth century America.

Modern day practitioners of witchcraft view October 31st, as a time most conducive to the practice of their black, demonic arts. On Halloween night, real witches will practice their Satanic traditions while thousands of ignorant Christians honor the powers of darkness. Youth groups will raise money by turning fellowship halls into haunted houses and the children of Christian parents will be encouraged to dress as witches and goblins.

Even the Innocent looking Jack-o-lantern is rooted in the celebration of Samhain. Lighted pumpkins have their origin in figures carved out of turnips and other such vegetables. These figures were made and exhibited in hope that they would ward off witches, imps, and ghosts seeking to harm the living.

Even the masks worn by little children on Halloween night find their origin in the ancient festival of Samhain. Men and women dressed in grotesque costumes and blood-curdling masks went from house to house. singing and dancing in an attempt to ward off evil spirits. Once again the enemy has deceived thousands of Christians. "The masks have now been transfered to children who, in the United States, visit the neighbors for the food-offerings which once belonged to the dead - or play tricks akin to the legendary destructiveness of witches and imps abroad on this night." (6) I am suspicious that African and Indian witch doctors would love the masks obtainable at any department store during Halloween.

Drive through any American neighborhood and you will be confronted with the symbols and art of Halloween (Samhain). It can be found in schools, homes, stores, restaurants and even churches. Some have objected by indicating that symbols are harmless. If that is so, then why don't we replace the cross with a swastika? How can we as, Christians be so blind? How can we as Christians defend the display of symbols which represent that which is ungodly?

What does the Bible say about all of this?

In the Bible, the Practice of communing with the dead is called "necromancing." Listen to what God says about communicating with the dead. "There shall not be found among you...an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter of familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord..." (Deut. 18:10-12). "And when they shall say unto you, seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? On behalf of the living should they seek unto the dead?" (Is. 8:19). "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them; I am the Lord your God" (Lev. 19:31).

Scripture also condemns the practice of witchcraft (spells, seances, divining, and such like). "Thou shall not suffer a witch to live" (Ex. 22:18). "And the soul that turns after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from his people" (Lev. 20:6). "Saul died...for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of her" (1 Chr. 10:13), "Now the works of the flesh are...idolotry, witchcraft...they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal. 5:19-21).

Some are sure to reply, "It's only an innocent time of fun. You're making a mountain out of a mole-hill." Perhaps the opposite is true and we have made a mole-hill out of a mountain. Paul instructs us to "abstain from all appearance of evil" (1 Thess. 5:22). James the Lord's brother wrote "...the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" (James 4:4).

No Christian would ever think of voluntarily worshipping Satan, but hundreds of them ignorantly participate in honoring the god-of-darkness each Halloween.

Satanic priest could say to many American Christians, "Ye men of America, I perceive that in all things you too are superstitious. For as I passed through your neighborhoods last night I beheld your devotion to the god-of-darkness. Whom you ignorantly worship, him I now declare unto you. he is the pronce of the powers of the air, the god of this age. the lord of the underworld, and the father of all lies."

Christian friend that which represents Satan and his work cannot be handled or practiced for fun. Such activity places one on dangerous ground and in fellowship with this world and the god of it.

Now that you know the facts, the decision is yours.

 

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FOOTNOTES

1. Man, Myth and Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural (New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 1970) Volume 6, p. 722.

2. lbid, Volume 6. p. 722.

3. Gerald S. Hawkins. "Stonehenge Decoded" (New York. Doubleday and Co., Inc.. 1965) pps. 14, 15.

4. Sir James Frazer. "The Golden Bough."

5. Man, Myth and Magic, Op. Cit. p. 68.

6. Ibid. p. 68.