As a Christian, it's pretty amazing how the belief that Halloween, Easter, and Christmas are actually pagan has really permeated the church. In churches, it's just a casually accepted thing. In fact, the reason I'm here, is because I asked myself "but is that really the case?"
It always is weird to me because every time something in history is allegedly “pagan”, it almost always turns out to be the exact opposite. It seems like every holiday HAS to be pagan in origin to these guys. Christmas, Halloween, Easter, and even Valentines Day, we’re told, is based off of the Roman celebration of Lupercalia, which is total nonsense. Great job Tim! It bugs the hell out of me whenever I see atheists distort history because like you always say, atheists like us are meant to be rational, and many atheists are not able to do that when it comes to history. Of course, the Christians aren’t any better at history than most atheists are but it still, great job Tim for bringing actual critical scholarship to the tables and I hope that atheists will watch your videos more in the future because many of them need it!
Great video! I'm glad you touched on the weird fallacy that no new traditions could possibly have ever sprung up over the course of a couple millennia, cos I noticed that assumption too and it bugs me so much! Not to mention that Christianity has roots in Judaism which itself is a few thousand years old, but somehow everyone forget about that too and only focuses on supposed/imagined pagan practices. It never sat right with me either that they'd make these claims - I'm no expert in European history, but I am a former archaeologist, so I know how shaky claims about ancient practices can be unless there's good documentation or artifacts supporting the interpretation or claim... I couldn't help but notice how conveniently the claims lined up with the goals of neo-pagans and anti-theists too. I always wondered how they "knew" all these details about Samhain practices given the time period it was supposedly practiced in, and I couldn't find much information to support the claims.... I guess it's because there's nothing to find 😆
Every. Single. Year... Thanks for making a video on it. May it get the double of the views than the half-naked twerking "historians" on Tik Tok and RUclips..
This is excellent content. The false beliefs about this topic are SO WIDESPREAD. You deserve so many more subscribers to dispel these myths. We live in an Information Age. It’s about time these slanderous anti-Catholic/Christian myths are laid to rest with the truth. I’m happy to have discovered your channel and will be sharing it.
As a Protestant myself, I agree with you haha. Atheists with less integrity (usually New Atheists) and neo-pagans are happy to create and spread myths, but many modern Christians really are just as complicit in it. Usually it's out of a well-intentioned but ultimately misguided desire to be really pure and holy. But as nice as that is, it's no excuse for not doing research and spreading falsehoods. I end up having these discussions with family friends and fellow church members every single major holiday, lol. At least I'm equipped for it; I have an anthropology degree and used to be an archaeologist. My own wheelhouse was more in ancient Near Eastern stuff, though, so it's very helpful for things like "Easter didn't come from Ishtar" but it does leave a bit of a gap in my knowledge about things like Halloween (all I had was skepticism about how solid the claims were, given the context and my general knowledge of how little real info we often have on this stuff). I'm glad for sensible videos like this one.
The notion that Halloween is based on Samhain is pervasive. Even the clinical term for "fear of Halloween" is called "Samhainophobia", as though the more formal or scientific word to use for Halloween is "Samhain". Undoing entrenched pop history is a tall order, but videos like this will help.
Please do one on Mexican day of the dead, as there is still a misconception that it's an indigenous pre Christian survival when it is in fact just a Mexican All souls/saints day.
I read somewhere that English Catholics during the 17th and 18th centuries had to commemorate All Saints Day secretly from the ruling Protestants by lighting bonfires away from villages and towns. These got spotted in the distance now and then and were sometimes attributed to black magic ceremonies which led to Halloween getting its supernatural reputation.
You are such a breath of fresh air! I love you, Tim! And happy Halloween! 🎃 I just finished watching this for a second time. Your content is so rich. Great work, as always!
Yet again I'm disappointed by how little we really know about European pre-Christian beliefs and practices, so much of it seems to be bloated by modern mythologizing. And though this kind of story-telling is ultimately how new beliefs begin and evolve, it's not very helpful for trying to get to the historical truth of what ancient people's lives and cosmology were really like.
Another absolutely delightful tidbit of debunking pseudo history. I do wonder however, if you shall ever do a video or an article on Darwin and evolution, and the badhistory TM surrounding both
As I often have to remind people, this channel and my site are not about debunking bad history generally, but bad history that is used in arguments by my fellow atheists. There are several things about Darwin and the history of the development of the theory of evolution that are often repeated by atheists, but they are probably a long way down the list of the most egregious and common mistakes about history that atheists make. Maybe one day, but I have a lot of other ground to cover first. Glad you enjoyed this video though.
A safe prediction. I wanted to do one this month, but I think I'll run out of time. So probably next year - November, so it has plenty of time to be shared during the annual "Christmas is Pagan" Festival.
Thank you for this video. I've always loved your content, especially your work on Draper and White. If you would do another comprehensive video on how silly the Witch Cult Hypothesis is and how patriarchy predates abrahamic religion I'd buy you some good scotch cause you've earned it thrice over.
@@historyforatheists9363 I agree it's kind of off topic. Either way you're golden dude. Shared this on a FB page I help administrate. Your content is therapeutic. -a drunk North Carolinian
Plus the rather obvious argument that pumpkins i.e. "jack-o-lanterns" would not have been introduced to Europe until after Columbus at the earliest if not until after the colonial settlement of North America. So it could not have been invented by the ancient Celts since they didn't know what jack-o-lanterns were.
There are none so blind..... I would dearly love to see your research on this. If one wants to tie a bonnet on a pig and call it a baby then I can't stop them. Believe what you want if it makes you feel better, but it's still a pig.
What does this strange set of comments mean? Did you actually watch the video? I make my "research" on this (actually, the research of leading historians in the field) and the relevant evidence pretty clear. I also do so in my earlier article on the issue: historyforatheists.com/2021/10/is-halloween-pagan/ It seems you read the title and the summary and didn't bother to go any further. Try actually engaging with what is being said, rather than dogmatically rejecting the conclusion without considering the evidence, scholarship and argument presented for you.
Got to love that chic track has the Druid holding a staff of what looks like the Egyptian Ankh.
What will you dress up like for Halloween this year Mike? 👻🎃
As a Christian, it's pretty amazing how the belief that Halloween, Easter, and Christmas are actually pagan has really permeated the church. In churches, it's just a casually accepted thing. In fact, the reason I'm here, is because I asked myself "but is that really the case?"
Just in time, I am getting so sick of this claim.
It always is weird to me because every time something in history is allegedly “pagan”, it almost always turns out to be the exact opposite. It seems like every holiday HAS to be pagan in origin to these guys. Christmas, Halloween, Easter, and even Valentines Day, we’re told, is based off of the Roman celebration of Lupercalia, which is total nonsense. Great job Tim! It bugs the hell out of me whenever I see atheists distort history because like you always say, atheists like us are meant to be rational, and many atheists are not able to do that when it comes to history. Of course, the Christians aren’t any better at history than most atheists are but it still, great job Tim for bringing actual critical scholarship to the tables and I hope that atheists will watch your videos more in the future because many of them need it!
Great video! I'm glad you touched on the weird fallacy that no new traditions could possibly have ever sprung up over the course of a couple millennia, cos I noticed that assumption too and it bugs me so much! Not to mention that Christianity has roots in Judaism which itself is a few thousand years old, but somehow everyone forget about that too and only focuses on supposed/imagined pagan practices.
It never sat right with me either that they'd make these claims - I'm no expert in European history, but I am a former archaeologist, so I know how shaky claims about ancient practices can be unless there's good documentation or artifacts supporting the interpretation or claim... I couldn't help but notice how conveniently the claims lined up with the goals of neo-pagans and anti-theists too. I always wondered how they "knew" all these details about Samhain practices given the time period it was supposedly practiced in, and I couldn't find much information to support the claims.... I guess it's because there's nothing to find 😆
Oh, yeah, the “It’s pagan guys, get over it” claim that I have to hear before every major Holiday. Thanks for the video.
Every. Single. Year...
Thanks for making a video on it. May it get the double of the views than the half-naked twerking "historians" on Tik Tok and RUclips..
This is excellent content. The false beliefs about this topic are SO WIDESPREAD. You deserve so many more subscribers to dispel these myths. We live in an Information Age. It’s about time these slanderous anti-Catholic/Christian myths are laid to rest with the truth. I’m happy to have discovered your channel and will be sharing it.
I think a lot of the Halloween hate comes from Protestants who are just ignorant.
(I’m not Catholic)
yes
As a Protestant myself, I agree with you haha. Atheists with less integrity (usually New Atheists) and neo-pagans are happy to create and spread myths, but many modern Christians really are just as complicit in it. Usually it's out of a well-intentioned but ultimately misguided desire to be really pure and holy.
But as nice as that is, it's no excuse for not doing research and spreading falsehoods. I end up having these discussions with family friends and fellow church members every single major holiday, lol. At least I'm equipped for it; I have an anthropology degree and used to be an archaeologist. My own wheelhouse was more in ancient Near Eastern stuff, though, so it's very helpful for things like "Easter didn't come from Ishtar" but it does leave a bit of a gap in my knowledge about things like Halloween (all I had was skepticism about how solid the claims were, given the context and my general knowledge of how little real info we often have on this stuff). I'm glad for sensible videos like this one.
The notion that Halloween is based on Samhain is pervasive. Even the clinical term for "fear of Halloween" is called "Samhainophobia", as though the more formal or scientific word to use for Halloween is "Samhain".
Undoing entrenched pop history is a tall order, but videos like this will help.
Rtyy
After viewing several videos regarding celebrating Halloween, you may want to subtitle this video, "History for Protestant Ministers/Pastors."
Please do one on Mexican day of the dead, as there is still a misconception that it's an indigenous pre Christian survival when it is in fact just a Mexican All souls/saints day.
Hmmm, it would be a very short video. It doesn’t take long to say “it’s just All Saints/Souls Day.”
I read somewhere that English Catholics during the 17th and 18th centuries had to commemorate All Saints Day secretly from the ruling Protestants by lighting bonfires away from villages and towns. These got spotted in the distance now and then and were sometimes attributed to black magic ceremonies which led to Halloween getting its supernatural reputation.
You are such a breath of fresh air! I love you, Tim! And happy Halloween! 🎃
I just finished watching this for a second time. Your content is so rich. Great work, as always!
Great stuff
Time to share this video again as that time of the year is here again.
Yet again I'm disappointed by how little we really know about European pre-Christian beliefs and practices, so much of it seems to be bloated by modern mythologizing. And though this kind of story-telling is ultimately how new beliefs begin and evolve, it's not very helpful for trying to get to the historical truth of what ancient people's lives and cosmology were really like.
thanks this was helpful
This is the single most underrated channel on RUclips.
So trick-or-treating is basically a different form of Christmas caroling.
Yeah - only Sweeter!
Awesome! Thanks for making the video. I predicted this video will be made! I am about to watch it!
I watched the video while drinking lemonade.
@@valgorie1811 TIL Lemonade was invented by the pagans.
Another absolutely delightful tidbit of debunking pseudo history. I do wonder however, if you shall ever do a video or an article on Darwin and evolution, and the badhistory TM surrounding both
As I often have to remind people, this channel and my site are not about debunking bad history generally, but bad history that is used in arguments by my fellow atheists. There are several things about Darwin and the history of the development of the theory of evolution that are often repeated by atheists, but they are probably a long way down the list of the most egregious and common mistakes about history that atheists make. Maybe one day, but I have a lot of other ground to cover first.
Glad you enjoyed this video though.
Dislike, Tim didn't dress up as Tacitus for this video like I hoped 😞
Thanks for doing this video.
I predict you will soon do a video on whether or not Christmas is pagan. Let me see if my prophecy will come true or not.
A safe prediction. I wanted to do one this month, but I think I'll run out of time. So probably next year - November, so it has plenty of time to be shared during the annual "Christmas is Pagan" Festival.
I will say tho. Divination. Is a no no.
But that seems like individual groups
Thank you for this video. I've always loved your content, especially your work on Draper and White. If you would do another comprehensive video on how silly the Witch Cult Hypothesis is and how patriarchy predates abrahamic religion I'd buy you some good scotch cause you've earned it thrice over.
Those may come eventually. Though I find it’s more New Agers who buy that stuff than New Atheists.
@@historyforatheists9363 I agree it's kind of off topic. Either way you're golden dude. Shared this on a FB page I help administrate. Your content is therapeutic.
-a drunk North Carolinian
Plus the rather obvious argument that pumpkins i.e. "jack-o-lanterns" would not have been introduced to Europe until after Columbus at the earliest if not until after the colonial settlement of North America. So it could not have been invented by the ancient Celts since they didn't know what jack-o-lanterns were.
The earliest manifestations of these items used turnips, not pumpkins.
What about Walpurgisnacht/MayDay/Bealtine?
What about them?
@@historyforatheists9363 could they have pagan antecedents, or are they just medieval Christian folk culture again ?
@@83croissant Yes, they had pagan origins. But they aren’t really Christian festivals.
Textbook.
I call you all friends. Anyone who follows the truth follows my Lord, whether they know it or not. And vice versa. It's all about the truth.
There are none so blind.....
I would dearly love to see your research on this.
If one wants to tie a bonnet on a pig and call it a baby then I can't stop them. Believe what you want if it makes you feel better, but it's still a pig.
What does this strange set of comments mean? Did you actually watch the video? I make my "research" on this (actually, the research of leading historians in the field) and the relevant evidence pretty clear. I also do so in my earlier article on the issue: historyforatheists.com/2021/10/is-halloween-pagan/
It seems you read the title and the summary and didn't bother to go any further. Try actually engaging with what is being said, rather than dogmatically rejecting the conclusion without considering the evidence, scholarship and argument presented for you.
There are none so blind as those, like yourself. who refuse to see
Happy Samhain mate cheers