Christians and Halloween

Let me start by saying I love Halloween. I always have. I remember my dad drawing pictures and hand-making gravestones out of Styrofoam with funny epitaphs reading, “Here lies Les Moore, shot six times with a 44, No Less, No More”or something along those lines. I grew up with it; it's in my blood, so to speak. I also grew up watching scary movies—all of them—thrasher movies, chilling movies, jump-out-of-your-skin movies, and the occasional spoof comedy.

So, for me, the questions may not be as tricky as some Christians. But I do recognize the question and its importance to some families. So, what's the question? Should Christians “celebrate” Halloween?

Well, like most secondary issues in the church, it is something that some Christians think about and other good ole bible-believing Evangellyfish have never thought of at all. This does not make either group necessarily right or wrong, but I think it’s important enough to at least know where you and the bible stand on it.

In the case of Halloween, it should be a topic of discussion, even if that painted-faced, skeleton costume, fun-loving discussion is amongst only your immediate family while handing out candy to trick-or-treaters and is only 30 seconds long; it's worth having. I also needed something to write about, and given that it's October 17th, I thought this would be fun.

In pondering this topic, I landed on three possible positions. Maybe four.

First, do Halloween. Do it right. Do it all. Decorate the whole house, inside and out. Dress the kids up as scary figures from movies and books, throw a costume party, and make the backyard a haunted house to terrify the neighbor kids in the fear and admonition of the Lord (don’t mind the pun).

Second, observe Halloween but keep it modest. The level of modesty will be up to your family. Whether you like a few skeletons and gravestones or spider webs and lights, that’s up to you.

Third, do not celebrate Halloween. Do not participate in trick-or-treating, decorating, or dressing up. You don’t allow your kids to participate in the school events or town events. A fourth category would be to not only refrain from celebrating, but to demand no one else does as well. But I will add as a point b to the third position.

Now that we know the places we can possibly land as far as observing the spirit holiday. Let's look at where Halloween comes from. It actually comes from the Catholic holiday “All Saints Day,” which is the day to celebrate the saints and martyrs. This was on November 1, however, so October 31st became All Hallows Eve and years later became Halloween. As with everything else, however, Halloween has changed over the years and has become something different entirely. Not necessarily bad, but different.

Does the Bible address Halloween? Well, no, not directly, but it says plenty about pagan practices and worship, which Halloween can be. I didn’t say it, but it can be. Let's look at some of the passages in the bible in relation to Halloween and then have some summary thoughts on practical approaches moving forward.

Gleanings from the bible.

There are several things that could be concerning about Halloween that the bible does address. The Bible is clear on God's view of pagan practices, witchcraft, and the occult. It doesn’t leave room for error here. In Deuteronomy 18:10-12 it says, “And do not let your people practice fortune-telling or sorcery, or allow them to interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is an object of horror and disgust to the Lord.” Then again, in Ephesians 5:7-11 the Bible says, “Don’t participate in the things these people do. For once, you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.”. So, the Bible is clear on the practice of pagan rituals and witchcraft. But does Halloween fall into this category? Maybe, maybe not.

The other possible concern for Halloween that may be more relevant to the average Joe and Mary is the idea that Halloween, while not worshiping other deities or practicing pagan religions blatantly, can indeed surround you and your children with dark and evil images. The gruesome creatures, gore, blood, and death that surround Halloween are closer to evil than good, and the bible says to “flee from evil.” Psalm 37:27. The bible also says that “God is not the God of the dead but of the living.” That’s Matthew 22:32.

So, where does this leave us? What are we supposed to do or not do? We know we have to protect our kids from evil. Are we hurting them by letting them trick or treat? I don’t think so.

Final Thoughts

With the biblical teaching in mind, I think we can find a middle ground in celebrating Halloween. We should always protect our kids, and each family has different levels of exposure to the world that they are okay with, I’m not here to lecture on that. But the Bible is evident in some areas. We should protect them from sin. The more they are around sin, the more they will sin, and we should avoid that as much as we can. In terms of Halloween, be smart with your kids. If you think skeletons are the line, that’s fine; if you believe that a costume with a bloody knife is the line, that’s fine, too. Just don’t participate in witchcraft or any demonic rituals, and you should be fine. I would avoid letting your 10-year-old watch Friday the 13th as well, but that’s just me. Just food for thought, or rather a candy apple for thought.