Q: How should a Christian approach
Halloween?
There is frequently disagreement
among Christians about the suitability of Halloween festivities for Christian
families. The responses can be anywhere
on a range from unexamined acceptance to fearful rejection.
On one hand, Halloween does have a
sometimes excessive preoccupation with death and evil. It can have the effect of trivializing evils
of the spiritual realm, such as Satan, demons, and witchcraft, and this is an
appropriate concern for Christians.
Critics may even be correct that some American Halloween customs have
their origins in the ancient pagan harvest festivals of Western Europe.
On the other hand, the name
“Halloween” itself, as well as the date of its celebration on October 31,
actually have Christian origins.
November 1 has long been celebrated by Lutherans, Catholics, and many
other churches as All Saints Day. This
day was an occasion in the church for remembering all of the saints, both known
and unknown, that is all people who have died with faith in Jesus and are
saints because their sins have been forgiven and who now await the Resurrection
in the presence of Jesus.
In times past, Christian churches
began celebrating festivals the evening before their date. As a result, festivals, such as All Saints
Day actually began the preceding evening, resulting in church holidays like
Christmas Eve and All Hallows Eve (a.k.a. Halloween). The name Halloween is an old word that really
means “the evening before All Saints Day.” In Lutheran and Reformed
congregations, October 31 is also remembered as Reformation Day, because it is the
day Martin Luther nailed 95 statements of belief to his church door, beginning
the Reformation.
The first generation of Christians
encountered a similar question to the one today’s Christians face regarding
Halloween. In the Roman Empire, the
temples of Roman gods doubled as meat markets.
After animals were sacrificed to the false god, the meat was then sold
in the market. In 1 Corinthians 8 and
Romans 14, the apostle Paul answers the question of Christians at that
time. He says that, although it would
not be acceptable for Christians to worship in those temples, it is not a sin
for them to eat meat from the meat markets, because the gods of those temples were
really nothing. At the same time, some
Christians, out of weakness, were fearful that eating this meat might be a
sin. He instructs them that they should
not go against their conscience by eating the meat.
This Biblical example is an excellent
guide for Christians today in many situations.
Where God has made a command, we seek to follow it. This means that Christians should certainly
avoid any type of witchcraft, destructive pranks, or aspects of the holiday
which glorify death and evil, and parents should wisely guide any costume
selections made by their children. On
the other hand, there is no harm if children dress like princesses, sports
heroes, or what they want to be when they grow up. Even the carving of pumpkins is nothing more
than an innocent art project, which Americans were already doing decades before
the Irish brought the superstition of the Halloween Jack-o-Lantern (made from a
Turnip) to American shores. Christians
should certainly avoid aspects of Halloween which go against God’s clear
commands, but others are a matter of judgment or conscience.
The most important message a
Christian can remember about Halloween is that we do not need to fear. We do not need to fear the power of sin,
death and evil because Jesus has conquered all of these by His death and
resurrection. For all who trust in
Jesus, even death, demons, and Satan himself are powerless to overcome them
because they stand under the protection of the Lord of all creation. Neither do we need to fear overstepping the regulations
of an angry God, because, even though we do desire to please God by our
actions, salvation does not rely on our own ability to know and follow a set of
regulations. Paul told the Christians of
his day, “The Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or drinking, but of
righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17) Likewise today, the Kingdom of God is not a
matter of carved pumpkins, costumes, and miniature candy bars, but of the peace
which comes from relying on Jesus alone for to forgive our sins.
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