Halloween is one of those days, one of those things, that Christians have a hard time coming to terms with. It is like whether to shop at a store that supports a cause that is evil or fundamentally opposed to the message of Christianity – what do you do? When I asked whether Christians should celebrate Halloween via Twitter and Facebook, I got varied responses. One person indicated that they didn’t celebrate it because it is all about death and Jesus was all about life. Another had indicated that they didn’t think it was a problem since the holiday essentially boils down to getting dressed up and going trick-or-treating for most Americans. When asking my friend Google this question, he (she?) was kind enough to pull up a plethora of blogs and articles ranging from “Who cares?” to “Sure…if you want to put your kid in danger of hell.” (These are my summaries of others’ thoughts)
Before I answer, I should give you some history. There’s two sides to Halloween: the name and the practices. The practices find their origins in a Celtic holiday called Samhain. Celebrated as the end to their harvest season, they believed the boundary between the living and the dead dissolved and that evil spirits caused trouble for the living. The story goes that the living escaped this trouble by disguising themselves as evil spirits themselves – you know, the whole blending in technique…works every time. The name is actually Christian in nature – it means “All Hallows Eve” which is All Saint’s Day – a day set aside to honor saints past. But, it is undeniable that Halloween has pagan, if not satanic, roots.
So the question becomes…should Christians celebrate a holiday that has pagan/satanic roots even if it is largely commercialized today? While I understand why many would not want to, I think the answer to this question should be “Yes!” Allow me to explain why:
Halloween Provides a Unique Opportunity for Community
How many days out of the year create the same opportunities that Halloween does? Not only are kids knocking on your door every two minutes, but families are getting together, having fun, and building community. Opportunities like that don’t come around all the time (couple times a year, maybe). Ask yourself this: what good is being done by excluding yourself from community with your neighbors?
Bueller? Bueller?
Celebrating Halloween Gives Evil Less Power…Not More
Think about it. If Satan can’t get you to worship him, what would he be willing to settle for? What cripples people? Fear, maybe? If he can convince you to stay inside and lock up the doors guess what you won’t be doing – loving people, serving your neighbors, and living like you believe that “greater is he who is in us than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4). Celebrating on the other hand turns Satan’s mission on its head. To conquer evil, do good. To conquer sadness, laugh. To conquer death, live.
To conquer Satan, celebrate. Love. Serve. Pray. Give. In doing so, you’re proclaiming the victory of Christ.
Halloween Today Is Different From Halloween A Long Time Ago
True, Halloween, at one point in time, involved all kinds of things that can legitimately be considered evil and to participate in those activities would be a participation in evil. But, unless you are part of a minority group of neo-pagans or wiccans (i.e. unless you are not a Christian), your participation in Halloween won’t come close to participation in those activities. It is one thing to be against legitimately evil practices, and it is quite another to be against practices that aren’t really all that evil (putting on a costume and having fun) because some people, at some point in time, believed things far different from what we believe today.
The bottom line is this: Halloween has no power that you refuse to give it. It is evil to the extent that you buy into the beliefs behind it. If you don’t buy those beliefs, then there’s no harm in throwing on a costume and having fun. In fact, that may be the very thing God is asking you to do.
Have you asked Him?
Ken -
I like your response to the often misunderstood contemporary motivations for participating in Halloween festivities.
If people refuse to participate in Halloween due to its origins, perhaps they should examine the origins and traditions of the holiday celebrated on December 25th and why that date was chosen.
Actually, I have known some that do not “celebrate” the Christmas holiday at all just for those reasons, except to make a Birthday cake for Jesus.
By: Mark Isherwood on October 27, 2009
at 9:32 AM
Thanks for the comment, Mark. You’re right, Christians are notorious for co-opting pagan holidays and Christianizing them. It is unfortunate, though, the power that we give to various rituals just by refusing to participate in them.
By: Ken Eastburn on October 27, 2009
at 9:48 AM
Halloween is pretty much a non-issue in our family. We view it as lawful, but not expedient. My thoughts last year: http://bit.ly/2Ym3cL
Regarding Christmas, we celebrate traditionally, but we emphasize the Feast of Tabernacles as the anniversary of Jesus’ coming to tabernacle among men: http://bit.ly/1mCk7u
By: John Ramsey on October 27, 2009
at 10:17 AM
Thanks for the comment, John – I read your post and I appreciate your honesty and humility. That said, I have to ask: is the expediency of Halloween inherent to the day or can it be created?
Of course by my post you can tell that I think it can be made expedient just by being intentional with it. Any day can be made “beneficial” when one determines to love their neighbor in Jesus’ name.
What do you think?
By: Ken Eastburn on October 27, 2009
at 10:23 AM
Certainly, it can be expedient, otherwise there is no real liberty, is there?
We are convinced that we should teach our children that we are free to abstain. Liberty runs both directions.
By: John Ramsey on October 27, 2009
at 10:49 AM
“Liberty runs both directions.”
-True. Good word.
By: Ken Eastburn on October 27, 2009
at 10:52 AM
Love the blog. Love the spirit. We celebrate the holiday for what it is, not what it was.
By: Shawn Congleton on October 27, 2009
at 6:14 PM
I really appreciate this thoughtful take on Halloween.
And I am very glad that Mark brought up Dec 25th.
I would not describe it as co-opting, but as redeeming.
There will always be people who will turn good things away from what they should be (or what they can be). But if we hide from every situation that has been corrupted, then we will miss out on our call for life completely!
But when we participate, we can be a part of the redemptive process of the Kingdom of God.
By: Nick Love on October 27, 2009
at 7:42 PM
Shawn – Thanks so much for your encouraging comment! Good point about celebrating what it is, not what it was.
Nick – Thanks to you as well. True, it is more about redemption than co-opting. That brings up an interesting thought: We are perfectly comfortable saying anyone, no matter their background, can be redeemed. Most of us would also acknowledge that redemption doesn’t mean everything about our old self is bad…just the parts that were actually bad are bad. But when it comes to redeeming a holiday, apparently the same rules don’t apply?
Thanks for the interaction!
By: Ken Eastburn on October 28, 2009
at 7:20 AM
For anyone who may be interested, here is a funnier blog making some of the same points about Halloween along with offering some tips on what to do and what not to do: http://bit.ly/3oDdf5
By: Ken Eastburn on October 30, 2009
at 8:09 AM
I think that occult influence has spread much further and wider than most Christians realize. Much, much further. And most Christians don’t even realize the pagan/occult connections of most holidays. Having studied the occult more than the average believer, I’m appalled at the idea of “celebrating” Halloween.
I approve of using Halloween as a convenient time to share with neighbors, but using the word “celebrate” sounds really off balance. We are called to avoid those sorts of things, to avoid even the appearance of evil. Well, since homosexuality doesn’t “appear” evil to many Americans today, should we avoid it or celebrate it? Just sayin’.
I think that often Christians “do” Halloween because they have to cope with living in neighborhoods with other people who “do” Halloween. Their kids will be scorned and jeered at, their neighbors will think them stand-off-ish if they don’t participate and have fun with it.
This is probably why the whole issue of Christians adopting pagan holidays got started in the first place: peer pressure and a desire to fit in.
I think that’s why the Jews went astray when they let pagans live among them, too. Sure that’s just a speculation, but I think it makes sense when I consider human nature. And why should we be less vulnerable?
Anyway, in the end, I think the best option is to pray earnestly , asking what God would have you do to be His light on Halloween. As long as the answer you hear doesn’t conflict with something pretty clear in Scripture, obey with all your heart. But don’t kid yourself that being nice and loving to your neighbors will necessarily mark you obviously as a believer. Pagans sometimes excel at loving kindness, too. Making sure people know that you are all about Jesus’ gift of sacrifice and salvation for our sins is where the rubber meets the road.
But can we skip using the phrase “celebrate Halloween?” If you look at the definition of the word “celebrate,” I think you’ll see my objection.
Celebrate: (from Merriam Webster on the net)
1 : to perform (a sacrament or solemn ceremony) publicly and with appropriate rites
2 a : to honor (as a holiday) especially by solemn ceremonies or by refraining from ordinary business b : to mark (as an anniversary) by festivities or other deviation from routine
3 : to hold up or play up for public notice intransitive verb 1 : to observe a holiday, perform a religious ceremony, or take part in a festival
2 : to observe a notable occasion with festivities
By: Laure on October 31, 2009
at 7:52 AM
Laure,
Thanks so much for your thoughtful and gracious response! I am appreciative of the fact that you are willing to take a somewhat opposite role and do so in a respectful way.
As far as the use of the word “celebrate” goes…please know that by “celebrate” I am not saying that Christians should affirm every aspect of the holiday, particularly its historical practices/beliefs. Instead, what I mean is that Christians should take part in the modern day, acceptable activities. And doing so is not affirming the occult at all.
For example, were it any other day of the year, would we say that it is part of the occult to dress up in a costume? What about knocking on neighbors doors and (what boils down to) asking for candy? Bobbing for apples? Carving gourds?
Most of us would say that none of these things are inherently evil. But for some reason, when all done on a single day, it amounts to participating in the occult? That doesn’t make sense!
Finally, about avoiding the appearance of evil. By and large I think this instruction has been misapplied by Christians. There’s two reasons: first, it is typically used to force others to comply with your own convictions. In that way it is similar to the whole, “Your causing me to stumble” instruction. When we use these things that way, we rob them of their purpose and are destroying our communities. Outside of members of the body engaging in sinful activities as outlined in Scripture, we should not be attempting to exhort them with these admonitions, particularly when we are not in community with them.
Second, we’ve broadly painted anything that our surrounding culture engages in as evil – simply because non-Christians do it. This goes for all sorts of things: watching movies with a certain rating, listening to particular bands, drinking certain beverages, going to certain stores, etc. We have to get something straight: just because culture does it, doesn’t make it evil.
There are a lot of things that may actually be evil and in such cases we should avoid either doing them or causing others to think we are doing them, but avoiding engaging in activities simply because evil people do them is not helpful.
With those things in mind, then, I believe that we have more reasons to celebrate Halloween than not.
By: Ken Eastburn on November 2, 2009
at 8:26 AM
Just wanted to tag on a few thoughts…
You say: “As far as the use of the word “celebrate” goes…please know that by “celebrate” I am not saying that Christians should affirm every aspect of the holiday, particularly its historical practices/beliefs. Instead, what I mean is that Christians should take part in the modern day, acceptable activities. And doing so is not affirming the occult at all.”
For example, were it any other day of the year, would we say that it is part of the occult to dress up in a costume? What about knocking on neighbors doors and (what boils down to) asking for candy? Bobbing for apples? Carving gourds?
Most of us would say that none of these things are inherently evil. But for some reason, when all done on a single day, it amounts to participating in the occult? That doesn’t make sense!”
Ok, let’s go back to ancient Israel. Pagans and Jews are living cheek by jowl in crowded towns. Teenage Miriam tells her mom “PLEEEEEESE????? Abigail and Sarah are going! Everyone will be at the Sun Festival! And if I don’t go, I’ll be left out when they talk about it later! And then they’ll be best friends and cut me out again, like they did when we went to see Uncle Nathaniel last Passover! And Rachael is even going with her parents, and they are at the synogogue every week, so it has to be ok. You will ruin my life if you don’t let me go! I mean, its just singing and dancing, and most of the people there don’t really believe in it, anyway, they just go for the party! I mean, maybe I can be a good influence, too, not like those legalistic Pharisees who turn their noses up at the pagans every time they walk by! Can you believe how AWFUL those old religious fuddy duddy’s are! They think that just because pagans do it, it must be sooooo evil. They just don’t get it that times are changing. What’s a little dancing and singing, anyway? And I don’t plan to go near the whole temple prostitute area.”
Ok. While the vernacular is pretty dead-on what I have heard from teens mouths today, I really doubt that teens have changed that much over the millenia. And GOD WAS NOT PLEASED. And culture influenced the Jews in ways that were irrevocably damaging to them while they lived on this earth. For some, the damage may last for eternity. God did not make excuses for the culture, and did not make exceptions to the rule about “don’t mess around with pagans.” He offered a lot of grace, giving His people time to turn around, but instead of being the light to the nations in the fullest possible way, instead of leading their neighbors to Christ, they decided it wouldn’t hurt to become more like the pagans. Disastrous results to all followed, even if it took a few hundred years for God to finally mete out a correction to steer them back on the right path as a people.
You said: Finally, about avoiding the appearance of evil. By and large I think this instruction has been misapplied by Christians. There’s two reasons: first, it is typically used to force others to comply with your own convictions. In that way it is similar to the whole, “Your causing me to stumble” instruction. When we use these things that way, we rob them of their purpose and are destroying our communities. Outside of members of the body engaging in sinful activities as outlined in Scripture, we should not be attempting to exhort them with these admonitions, particularly when we are not in community with them.”
I wasn’t really talking about misapplication of “avoid the appearance of evil.” We avoid the appearance of evil so that others will not stumble. Sometimes it helps to know that something that didn’t really trouble us IS or COULD cause certain people to stumble that we know we will be around. We are asked to put aside our “rights” for the good of these others. For example, I don’t have a problem with moderate drinking, but when I learned this manner of being thoughtful of others, I found that I consider others around me before enjoying an alcoholic beverage. When it comes to Halloween, it is possible that no one in your neighborhood would ever imagine that it is a bad thing to participate. It is also possible that there could be someone who could take your participation/appearance of acceptance of Halloween further than you intended, and in turn, go down a path that God did not want them to go down.
When you KNOW you could offend on a matter like this, you abstain. When the Holy Spirit prompts you to abstain, even if you don’t know why you should, you should abstain. If the Holy Spirit prompts you to be there and participate, you participate. This isn’t about exhorting others to do or don’t do Halloween, it is about walking in obedience. The fact that a holy entreaty has been misused is no reason to ignore it.
“Second, we’ve broadly painted anything that our surrounding culture engages in as evil – simply because non-Christians do it. This goes for all sorts of things: watching movies with a certain rating, listening to particular bands, drinking certain beverages, going to certain stores, etc. We have to get something straight: just because culture does it, doesn’t make it evil.”
On the other hand, Christians who spend a lot of time in the culture are at risk.
While we can argue which came first, the chicken or the egg (or in this case, Christians exposure to increasingly ungodly media and music and advertising – does it reflect or help create ungodliness in believers?), one does seem to feed the other. I’m wondering why a Christian woman is shacked up with her boyfriend, for example. Well, it is acceptable EVERYWHERE, but it is not God’s standard for us. He made that point over and over and over: marriage on earth is his symbol for His fidelity to us, and what he desires out fidelity to Him should be. Faithful. Pure. And yes, images and words are powerful and transformative, and not always in a good way. Christians are a sad reflection of God when they adopt the culture’s ways. In fact, there is so much of the occult in those things, not just general poor moral standards, that I very much disagree with your blanket statement about “just because the culture does it doesn’t make it evil.” Things have changed significantly and more and more of what the culture does IS evil or tainted with it or packaged with it.
Shopping for clothing at the mall shop with seductive teens with bare chests is not evil. When your child, between television, ads like that from all directions, and the peers who unthinkingly fall into immoral sexual habits, tells you “I just don’t have the same beliefs about sexual relationships that you do, Mom,” you realize the power of evil in the culture. When it hits home, all this “acceptance of culture” will seem like a sorry sham that you bought into like a fish, hook, line and sinker.
An indivudual in a Masonic organization told me the other day about how 2012 predictions are not about the end of the world, but about a new era, something about the “Crystal Skull.” This change will be a good thing. A new era of the occult is being ushered in to our every day lives with increasing public prominence. I’m told that something will be on tonight on Nightline about it, for example. And I have heard this from many quarters of the New Age and Occult world. This, while more and more prophecies are being fulfilled that set the stage for Jesus’ return.
My point is that, unless the Lord holds back the day, we may be looking at an incredible confrontation between good and evil, God and Satan. Satan, in my opinion, has been using the media for decades to set the stage for acceptance of all things occult…to make them friendly and bright and fun. Satan is known to be an angel of light, Lucifer, and he is the acknowledged leader of a number of societies that are striving toward a New World order. While Halloween is just a small part of the occult movement, is IS a part of it.
So here it is: when we participate in Halloween, is God really pleased? This is between you and Him. This is not a mindless rule to “not participate in something that evil people do.” It is a mindful, serious question. This is serious stuff. It is not something to do just because we “might connect with neighbors” or because you are full of excuses about how other people are too legalistic, therefore you will participate in Halloween.
By: Laure on November 13, 2009
at 3:18 PM
Hi Laure,
While your analogy going back to Israel is humorous, I’m afraid it is also lacking. There is no indication that Israel’s participation in worshipping other Gods was strictly cultural. In addition, you’ve missed one of the points entirely: there’s nothing inherently sinful, idolatrous, or satanic about the various Halloween activities. Bowing to Baal is all of the above…inherently.
If it can be demonstrated that commonly-practiced Halloween activities are inherently sinful, I will agree with you 100%. Until then, they are as evil as taking saying “Bless You” to someone after they sneeze.
True. But we may come to disagree on what it means to “cause someone to stumble.” When Paul uses the phrase he’s not just saying, “Don’t do things that other believers don’t like.” He’s saying, “Don’t cause others to sin.” There’s a big difference.
-That’s a big change in your tactics. If there is something sinful about Halloween (which you are contesting, there is) then it doesn’t make sense to say, “But follow the Holy Spirit.” If it is sin, the Holy Spirit won’t lead us there and if we think he is, he’s wrong. So which is it, is participation in Halloween sinful for all or is it a matter of the Holy Spirit’s leading?
-I agree. Unfortunately, I think the adoption of culture’s ways goes far beyond whether we celebrate holidays and more into the ways in which we spend our money, treat our families, how we leverage our power, etc.
And I’m willing to listen if you can demonstrate this to be the case with Halloween activities. But I simply cannot take credibly the claim that “it just is” because culture does it and culture is evil.
-Satan has been about this since the beginning, not just the past couple of decades. Sin has always seemed friendly and bright and fun. That’s why we do it. But he also tricks us by convincing us he is hiding under every rock – it paralyzes us. Whatever happened to “Greater is he who is in me…?”
Clearly, for you, this is not between me and Him. If you think Halloween is a part of the occult, you cannot in good conscience say that anymore than I could say that extra-marital sex is sinful, but that it really comes down to where the Holy Spirit is leading. You think Halloween is of the occult, and that’s fine, but I find your position to be unsubstantiated.
-That’s true. It’s not. And it wasn’t.
Thanks for the conversation!
By: Ken Eastburn on November 17, 2009
at 2:04 PM
Paul wrote, “All things are lawful, but not all things are expedient.” Eating meat offered to idols was lawful, but the context determined whether it was expedient. When confronted with the issue by an unbeliever, Paul said that Christians should not eat meat offered to idols. Paul said this was for the sake of the conscience of the unbelieving–not for the sake of his own conscience.
The question becomes not how do we perceive Halloween, but how is it perceived by those with whom we celebrate? Does the world do a double-take when Christians celebrate Halloween? If so, we place a stumbling block for their conscience.
Because it is lawful, under some circumstances it may be expedient. Paul said that he tried to be all things to all men that by any means he might win some.
Our decision to participate with the culture must consider the perception of those with whom we participate and not only our conscience.
By: John Ramsey on November 2, 2009
at 8:52 AM
sorry but your argument for halloween is the weakest I’ve ever heard… and I must say they all sound the same. (lame)
what proof do you have that halloween isn’t the same today as it was before? Have you seen how the costumes glorify sensuality and all the gore of evil these days?
i don’t consider myself to be a legalist but halloween is a glorification of evil and putting on a costume or giving candy on that day automatically makes you a participant. Would Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego participate in halloween? I would think not. the problem with Christians celebrating halloween is that they are compromising to the world.
i still have yet to meet someone that came to christ because their local church was handing out candy. the outreach excuse is simply lame. sorry.
By: robert Nieves on November 3, 2009
at 7:23 PM
Hi Robert,
So glad you’re jumping in on this. How about some conversation?
You said that Halloween is a glorification of evil – how so?
By: Ken Eastburn on November 4, 2009
at 7:40 AM
Halloween is founded on demonic forces and manifests satanic fruits. The Bible says to flee such practices. You receive the leaven of such evil and its dark annoiting into your ministry and life when you play with Halloween under the guise of “rehabilitating” it for your religious ideas. That is how corruption spreads. Does the Holy Spirit appear so uncreative to you that you have to utilize a satanic enterprise and its day to present a Christian event on that day? You have 365 days out of the year to reach the youth. Try having a Bible study and prayer on Oct. 31st if you want to trick the devil and treat God with respect.
By: James Hartline on November 12, 2009
at 7:32 AM
Thanks for joining, James!
You said that Halloween manifests satanic fruits…how so? What fruits?
If you’re right, then I’m with you. I just haven’t seen these so-called “fruits.” Folks allude to them all the time, but without any sort of evidence. And if we’re going to stick with an accurate usage of “fruits” (according to the Bible) then we should be able to point out exactly what evil practices come as a result of Halloween.
You also said:
“Does the Holy Spirit appear so uncreative to you that you have to utilize a satanic enterprise and its day to present a Christian event on that day?”
-Again, I don’t see any of the following activities as being inherently satanic: wearing costumes, asking neighbors for candy, bobbing for apples, carving gourds…you know, the most common ones? But if you can demonstrate how those are Satanic – in and of themselves, not by appealing to what some people, at some point BELIEVED about such things – them I’m with you.
By: Ken Eastburn on November 12, 2009
at 8:27 AM
Ultimately, I feel Halloween is a subject more churches/Christians have discussed at great lengths for years. Should we? Shouldn’t we? Let’s have a Harvest Festival?
While there’s nothing wrong with providing a “safe” environment for children to play Christian-oriented games, get candy, and attempt to bring in the surrounding neighborhood…why pass up a chance to meet your neighbors? Please don’t waste the chance by passing out candy and Chick tracts either: http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0058/0058_01.asp
I’m impressed how my neighbors get together and visit with each other with refreshments while passing out candy to trick-or-treaters.
Being in the world and not of the world for Halloween means not reveling in the death and gore…and not over indulging on candy…but having fun, letting one’s imagination stretch, and spending time with neighbors.
By: Rick Garner on December 5, 2009
at 9:22 PM
[...] the one the disciples themselves were asking, the one that Jesus had to ask…yeah, you know it, “Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?” Okay, well, maybe Jesus and the disciples didn’t wrestle with that question, but we sure [...]
By: Top 10 Comments of 2009 « A House Church Blog on January 26, 2010
at 8:34 AM
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at 1:41 PM