Are Halloween and Noah's Flood Connected? Exploring the Mystery of Death Celebrations and Biblical Events
Oct 18, 2024
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Are Halloween and Noah's Flood Connected? Halloween is said to originate from the Celtic festival of Samhain, which signifies the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter—a period linked with darkness and contemplation of death. However, could there be another, more ancient reason rooted in the story of Noah's flood? It raises the question: why do various regions around the globe commemorate death simultaneously each year?
Timing of Noah's Flood - Are Halloween and Noah's Flood Connected?
The time of the flood started and ended in at the end of October beginning of November in a month called MarCheshvan (sometimes called Cheshvan). According to the website Chabad.org:
"The great flood in the days of Noach began in this month, and it was a year later, also in the month of Cheshvan, that Noach left the ark."
The Celebration of Death Around the World
Around the world, various cultures commemorate the deceased with celebrations during the end of October and the beginning of November, coinciding with the period when Noah's flood commenced and concluded. Here are some examples:
Egypt: "It has long been known that the ship of Isis and the chest or coffin of Osiris which floated on the waters for a year are confused Egyptian recollections of the Flood. Plutarch says the Osiris was shut up in his box and set afloat ‘...on the seventeenth day of the month Athyr, when nights were growing long and the days decreasing.’ In Plutarch’s time Athyr did in fact coincide with October-November."
Assyria and Babylon: "In ancient Assyria the ceremonies for the souls of the dead were in the month Arahsamna, which is Marcheswan [=the month of Heshvan on the Jewish calendar, which is mid-October to mid-November]. In Arahsamna the Sun God became Lord of the Land of the Dead [S. Langdon: Babylonian Menologies and Semitic Calendars, London 1934 p.36]. The month was held sacred to the-rain-and-thunder-god, while in Babylon Marduk was called, in connection with this month, ‘Lord of the Deep’ and also ‘Lord of Abundance who causes plenty of rain to fall’."
India: "The Hindu ‘Durga’-festival of the dead-was originally connected with their New Year which commenced in November."
Iran: "The Persians commenced their New Year in November in a month which was named Mordad-month, i.e. the month of the angel of death."
Australia: "[Aboriginal Australians} at this time of the year paint white stripes on their legs and arms to resemble skeletons."
Society Islands (French Polynesia): "...the inhabitants...pray for the spirits of departed ancestors at the end of their New Year celebration in November."
The Great Flood and Halloween - - A Christian response to Halloween (freerepublic.com)
When did the Flood Start?
What do These Three have in Common?
But there is another interesting fact regarding Noah's flood did you know the date the arc rested on the mountains of Ararat is the same date the crossing of the Red Sea and Resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred? All three of these events occur on the 17th of Nisan.
The Crossing of the Red Sea and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ took place in the month of Nisan. It is less widely recognized that prior to the first Passover, God reorganized the calendar. The month when the Ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat, which was Nisan, had been the seventh month before God reassigned it as the first, as per Exodus 12:2. When God restructured the months, turning the seventh into the first month of the year, it coincided all three events on the same day and month. This was for a significant reason. These three events not only share the theme of the triumph of good over evil but also reveal the combatants in the battle: God versus the forces of evil, alongside the theme of redemption. It is noteworthy that in all three events, the sole role of man is to exercise faith.
In the King James Bible, the number 17 symbolizes victory. Consider this: Romans 8:35-39 mentions 17 elements that cannot separate us from the love of God.
(Romans 8:35-39)
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall (1)tribulation, or (2)distress, or (3)persecution, or (4)famine, or (5)nakedness, or (6)peril, or (7)sword? {36} As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. {37} Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. {38} For I am persuaded, that neither (8)death, nor (9)life, nor (10)angels, nor (11)principalities, nor (12)powers, nor (13)things present, nor (14)things to come, {39} Nor (15)height, nor (16)depth, nor (17)any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Conclusion
As the celebration of death unfolds around you, remember that this battle was fought long ago, and victory over death was claimed by Jesus Christ. It's no surprise that our world revels in death and darkness, for the prince of this world governs the grave. However, we serve the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, who embodies life and love. God made the ultimate sacrifice for us through His son, Jesus Christ. In Noah's time, the message was straightforward: enter the ark. Today, the Church's message is equally simple: Is Jesus your Savior? Jesus Christ represents the ark of our era; the question is, are you aboard?
Further study on this topic:
“The Flood Reconsidered: A Review of the Evidences of Geology, Archaeology, Ancient Literature and the Bible : Filby, Frederick Arthur : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive.” Internet Archive, 2020, archive.org/details/floodreconsidere0000filb. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
