Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

Is It Okay for Christians to Celebrate Halloween?

Autumn has here, and with it, the crisper air, the profusion of pumpkins and mums, and the aroma of pumpkin spice lattes. The arrival of autumn signals the start of many special occasions and vacations.

As far as Christian doctrine is concerned, a harvest or autumn celebration poses little to no danger. There’s nothing wrong with getting together with loved ones around a fire to toast the season’s conclusion and indulge in the seasonal fruits and delights. The issue arises when religious people take part in Halloween celebrations.

My parents never let me to dress up or go trick-or-treating when I was a kid, however they did let me attend school parties. We didn’t put up any cobwebs or turn our front yard into a cemetery, and we never watched any movies involving witches, ghosts, or goblins. When I was younger, I thought it was weird when people became all religious about a holiday that was meant to celebrate secular values. Now that I’m a parent, I have to wonder: Should Christians even bother with Halloween?

If you’re wondering the same thing, I’d love to have a conversation with you about Halloween and suggest praying about it before making any final decisions.

How Halloween Got to Be What It Is Today

There is a wide range of opinions about how Christians should feel about Halloween celebrations. In an effort to scare the trick-or-treaters in a fun way, some people spend hours preparing a frightening front yard. Some people feel safer taking their kids to Halloween carnivals or festivals where they may wear nonthreatening costumes and hand out candy from their unadorned front porches. Still others limit their participation in Halloween activities to the Sunday before All Hallows’ Eve, when they may go trunk-or-treating, or to harvest festivals. Your loved ones may not celebrate the event at all, opting instead to reserve the pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.

Why is there such a disparity in celebration of an apparently benign holiday? Is there a deeper evil that reveals itself around Halloween?

The major argument against celebrating Halloween rests on a misunderstanding of the Holiday’s origins, thus it’s important to arm oneself with that knowledge. Over 2,000 years ago, the Celts began celebrating the Holiday as the seasons changed from summer to winter with a feast meant to honor the passage from life to death. Sacrifices were made, and the dead were honored, since it was widely believed that on this day, the spirits of the departed might communicate with their surviving loved ones.

As Christianity became more widespread, the holiday was renamed “All Saints Day” to honor the lives of those who had sacrificed themselves for the faith. But the pagan practices of ceremonial attire, mask use, and communicating with the dead persisted.

In the middle of the 1880s, a large number of Irish people began migrating to North and South America, bringing with them the holiday. Originally characterized by excessively pagan rites and secular deity worship, it gradually transformed into a time for people to get together and celebrate. However, many of the customs associated with Halloween, including as trick-or-treating and carving jack-o’-lanterns, have pagan origins.

Poor people used to go door-to-door asking for “soul-cake” in return for prayers, which is where the tradition of trick or treating first began. They thought that unless they made a monetary contribution to the church, their souls would spend eternity in purgatory once they passed away.

Irish legend tells of a guy named Spicy Jack who was so terrible that he tricked the Devil into letting him out of hell. Spicy Jack, who was denied access to Heaven, wanders the earth, illuminating his path with a burning ember from the underworld that he keeps in a turnip lantern.

It’s easy to see how Halloween’s pagan origins run counter to Christian teachings on salvation, the afterlife, and the worship of Yahweh alone.

What Does the Bible Teach?

The Bible doesn’t explicitly condemn or approve of Halloween, but it also doesn’t say anything about it either. On the other hand, it provides a wealth of information on occult conflicts, witchcraft, and pagan celebrations.

Here are some Scriptures to think about while we talk:

“And have no relationship with the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose them,” it says in Ephesians 5:11.

Keep away from everything that even smacks of wickedness (1 Thessalonians 5:22).

10:20 1 Corinthians No, but pagan sacrifices are made to demons rather than God, and I do not want you to join in on their activities.

Verse 31 of Leviticus “Do not dishonor yourself by visiting mediums or consulting with people who communicate with the dead. That’s right, I’m the Almighty, the God you worship.”

While these scriptures don’t specifically address whether Christians should celebrate Halloween or not, they clearly warn against engaging in activities associated with the nighttime. That means we don’t hang around with witches and warlocks, don’t listen to mediums who claim to have contact with the dead, and stay away from anything sinister.

Even if we Christians celebrate Halloween in a lighthearted fashion that doesn’t include any of the above, we still have to face the fact that evil exists. There is no doubt in our minds that the Devil exists and that unbelievers may have demons possess their bodies (Mark 5, 1 Kings 18). There is a spiritual struggle going on all around us, as described in Ephesians 6 and Daniel 10, and 1 Peter 5:8 reminds us that Satan’s purpose in life is to murder, steal, and destroy.

Some people celebrate demons, devils, witches, ghosts, and other dark creatures on Halloween. Others see it as a time to remember the dead and an opportunity to injure others via tricks and treats. Avoiding such gloominess is something we’re admonished to do all year round, not just on Halloween.

Is it OK for Christians to participate in Halloween festivities?
The answer is “maybe.”

Are Christians being hypocritical if they don’t mind dressing up as ninjas or butterflies? No.

Can there be an issue if kids just walk about handing out sweets to each other? No.

Should we avoid traditional Halloween activities like bobbing for apples or drawing funny faces on pumpkins? No.

Are there satanic roots to the Halloween holiday? Yes.

Is there anything you shouldn’t do on Halloween? Yes.

Should Christians exercise caution in how they celebrate the Holiday? Yes.

As with so many other things, we should read Romans 14 to determine how we should celebrate Halloween. The line between legalism and Christian liberty is blurry, since what is right for one person is not always right for another.

Let’s say you’d rather not go out in the cold this Halloween and instead have your festival, trunk, or treat event in your local church. Or maybe your morals prevent you from celebrating the holiday at all with your loved ones. That’s OK, too. As, celebrate Halloween however you and your loved ones see fit: in full Dorothy Gale regalia, with spider web cupcakes and a bowl full of candy for neighborhood kids.

If you want to observe Halloween, pray that God would guide you to do so in a way that brings Him glory (Colossians 3:23). Get into the Bible and have conversations with reputable Christian adults. If you celebrate Halloween with the sole intent of glorifying God, He will respond.