As we are entering Fall and approaching the well-loved holiday of Halloween, Christians start to get antsy. It is a well-known controversy whether to celebrate Halloween or not. Some decide to celebrate it fully, some decide to put a Christian spin on it, and some abstain completely. I've practiced all three ways with my family and I would like to share with you some background on Halloween, my experience with it, and of course, what the Bible says.
Background
In short, many Halloween traditions on October 31st come from the Celtic festival of Samhain. Here are some summarized reasons behind some of the Halloween traditions.
- Carving pumpkins- A gift from the Devil to a man named Jack to light the way as he wandered the Earth.
- Wearing Costumes- To hide from evil spirits and spirits who are not at rest.
- Bobbing for apples- A courting ritual performed at a festival honoring the goddess Pomona.
- Ghosts- Celtics believed we could contact and see the spirits of those who are not at rest.
To be clear, Halloween is not Allhallowtide. Here are some bullets about Allhallowtide.
- Was established on November 1st by the Catholic Church.
- Honors those who have died and gone to Heaven.
- People will visit graves to commemorate those who have gone to rest.
My Experience
It wasn't until me and my husband started a family that we returned to church. I had known that I didn't want to raise a family without God. So when Halloween came around, I knew my God-fearing parents let me celebrate Halloween, so it must have had no consequence. We celebrated Halloween with my daughter her first year in 2018.
The following year, 2019, when we had 2 kids, we also celebrated Halloween.
The following year, 2020, my husband was away for training, and I was starting to question the practices of Halloween. We did not celebrate Halloween traditionally, however, we did go to our church's fall festival when my husband was able to visit.
After that in 2021, we did not celebrate Halloween at all. My husband was in Korea and it was my sole discretion on whether we celebrated it or not. After being a part of a bible study that summer where we talked about Halloween and its realities, I knew it was something I wanted to stop, however, I knew my husband loved celebrating Halloween and it wouldn't be so easy when he returned.
Last year, 2022, we celebrated Halloween, and the girls got dressed up and we actually went door-to-door trick-or-treating. I reluctantly went along with this, and to confirm my worries, the neighborhood was full of demonic themes. My daughters were scared. My head was on a swivel watching out for pranks and anything that would harm my kids, physically or mentally. I hadn't really prepared my daughters for the things they would see and I did my best to displace their attention when they asked about things. Eventually, I knew I would need to talk to them about Halloween.
What does the Bible say?
Here are some Bible verses that can give us some insight into celebrating this holiday that engages with the spirits of those not in heaven, demons, goddesses, and evil spirits.
“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.” 1 Corinthians 10:21
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” Ephesians 5:11
“Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.” 3 John 1:11
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:6-12
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12
“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations, the Lord your God is driving them out before you.” Deuteronomy 18:9-14
The Reality
So we now know that Halloween in the American version, doesn't align with God's word. In reality though, from Easter to Christmas, there is a lot of Pagan and demonic rituals that we perform. I don't expect all Christians to stop and drop everything. Just like I know our family isn't. God works in us and through us in so many different ways. He also convicts us in different ways and times. I feel convicted when I celebrate Halloween, but someone else might be facing down the traditional celebration of Christmas (something I can't even imagine not celebrating in its entirity).
What this comes down to is what is God calling you to do right now? When you read this post, do you feel convicted like me? Or is God working on something else in your life right now that takes precedence in His plan for you? Pray about it, talk with your family about it, and I will pray with you. Rejoice with me that God is working in all of us in different ways.
I would love to include you in my prayers as we both pray over our lives and children. Feel free to email me and let me know how your journey is going.
