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Not only is the Christian Halloween derivative of other faiths and customs,the entire Christian calender is an amalgam of other faiths and beliefs. Lets look at several examples and examine Why these strange marriages of faiths occurred.
The biggest holiday to most modern Christians in this commercial age is Christmas. Whether or not Easter should be more revered is an argument I will not debate in this article, but our receipts don't lie. We spend much more for items relating to Christmas than easter by far. Christmas is celebrated December 25. By calculations I have heard, based on the astronomical data and the "bright star" occurring (the bright star was in fact Venus- the wise men followed a planet), Jesus was born in March or April in 3 or 4 B.C. (the article was definite...it is my memory that is flawed). The point is that the timing of Christmas has absolutely nothing to do with the birth of Jesus. Early Christianity started in and around the Roman empire. The Romans had a festival dedicated to the father of Zeus, Saturn. It was called Saturnalia and was celebrated on the 25th to December. When Christianity gained popularity, they kept the date of this very popular festival and changed the subject of veneration. While we're on the subject, let's briefly touch upon the holy family. The image of the virgin queen and baby goes all the way back to ancient Babylon. Their river goddess also is often depicted with an infant, complete with halo. Also Isis the Egyptian goddess is often seen with a baby,(again with halo!) so the image is ingrained in our consciousness and is repeated in Christian texts all over. Also The concept of a tree in the home to celebrate the season is german pagan in origin (evergreens represent eternal life and rebirth). The concepts of a Yule Log and mistletoe are celtic pagan. Yule is the 21st of December, and coincides with the solstice. Burning the log represents the dying of nature and celebrates the sacrifice of the green man (wood spirit).

Okay, on to the next Holiday: Easter. Easter coincides with The pagan celebrations of the equinox. As spring returned to the earth and new life was teeming, early pagans celebrated fertility. Rabbits are legendary multipliers and so an early fertility symbol became the rabbit, hence Easter bunny! Eggs are even more obvious as fertility symbols, as life literally comes out of them. Gods coming back from the dead is popular in Egyptian, Roman, Norse, and Hindi mythology. As universal as the

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