The Truth of Halloween

Halloween is more than just a day where pumpkins are carved into scary faces, kids dress up and go door to door asking for a trick or a treat, and scaring your friends. It is, in fact, one of the most evil days of the year, where satanic and occultic rituals are preformed and celebrated. Most of what we see on Halloween is the fun for the kids celebrations and traditions that is not very harmful (depending on who you ask). What you DON’T see is the disgusting cult rituals that involve human sacrifice and sexual orgies to appease spirits and ancestors.

Halloween, a History:

The History of Halloween:

The History of the Day:
Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain. The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is sometimes regarded as the “Celtic New Year”. Traditionally, the festival was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the alive and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, into which bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them.
Source: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween)

The History of the Name:
The term Halloween is shortened from All Hallows’ Eve, as it is the eve of “All Hallows’ Day”, which is now also known as All Saints’ Day. It was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions, until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints’ Day from May 13 (which had itself been the date of a pagan holiday, the Feast of the Lemures) to November 1. In the ninth century, the Church measured the day as starting at sunset, in accordance with the Florentine calendar. Although All Saints’ Day is now considered to occur one day after Halloween, the two holidays were, at that time, celebrated on the same day. Liturgically, the Church traditionally celebrated that day as the Vigil of All Saints, and, until 1970, a day of fasting as well. Like other vigils, it was celebrated on the previous day if it fell on a Sunday, although secular celebrations of the holiday remained on the 31st. The Vigil was suppressed in 1955, but was later restored in the post-Vatican II calendar.
Source: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween)

Samhain:

The Druids:
Halloween began over 2,000 years ago among the Celts and their pagan priests called the Druids. The Druids are, without question, history’s king of the occult. Witchcraft, Satanism, paganism and virtually all facets of the occult acquire instruction from the Druids. From the popular jack-o-lantern, trick-or-treat, costumes, to the pranks, ghoulish ghosts, demons, goblins and witches. Halloween owes its morbid birth to the Druids.
Source: (http://www.av1611.org/halloween.html)

Beltane and Samhain:
The Druids celebrated two special nights of the year: Beltane and Samhain. Beltane took place on May 1 and marked the birth of summer. Samhain occurred on November 1 and signified the death of summer. Samhain, a night celebrating death and hell, was the Druids most important ritual. It was a terrifying night of human sacrifices. And it was the original Halloween.
Source: (http://www.av1611.org/halloween.html)

The Druids believed, during Samhain, the mystic veil separating the dead from the living opened. The Druids taught these roaming spirits loosed on Samhain went searching for a body to possess. The frightened Celts would masquerade as demons, evil spirits and ghosts, hoping to convince the roaming evil spirits, they were another evil spirit, and leave them alone. The Celts also prepared meals as “treats” to appease the evil spirits from “tricks” or malicious acts; hence our custom of “trick or treat.” The Druids performed horrifying human sacrifices and other vile rituals during Samhain. Let there be no doubt-Samhain night was a terrifying “covenant with death, and with hell.” And let there be no doubt, Samhain was the original Halloween night.
Source: (http://www.av1611.org/halloween.html)

“All histories of Halloween inevitably wind back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain…”
Source: (Skal, David J. Death Makes a Holiday: The Cultural History of Halloween, p. 20)

“Halloween had its origins in the festival of Samhain among the Celts of ancient Britain and Ireland.”
Source: (Encyclopedia Britannica 2005 “Halloween”)

“Halloween can be traced directly back to Samhain, the ancient Celtic harvest festival honoring the Lord of the Dead.”
Source: (Thompson, Sue Ellen. Holiday Symbols and Customs, p. 251)

Human Sacrifice:

Roman Testimony:
As written in Roman sources, Celtic Druids engaged extensively in human sacrifice. According to Julius Caesar, the slaves and dependants of Gauls of rank would be burnt along with the body of their master as part of his funerary rites. He also describes how they built wicker figures that were filled with living humans and then burned. It is known that druids at least supervised sacrifices of some kind. According to Cassius Dio, Boudica’s forces impaled Roman captives during her rebellion against the Roman occupation, to the accompaniment of revellery and sacrifices in the sacred groves of Andate. Some modern-day scholars question the accuracy of these accounts, as they invariably come from hostile (Roman or Greek) sources. Different gods reportedly required different kind of sacrifices. Victims meant for Esus were hanged, those meant for Taranis immolated and those for Teutates drowned. Some, like the Lindow Man, may have gone to their deaths willingly.

Archaeological evidence from the British Isles seems to indicate that human sacrifice may have been practiced, over times long predating any contact with Rome. Human remains have been found at the foundations of structures from the Neolithic time to the Roman era, with injuries and in positions that argue for their being foundation sacrifices. Similarly, additional human remains in the tombs of aged men show signs of having been killed to be buried in the grave.
Source: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_sacrifice)

Druids and Human Sacrifice:
The rituals of the Druids reek from the deepest hell. Their most repulsive activities involve their human sacrifices of children on the night of Samhain or Halloween.

“First-born sacrifices are mentioned in a poem in the Dindshenchas, which records that children were sacrificed each Samhain…”
Source: (Rogers, Nicholas. Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, p. 17)

“Halloween. That was the eve of Samhain . . . firstborn children were sacrificed. . . Samhain eve was a night of dread and danger.”
Source: (National Geographic. May 1977, pp. 625-626)

The Druids would drink their victim’s blood and eat their flesh.

“They [Druids] sacrificed victims by shooting them with arrows, impaling them on stakes, stabbing them, slitting their throats over cauldrons (and then drinking the blood)…”
Source: (Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. Harper’s Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience, p. 167)

“Therefore we cannot too highly appreciate our debt to the Romans for having put an end to this monstrous cult, whereby to murder a man was an act of the greatest devoutness, and to eat his flesh most beneficial.”
Source: (Pliny, Natural History, xxx, 13)

The Druids “counted it an honorable thing” to eat their father’s flesh and perform incest with their mothers and sisters.

“…since they are man-eaters as well as heavy eaters, and since, further, they count it an honorable thing, when their fathers die, to devour them, and openly to have intercourse, not only with the other women, but also with their mothers and sisters;…”
Source: (Strabo, Geography)

Halloween and Baal Worship:

The Druids also celebrated the festival of Beltane. The word Beltane (Beltaine, Beltinne, Beltain, Beiltein) literally means the “fires of Bel.” Bel is the same god called Baal, found over 80 times in the King James Bible. The Lord condemns Baal worship probably more than any other false “god.”
Source: (http://www.av1611.org/halloween.html)

“…then the Druids lit the Baal-Tinne, the holy, goodly fire of Baal.”
Source: (Wilde, Lady Francesca Speranza. Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland)

“The god whom the Druids worshiped was Baal, as the blazing Baal-fires show, and . . . children were offered in sacrifice to Baal.”
Source: (Hislop, Alexander. The Two Babylons, p. 232)

The original Halloween was a hellish night of Baal worship and child sacrifice. And most of our current Halloween customs derived directly from Baal rituals!
Source: (http://www.av1611.org/halloween.html)

“On November first was Samhain [Halloween]…Fires were built as a thanksgiving to Baal…”
Source: (Kelley, Ruth Edna, The Book of Hallowe’en, Lothrop, Lee and Shepard Co. Boston, 1919)

“The mystic rites and ceremonies with which Halloween was originally observed had their origin among the Druids…ancient Baal festivals from which many of the Halloween customs are derived.”
Source: (Douglas, George William. The American Book of Days, p. 569)

“Baal is also a synonym for the devil.”
Source: (Burns, Cathy. Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, p. 327)

Halloween glorifies death in worship to Baal or the devil! The Druid festival of Samhain was a celebration of death. Strutting its hellish death images of skulls, skeletons, ghosts, demons, devils and incarnate evil, today’s Halloween glorifies Death. David Skal titled his history of Halloween-Death Makes a Holiday:
Source: (http://www.av1611.org/halloween.html)

“The grand marshal of the Halloween parade is, and always has been, Death.”
Source: (Skal, David J. Death Makes a Holiday: The Cultural History of Halloween, p. 18)

“Halloween can be traced directly back to Samhain, the ancient Celtic harvest festival honoring the Lord of the Dead.”
Source: (Thompson, Sue Ellen. Holiday Symbols and Customs, p. 251)

Halloween’s Acceptance:

The Catholic Merge:
Understanding the hellish history of Halloween-why in the world did decent people so embrace it? What magic “trick” transformed rancid Samhain into the giddy Halloween?

As the Catholic missionaries swarmed Britain and Ireland seeking the mass conversion to Catholicism their orders from Pope Gregory in 601 A.D. was to cunningly convert the Druid rituals into Catholic rituals. The Catholics converted the ritual of Samhain into the festival of All Saint’s Day, a day of celebration and prayer to dead “Saints.”
Source: (http://www.av1611.org/halloween.html)

“Halloween begins well over 2,000 years ago in the British Isles. Here, we find the holiday stripped to its most essential element: a night when Celtic tribes communed with the spirits of the ancestral dead. These grand and glorious pagan celebrations were assimilated by the Catholic church… Rather than extinguish old customs, the church leaders provided Christian versions of them: from the Middles Ages on, All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day replaced the ancient Celtic celebrations of the dead.”
Source: (Bannatyne, Lesley Pratt, Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History, Facts on File, Inc., New York, 1990 p. x)

The Catholic festival of All Saints Day was also known as All Hallows Day, with the word “hallow” replacing “saints.” The day before All Hallows Day (October 31) was recognized as All Hallows Eve. Eventually, All Hallows Eve became Hallows Eve; Hallow’ Even; Hallow’en and ultimately today’s Halloween.
Source: (http://www.av1611.org/halloween.html)

“All Saints’ Day perpetuated the pagan Samhain of November Eve.”
Source: (Bonwick, James, Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions, Dorset Press, 1984 (1986ed), p.87)

“Many traditional beliefs and customs associated with Samhain…continued to be practiced on 31 [of] October, known as the Eve of All Saints, the Eve of All Hallows, or Hallows Even. It is the glossing of the name Hallow Even that has given us the name Hallowe’en.”
Source: (Santino, Jack editor, Halloween and Other Festivals of Death and Life, The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TN 1994 p. xvi)

In 835, Pope Gregory IV “blessed” All Saint’s Day as a sacred “day of obligation,” consequently on that day, the Catholic Church officially “ordained” Halloween. Halloween owes its very life and breath to the “blessing” of the Catholic Church. Samhain would have breathed its last breath many years ago if not for the “ordination” of the Catholic Church.
Source: (http://www.av1611.org/halloween.html)

“Few holidays have a stranger or more paradoxical history than Halloween. Technically, it is the vigil of All Saints Day, observed by Roman Catholics…Halloween has clear connections with the rites of the druidic priests…”
Source: (Douglas, George William, revised by Helene Douglas Compton, The American Book of Days, The H.W. Wilson Company, New York, 1948, p. 741)

The Twisted Name of Halloween:
A perverse and blasphemous twist to Halloween concerns the name “Halloween.” The word “hallow” means “holy, sanctify or consecrate.” The popular Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9 begins with, “…Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name…” The label “hallow” belongs to God the Father-Hallowed be Thy name. Halloween was a night of sacrificing young children to the worship of Baal. It is no accident that the name of history’s most hellish night, glorifying “death and hell,” wears God the Father’s holy name of “hallow.” The blasphemous name of “Halloween” clearly bears the fingerprints of Lucifer as found in Isaiah 14:12, “…I will be like the most High.”
Source: (http://www.av1611.org/halloween.html)

Halloween Today:

Halloween is an old thing, it’s been around for thousands of years, but despite it’s crude, disgusting, and evil history, has it improved? Is it still Satan’s holiday? My answer to that is “yes”. Because even though we live in the computer and wireless age, and everything is quick and easy, and the Word of God is being spread faster than ever, and religious rituals involving immoral deeds is found upon by even non-Christians, the acts and spirit of Halloween remains the same. This included sexual rituals and human sacrifices. There are young women who are “chosen” to bare the child who will be offered to the spirits on Halloween night every year. There are babies born to die in satanic rituals and acts. There are women who are raped in the woods on Halloween night for some satanic rituals. This stuff is real, and as Christians, I don’t think we should turn a blind eye to it. We need to wake up, and see what we are celebrating every year.

The Occult:

Witchcraft/Wicca:
While Halloween masquerades as childish fun and frolic, it’s serious business in the occult world. Witchcraft, Wicca, Satanism and paganism believe, on the night of Halloween, devils and spirits are unleashed. They perform their most hideous and potent rituals on the night of Halloween.
Source: (http://www.av1611.org/halloween.html)

Samhain is one of the eight annual festivals, often referred to as ‘Sabbats’, observed as part of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. It is considered by most Wiccans to be the most important of the four ‘greater Sabbats’. It is generally observed on October 31st in the Northern Hemisphere, starting at sundown. Samhain is considered by some Wiccans as a time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on, and it often involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets and other loved ones who have died. In some rituals the spirits of the departed are invited to attend the festivities. It is seen as a festival of darkness, which is balanced at the opposite point of the wheel by the spring festival of Beltane, which Wiccans celebrate as a festival of light and fertility.
Source: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain)

“Samhain: This is the “Witch’s New Year” and the primary Sabbat from which all others flow.”
Source: (RavenWolf, Silver. Teen Witch, p. 42)

“Halloween is one of the four major Sabbats celebrated by the modern Witch, and it is by far the most popular and important of the eight that are observed…Witches regard Halloween as their New Year’s Eve, celebrating it with sacred rituals…”
Source: (Dunwich, Gerina. The Pagan Book of Halloween, p. 120)

Satanism:
Halloween is also among Satanism’s most cherished days. Anton LaVey, founder of The Church of Satan and author of The Satanic Bible writes:

“After one’s own birthday, the two major Satanic holidays are Walpurgisnacht (May 1st) and Halloween.”
Source: (LaVey, Anton Szandor. The Satanic Bible, p. 96)

Satanic High Priestess Blanche Barton, on The Church of Satan web site, praises Halloween:

“It [Halloween] gives even the most mundane people the opportunity to taste wickedness for one night. They have a chance to dance with the Devil…I see Satanists all over the world meeting in small groups this night and Hallowe’ens 500 years hence, to raise a glass to the Infernal Hosts…”
Source: (http://www.av1611.org/halloween.html)

The Satanic Calendar decrees for Halloween:

“One of the two most important nights of the year. . . Blood and sexual rituals. Sexual association with demons. Animal and human sacrifice-male or female.”
Source: (www.theforbiddenknowledge.com/hardtruth/satanic_calendar.htm)

Satanists practice the original customs and rituals of Halloween. Right down to the sexual rites and human sacrifice.

Former occultist Johanna Michaelsen reveals:

“Halloween is also a prime recruiting season for Satanists.”
Source: (Michaelsen, Johanna. Like Lambs to the Slaughter, p. 192)

“The Satanic Bible as listing the main Satanic holidays as Walpurgisnacht (30-APR), Halloween (31-OCT), and the member’s birthday.”
Source: (The Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions and the Occult by Mather & Nichols, (Zondervan, 1993), P. 244)

Symbolism:

Many American Halloween traditions and symbols, that may seem harmless, are, in fact, deeply symbolic to the ancient traditions of Halloween.

Witches:
Witches are the reigning Queen of Halloween. If you’ve been lullabied by the gospel of Halloween that witches are harmless folks, wake up, witches worship the devil:

“In many instances, according to the confessions of the witches, besides their direct worship of the devil, they were obliged to show their abhorrence of the faith they had deserted by trampling on the cross, and blaspheming the saints, and by other profanations.”
Source: (Spence, Lewis. An Encyclopedia of Occultism, p. 433)

“The witches held a party at Hallowe’en and the women…sold their soul to the devil, would put a stick in their beds anointed with the fat of murdered babies…”
Source: (Douglas, George William. The American Book of Days, p. 569)

Although witches vigorously protest they have no dealings with the devil, under the heading, “A Witch’s God,” the popular witch’s training manual, Witchcraft: Theory and Practice, plainly states:

“A Witch’s God…He is…Lord of the Underworld [Hell]…He is named Baphomet, Lucifer, Baal.”
Source: (Angeles, Ly de. Witchcraft: Theory and Practice, p. 60)

Jack-o-Lanterns:
If witches are the Queen of Halloween, the smiling jack-o-lantern is the King. The demonic jack-o-lantern leaves most historians baffled tracing its spooky origin. One popular tale, tells of Jack who tricked the devil in a deal for his soul. But the origin of the jack-o-lantern is much more sinister. It arrives from the Druid’s ghastly reverence of the severed human head! They proudly decorated their houses and temples with bloody severed heads. The Druids believed the head housed the soul, hence the light or candle in the skull. The original jack-o-lantern was not a pumpkin or turnip, but a severed human head!
Source: (http://www.av1611.org/halloween.html)

“Trophy, charm, or ornament, the human head figured prominently in Celtic life. Warriors hung enemy heads on their houses as a show of prowess, and Druids, believing that the head harbored the soul, placed skulls in sanctuaries to ward off evil.”
Source: (National Geographic, May 1977, p. 603)

“…They hang the heads of their enemies from the necks of their horses, and, when they have brought them home, nail the spectacle to the entrances of their homes…”
Source: (Strabo, Geography)

“It is believed that faces, rather than other images or symbols, were originally carved onto the pumpkin because they gave the jack-o-lantern the look of a head. The Celts of ancient times believed that the head was the most sacred part of the human body, for it housed a person’s immortal soul.”
Source: (Dunwich, Gerina. The Pagan Book of Halloween, p. 32)

“…The jack-o-lantern is generally presented in its traditional form as a festive euphemism for the death’s-head, the triangular nose hole and rictus grin being the “dead” giveaways.”
Source: (Skal, David J. Death Makes a Holiday: The Cultural History of Halloween, p. 38)

“Carved and illuminated by a candle, they are symbolic of death and the spirit world.”
Source: (Thompson, Sue Ellen. Holiday Symbols and Customs, p. 256)

Trick or Treat:
Trick-or-treating resembles the late medieval practice of “souling,” when poor folk would go door to door…receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day.
Source: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trick-or-treating)

The practice of souling – going from door to door on or about All Souls Day to solicit gifts of food in return for prayers for the dead – evolved from a pagan ritual that was practiced all over Europe, possibly as early as the 10th century. As a Christian tradition it goes back to at least the 14th century, when it is mentioned by Chaucer. It is still commonplace in many Catholic countries, notably Ireland, where soul-cakes are left out for the departed. The first reference to the practice under that name in England is John Brand’s Popular Antiquities of Great Britain, 1779: “On All Saints Day, the poor people go from parish to parish a Souling, as they call it.”
Source: (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/trick-or-treat.html)

Trick or Treating is another Druid inspired custom.

“Every year on Halloween, many children throughout the world dress up in costumes and go door to door in a ritual known as trick or treating…unaware that their innocent masquerade is actually the remnants of a Druidic religious practice from times most ancient.”
Source: (Dunwich, Gerina. The Pagan Book of Halloween, p. 11)

“Whatever the wrinkles, the root assumption is the same: trick or treat had its beginning in the Celtic dawn.”
Source: (Santino, Jack. Halloween and Other Festivals of Death and Life, p. 82)

Masks and Costumes:
Masks and costumes carry a long history in the occult and demon possession. Masks are contacts to the spirit world to invite the spirit to “possess” them.
Source: (http://www.av1611.org/halloween.html)

“In rituals, a person wearing a mask of a god or spirit often feels possessed by the supernatural being…”
Source: (World Book 2005, p. 263)

“The person wearing the mask feels internally transformed and takes on temporarily the qualities of the god or demon represented by the mask.”
Source: (Biedermann, Hans. Dictionary of Symbolism, p. 218)

Bat:
“One of the animal shapes commonly used by these demons (or “familiars,” as they were often called) was the bat. Bats and their blood were also used in the casting of spells (especially those of black magick), the brewing of potions…”
Source: (Dunwich, Gerina. The Pagan Book of Halloween, p. 29)

Owl:
“On Halloween night, demons in the form of owls were said to have traveled with Witches and their cats…some were even believed to be Witches in disguise…(Interestingly, the owl was called a strix by the Romans, a word that means “Witch.”)”
Source: (Dunwich, Gerina. The Pagan Book of Halloween, p. 43)

Black Cats:
“Black cats were associated with darkness and death…they embodied demons who performed the witches task of maleficia against their neighbors…Black cats are said to be the devil himself.”
Source: (Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, p. 49)

Apples:
“The practice of bobbing for apples at a Halloween party comes form our Pagan ancestors, who highly valued apple magick.”
Source: (RavenWolf, Silver. Teen Witch, p. 42)

Skull:
“An interesting symbol, the skull . . . It is prominent in Witchcraft and Demon worship as a celebration of death.”
Source: (Burns, Cathy. Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, p. 388)

In Conclusion:

We’re almost done, but I would like to just point out one more thing….

Christian Alternatives:

Now that we looked at what Halloween is and what it stands for, it’s a good thing Christians have something else they can do or let their kids do…the Christian alternative to Halloween. We all know them, we’ve all been to them, they can be dumb or fun (I’ve been to both). But isn’t it great that we, as Christians, have a place where we don’t have to see or participate in the evil that is Halloween? It’s great that we can be away from all of that while men, women, and children are being sacrificed in the woods in secret by cultists. It’s good that we can ignore the fact that people are ushering Satan into their lives by the art of blood and sexual rituals.

I do not agree with the Christian alternative to Halloween, because it’s acknowledging the fact that something extremely evil is happening…in America…but saying we’ll celebrate it in our own, safe way where we can throw Christ into it. What’s the difference if kids dress up and get candy from door to door, or in a church building? None, except for the church’s seal of approval on the latter choice. It’s okay to celebrate Satan’s high holy day inside a church where God is involved, but not out side where babies are being killed.

I say “boycott Halloween”! We, as Christians, should not be in any way, shape, or form, associated with Halloween because of what it stands for! It is an evil day, Satan’s day. Don’t let ignorance be an excuse, because now it’s not. We should not play a part in the party of the devil.

Pray:

Christians, I implore you to pray on Halloween. Pray for the lives of the children that will be killed and sacrificed to Satan. Pray for the men and women that will be kidnapped and killed for the same reason. Pray for the safety of the children who are ignorant of the origins and symbolism of the customs they partake in every year. Pray fervently.

Okay…I’m done:

In conclusion on this study into the history and practices of ancient and modern Halloween, I say, be careful. I’m not saying it’s wrong to let kids go trick or treating, or go to a costume party, or even go to a Christian alternative event. I’m saying that we need to watch ourselves and not be ignorant. I personally do not acknowledge Halloween. But that’s me. Just like the books we read, and the movies we watch, be careful of what we put before ourselves, and let the Spirit of God guide us. If you feel that check in your spirit that tells you something isn’t right, listen to it. If not, knock yourself out and bob the heck out of those apples.

Caption Contest

Here we go, here’s the next picture. Remember, best comment wins. You can comment multiple times.

And here we…go!

Have fun!

————————————————————————————–

Winner of the last Caption Contest is:

Kaleigh:

Chicken on the right – “Hey now, we’ve been over this. Flying’s not fair.”
Chicken on the left – “You’re just saying that cause you’re losing.”

Birthday Time

Birthday Fun (From left to right: Niel, Alece, Andrew, Mike)

My birthday is August 20th, and yesterday I celebrated my 23rd birthday. And it was fun. The day before, (the 19th), my sister, brother, brother-in-law, and I went to Splish Splash, the only water park on Long Island. Alece and Niel treated me to a day of fun there, and Mike tagged along.

It was loads of fun, we nearly died on the new ride, which scared the living snot out of me, I almost backed out three times, but I pulled through, and let’s just say my hand was shaking after we got off the ride. The rest of the day was great. However, the lines were bad, so we only got to go on each ride once. Shame. By the time we all got home, we were exhausted.

Anyways, yesterday was great. Got a bunch of shirts, including two Chuck Norris shirts, which cracked me up. And some books which I plan to read as soon as I can. Birthday dinner included chicken cutlets, bread and dipping oil, and corn on the cob (what is a cob anyway?). We ended the evening with a Cravel cake! And it was good. We laughed about old family jokes, and I think we freaked Niel out a bit. It was a good day.

I’m looking forward to another good year!

Good Memories

Sorry, I haven’t updated in a while, I’ve had quite a bit on my mind, and though I had time to write, I found that I had nothing to write. My grandmother passed away last month, and until I found closure at the funeral yesterday (8/16/08), I couldn’t bring myself to write here. Nothing to write. But not that that I have closure, I feel like I’m ready to begin here again.

So, I shall begin by posting what I wrote for the funeral. I was asked to say something, so I sat down to write it. I found that I could not write anything serious, so I wrote what was in my heart. Here it is:

Good Memories

Maria Ronzino (1913-2008)

Grandma

“Good memories. I have such good memories.” she used to say to me whenever we were on the phone together. More often towards the end. She could talk for hours if you let her. The conversations would always begin the same way.

“Hi, Grandma!”

“Hello, Andrew! How are ya?”

“I’m doing good, Grandma. How are you?”

“Oh, you know. Like an old lady. A little pain here, a little pain there.”

Every time I could count on her saying the exact same thing. She would then talk about the doctor, and what the doctor wanted her to do, and the new pill the doctor wanted her to take, but she wasn’t going to. Not to mention that she didn’t like the new doctor. Sometimes she would tell me that she was woozie the other day. “Woozie” has long ago become a normal word in my lexicon.

From there, the conversation always turned one of three ways. Food, war, or good memories.

If she brought up food, it always involved the price of tomatoes back in the day compared to the price of tomatoes now. That would then lead to her telling me what she had for breakfast (and often included the prunes), to what was for dinner that night, to“Ralphie is cooking tonight, oh, he’s become such a good cook!” She would then talk about the butcher, and what the butcher had to offer, and for how much, and what the price was when she was a little girl.

If the conversation took the direction of war, she would tell how her father fought in the war, then talk about how Grandpa fought in the war. This line of talk always lead to the same thing. George W. Bush! This is when you let her blow off a little steam.

But the best conversations were when she would talk about her good memories. Oh, how much I loved these talks. She would begin to tell all kinds of stories, some of herself when she was but a child. But most of the time the good memories she spoke of were the ones she had of her children and grandchildren. She never had a bad word to say. She spoke in such high esteem of her family. No matter what happened, she had good memories. Sometimes she would tell the same stories over and over again, but I didn’t care. I was talking to Grandma!

Now, that she has passed on into eternity, we all have good memories of Maria Ronzino, and I want to take this time to share some of mine.

I remember when she used to take me with her to Mass on Sundays if I stayed the weekend And I would sit through the service, often fidgeting. But I would stand when she stood, and spoke when she spoke…even though I had no clue what I was saying. Some kind of prayer. But then Communion time would come, and I would stand next to Grandma waiting to receive the sacraments. I loved the little wafer, but It would get stuck on the roof of my mouth. I also loved the wine. I remember this one time, the priest tipped the cup and I took a sip (my first experience with wine, if I remember correctly). I still remember that first taste to this day. I wanted more, but the priest was already wiping the goblet for the next person. I ran ahead of Grandma to sit back down.

Good memories.

There was this one time when Grandma and I were heading heading to the park and I decided to race her, so I started to run, Down the sidewalk, down the hill, and into the policeman. He held me there and asked me why I was in such a hurry, he made me wait for Grandma. This is a good memory, she brought up to the family the night before her passing.

Good memories.

I remember that whenever I stayed with Grandma, I would kiss her hello, then book it for the cookie jar. The white and blue cookie jar shaped like a smiling woman ready to give up her treats to her grandkids. The same jar I somehow broke, she mended it with some crazy glue. I would reach inside and grab one of “Grandma’s Cookies” They were oatmeal cookies that you could die for. At some point in the day, Grams would have me sit down at the table and she would bring over for me a tall glass of milk and three Stella D’oro Breakfast Treats, which all of us grandkids long ago dubbed “S-Cookies”, because of their “S-like” shape. I would then spend some time in front of the TV watching Sesame Street and Mr. Rodger’s Neighborhood.

Good memories.

There’s not enough time in the day to tell all the stories of my times with Grandma. But I can summarize with these few short burbs.

• Grams watching me swim in the pool with my water wings, or what my family calls, “sloaties”.
• Playing Uno with her, and always beating her, making her so mad, she would leave the table. She always hated to play games she knew she would lose.
• Hearing all the stories Dad and Uncle Ralph would tell about Grams running after them with the sauce spoon.
• Her entire, joy filled life.

Grandma always smiled, she always laughed, she would never complain about anything or anyone. If there was anyone who showed God, it was her. She lived a life I want to live.

I have made good memories with her, it will be hard to do it without her. But she will live on in our good memories of her. I just wish that some day I could say on the phone to my grandchildren “I have such good memories.”

I love you, Grandma.

Judas’ Suicide Note, Matthias’ Dictation

It is so that my transgressions
Have born a withered fruit
The sun has scorched the rising plants
Alas, they have no root
The bleached bones of animals
Bound by leather strips
Dance through the air with laughter

As I wield this wicked whip
As you did warn me, carpenter
This world has weakened my heart
So easily I disparage
Self-seeking the work of my art
And there you have come to me
At the moment I bathe in my sorrow
So in love with myself
Sought after avoiding tomorrow
Where do you find the love to offer he who betrays you?
And offer to wash my feet as I offer to disobey you
Your beauty does bereave me
And how my words do fail,
So faithfully and dutifully I award you with betrayal

The weak and the down trodden
Fall on broken legs
As I walk past a smile I cast
Fervor in my stead
But my bones, like plastic
Do buckle backward now
As I lay in this field by Judas
And anticipate the plow
I can not be forgiven
My wages will be paid,
For those more lovely and admirable
Is least among the saved,
And where would I fit Jesus?
What place is left for me?
The price of atonement
Is more than I’ve found to offer as my plea,

Jesus, my heart is all I have to give to you
So weak and so unworthy
This simply will not do
No alabaster jar, no diamond in the rough
For your body that was broken
How can this be enough?
By me you were abandoned
By me you were betrayed
Yet in your arms and in your heart
Forever I have stayed
Your glory illuminates my life
And no darkness will descend
For you have loved me forever
And your love will never end

(Song: “Matthias Replaces Judas” by Showbread)

Don’t think of these words as a simple song. Instead, think of the first two stanzas as Judas’ suicide note. A man so distraught about betraying the man he followed, served, and loved for three and a half years, that he couldn’t bare the thought of living a day longer in his sorrow. Think of it as words written out on an ancient piece of parchment with a simple feather pen and ink. It was written in the dim orange flicker of candle light as the greedy man’s hands shook with grief. His tears began to blot the ink on the paper as he tried to write the last few words, “Where do you find the love to offer he who betrays you, and offer to wash my feet as I offer to disobey you? Your beauty does bereave me, and how my words do fail, so faithfully and dutifully I award you with betrayal.”

Then imagine if you will, the words of his now dead Savior, ran through his mind as he bundled together a crude noose out of some simple fisherman’s rope he had borrowed from Peter a few days ago for some unknown job. As he ties it together, the demons and tormentors go to work on his mind, he is driven insane because of the forgiveness he can’t grant to himself. He flings the rope that was used countless times to haul fish into a boat to pay the bills and taxes, and dropped the now crumpled parchment. It fell from his hand and hit the sandy earth and bounced a few times, only to stop at the foot of the rock Judas used to hoist himself up, then with one final convulsion of grief and with a groan of agony he jumps off, allowing the noose to tighten and cut off his air. And as he hung there his last tormented dying thought was, “Where do you find the love to offer he who betrays you, and offer to wash my feet as I offer to disobey you?”

Then imagine, a few days later, a man who would later take Judas’ place as one of the twelve to spread the news of Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection, is simply walking. He stumbled on the rotting corpse of the man he knew to be Jesus disciple. The body, half eaten by bugs and birds, was still hanging there, swaying in the breeze, filling the air with a terrible stanch that burned his nose. Matthias looks down and sees the ball of paper. He picks it up and tries to decipher the tear stained paper. After a full two minuets he looks back at the body of the condemned man and begins to weep. Then he dictates the last two stanzas.

Now that Jesus had died and come back to life, Matthias knew that he was just as guilty of betrayal as Judas was, because it was his sin that placed his Savior, friend, and maker on that Roman torture tree. As he walks away, he cries out to God for forgiveness, something that Judas couldn’t do. And as he enters the city to join his friends and other followers of the Way in the room to await the promised Spirit of God, he finds himself reflecting on his own words, “Jesus, my heart is all I have to give to you. So weak and so unworthy, this simply will not do. No alabaster jar, no diamond in the rough; For your body that was broken, how can this be enough? By me you were abandoned, by me you were betrayed, yet in your arms and in your heart forever I have stayed. Your glory illuminates my life, and no darkness will descend. For you have loved me forever, and your love will never end!”

This is my cry also.

Goodbye, Ground Floor

Dear friends and family that make up the Ground Floor,

I have been apart of your for a little under four years now. I moved to Michigan in September of 2004 to join the Ground Floor Internship, under the leadership of Pastor Scott Vruggink, Pastor Ryan Grabill, and Pastor Robb Kornoelje. I was an outsider from Long Island, New York. But you let me in.

Over the three years that I was an GF Intern and staff member, I grew a lot. God healed me from wounds and scars of my past, he showed me who I really am, and gave me a new direction. Because of the leadership of the GF, as well as my fellow interns, I have become a better person. During this time, I have pored out my life to the students that attended the Ground Floor and tried to be the best mentor, role model, and friend that I could be. But the students of the Ground Floor has taught me so much in return. I can’t thank them enough for everything that they have done.

After my three year internship was over, in September of 2007, I stayed on as a volunteer at the Ground Floor. But now…in the summer of 2008, I have felt like God has released me from ministry at the Ground Floor. I have felt this way for the last three or four months. And after much prayer and thought, I have ended my time at the GF.

I will still be here, I’m not leaving now. But I will no longer be actively volunteering. I feel like God is moving me on to different things.

This hurts me. I am saddened by this, however, I still feel a joy, because I know that it is my time to leave. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says:

“To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
A time to love,
And a time to hate;
A time of war,
And a time of peace.”

This is my time to leave, but my heart will always be with you, and my prayers will always be with you. My only hope, my only desire, is that my time with the Ground Floor has impacted many lives, as many lives have impacted mine.

We’ve laughed together, cried together, hurt together, grown together, loved together, and fought together. For that, I thank you, Ground Floor.

If you desire, I will be blogging (I know, me…a blogger…weird). There I will write stuff that is on my heart down. It may be serious, it may be dumb or even fun. Check it out if you ever wish to keep updated on my life. Here is the link:

http://greaterthanknowledge.wordpress.com/

And, of course, there’s always Facebook. Catch me there too.

So, at least for I time, Ground Floor friends and family,

Until the morning sun rises, I say, “So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye!”

- Andrew “Ronzi” Ronzino

Top Ten: Things I Learned About Myself This Week

I got this idea from my sister!

So, here are the top ten things I learned about myself this week:

10. I really, really love the TV show Smallville.

9. I like to play “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion” on my Xbox 360.

8. Nothing feels as good as going to bed late on the eve of your day off; knowing that you can sleep late and not care.

7. If I could snap my fingers and change the world…I would.

6. For some odd reason, whenever I generate an random number in my head it’s always 87. I believe 87 is my 42…so to speak.

5. I like to listen to books as I work.

4. I can be a wuss…not willing to take chances sometimes. And I don’t like it.

3. If I didn’t have God in my life…I don’t even want to think about that.

2. I’m glad to have such good friends who I can threaten and verbally abuse all day, every day, and can the same treatment from in return. Talk about fun!

1. I love my family more than life itself.

You Know You’re From Long Island When…

I shall go over some of these with you, being from Long Island, New York. The stuff in parenthesis are comments I, myself am making. Enjoy

You know you’re from Long Island when….

1. Flip-flops are normal, even in January. (I have never done this, but I’ve seen it…a lot!)

2. You know exactly what they mean when they say “Don’t change at Jamaica.” (It’s true!)

3. You know that The Drift Inn and Neptunes are in the same building, but you also know that they are NOTHING alike.

4. Screw the SAT, you know the exact pronunciation of Islip, Wantagh, Commack, Mattituck, Shinnecock, Quogue, Ronkonkoma, Hauppauge, Mineola, Islandia, Massapequa, and Patchogue. (And I CAN pronounce all of them!)

5. You and your friends are going to the beach, but the word beach never comes up in the conversation. Instead, it sounds something like this…”Well, we could go to Jones, but Robert Moses is closer, the North Shore is too rocky…whatever let’s go to the Hamptons.” (Ummm…something like that anyway)

6. You have no idea what jimmies are, or why someone would want to put them on their ice cream. (We call them “sprinkles”)

7. You have never used “wicked” as an adjective. (But I have…after I moved to MI)

8. You know that Americana Manhasset is NOT a type of coffee.

9. You know that it’s possible to take Jericho all the way to Queens…but you would never EVER do it. (Cause the traffic on the Jericho SUCKS!)

10. Parallel parking in your drivers ed class was pointless…you only had to do it next to one car. (Yes. Yes I did.)

11. You live in the shadow of the greatest city in the world, but you almost never go there. (Once or twice a year…at best!)

12. When you’re away from Long Island, you love it and when you’re home, you don’t. (I’ve noticed this since I moved)

13. You think if you’re not from Long Island or NYC, you’re not really from New York. (LOL, I’ve said this before.)

14. You know the exact point at which Queens turns into Nassau simply on intuition. (It’s creepy)

15. You don’t go to Manhattan, you go to “The City.” (True)

16. You never realize you have an accent till you leave. (People told me when I first moved that I had an accent…but I didn’t believe them)

17. Everything north of the Bronx is “upstate.” (True)

18. At some point in your life you’ve gone clamming. (Not I)

19. Either your parents or your grandparents lived in the city. (Ummm…not really, but close to it)

20. You’d pay $11.50 for a movie. (And that’s the matinée price!)

21. You don’t live in Long Island. You live ON Long Island. (True)

22. You know where the Commack Motor Inn is. (My dad does)

23. Your distant future might involve the state of Florida. (No me, I hate Florida)

24. You know the location of 6 malls and a dozen McDonalds and 36 7-11’s. (True)

25. You’ve tried to find the Amityville Horror house. (Nope, but myabe I will some day, I know where Amityvill is!)

26. No, you don’t want mustard on that burger!! (Heck no!)

27. You can’t understand why a diner would ever close. (Yep.)

28. You’ve had a seagull poop on your car. (Too many times)

29. You don’t really see the big deal about the Hamptons, unless you got smashed at the Boardy Barn. (False)

30. You know White Castle is terrible for you and it gives you a stomach ache, but you periodically “Get the Crave.” (This is my dad, not me!)

31. You want the Yankees to stay in the Bronx, but would probably go to more games if they moved to Manhattan. (Safer!)

32. You think that somehow, the Jets and Giants still play in New York.

33. You’ve missed that “Drunk Train,” the 2:42 out of Penn, and had the dreaded wait until 5:30. (Nope)

34. You or someone you know has owned an animal that came from North Shore Animal League.

35. You’ve never taken an MTA bus.

36. The Long Island Expressway isn’t really as bad as everybody thinks. (Sunrise is worse)

37. You don’t associate Fire Island with gay men. (men)

38. You know which parts of the Godfather were filmed on Long Island. (Yep)

39. You’ve paid a $10 cover charge to get into a bar, but got nothing for it. (Nope….I didn’t)

40. You miss whiffle ball and running through sprinklers. (I do!)

41. Billy Joel said it best, “Either you date a rich girl from the North Shore, or a cool girl from the South Shore.” (I think so)

42. You have or someone you know has fallen asleep on the LIRR and ended up in one of these three places; Babylon, Port Washington or Hicksville. (LOL, I think I have, yes)

43. You know that there is a big different between any of the other Hamptons, and Hampton bays. (Don’t confuse the two)

44. The Belt Parkway sucks! (Heck yes it does!)

45. You’ve been stuck in a traffic jam for more than 2 hours (without moving). (YES! UGGGGGG!)

46. Your parents took you to All American, Nathans or Carvel (on the way home from the beach). (I LOVE CARVEL!!!!!!)

47. You don’t have to go far to see your family. (True)

48. You remember Grumman. (I live like two miles from Gumman!)

49. You know the color of the water at Jones Beach is not BLUE! (Gross, but true)

50. You were upset when all the Roy Rogers turned into Wendy’s and Arby’s closed for good. (That happened too long ago…I just don’t care)

51. You can spout off all the LIRR stops between Penn Station and Ronkonkoma. (I can’t, but a lot of people can)

52. Paying $35 for a haircut doesn’t sound so crazy. (Nope)

53. You think the people from Brooklyn are “da wunz dat tawk wit a accent.” (They dwo!)

54. You went sledding in the sumps.

55. You knew of Massapequa before the Amy Fisher-Joey Buttafuoco nightmare.

56. You think going to Queens is a hike. (LOL!)

57. The first time you heard the term “Long Island Iced Tea” you were somewhere else and you laughed. (Yep)

58. When you live somewhere else and are astounded to see that people actually stop at yellow lights. (LOL, TRUE!)

59. Its rare to get really bad bagels or pizza on Long Island, almost as rare as it is to get good bagels and pizza anywhere else. (I can’t stress enough how true this one is!)

60. You can name at least three bands that came from Long Island.

61. You’ve partied in the woods at least once in your life.

62. You know what Pilgram State and Sweet Hallow Road are…and you are NEVER going again

63. You are never more then 20 minutes away from the water. (True)

64. You have been to at least one concert at Jones Beach. (Yes, I have!)

65. When you hear “the end”, you think Montauk. Orient Point never crosses your mind. (This is also true)

66. Wandering around Fire Island trashed is an acceptable plan for any night. (Not for me, but okay!)

67. Doing 90 over the Robert Moses bridge or on Ocean Parkway is perfectly fine.

68. When you say that you are going to “the outlets”, Tanger is implied. (LOL! Yes, yes, YES!)

69. You have a friends who swears they saw Billy Joel somewhere in Oyster Bay. (I did, yes. LIARS!)

70. When people ask “where are you from?” you answer Long-Guy-Land and automatically assume everyone in the world knows that answer means New York. (Maybe)

71. You’ve seen the commercials, and you’ve craved their shakes, but you know darn well there are no DQ’s or Sonics on Long Island. (True)

72. You remember all the good times had at Nunleys, and the emotional distress it caused when it was closed down. (Oh my gosh! I forgot about that place. It WAS fun…and WAS sad when it closed!)

73. When you or someone you know attends SUNY Albany, Buffalo, or Binghamton. (Yep!)

74. (I’m adding this one myself!) When you can tell someone exactly how many minutes from The Duck you are! (And I can…about 36!)

There’s more…but I don’t feel like searching them out. Thanks for reading!

-Andrew “Ronzi” Ronzino

Caption Contest

Just for fun, I want to hold a caption contest every now and then. I’ll put up a picture and you will get you write captions. When I close the contest, I’ll choose the best one. And that’ll be the winner. Sorry, no prizes. You can post as many times as you want.

Here we go!

Let’s hear those captions!

Later,

Ronzi

Blogging

Okay, so I was told that I am a good writer.  I hope so, because I’m writing a novel that I wish to get published.  That and I’m now on this site.  I have been asked by my sister, Alece, to start to blog.  So here I am…blogging.

To be clear.  I wish to separate the stuff posted on this blog into three categories, and they are:

• Nonsensical Rantings – This is where I just rant about stiff that doesn’t really matter.
• Serious Theological Ramblings – This is where I discuss stuff devoted to God, faith, the Bible…you know, Christian stuff.  Though the name states as such, they may not always be serious
• I Wanted to Say it…So I Did – This is for everything else.

Okay, now that we’re clear on that, I can move on with my life.

Until I post again,

Andrew “Ronzi” Ronzino