Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

This question has been asked so many times in our Facebook group. With Halloween coming up, I figured this would be a good topic to discuss! Why do we glorify a holiday set aside for evil? Many ladies have different opinions on this. In this post, I will break down the history of Halloween, what it was intended for, and how we can honor the Lord on a holiday like Halloween. Reality is, you ladies have to decide for yourself what is best for your families. I personally believe Halloween is another conviction based topic-meaning that it can be different for everyone. However, in this post I will only be providing you all with information, and you ladies are free to do with it what you will! Spend time in prayer about it and see what you feel the Lord is leading you to do on this specifically.

The History

Halloween was previously known as the pagan Festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-win) put on by the Celtic tribe. Samhain means “summer's end” and was a festival held at the end of summer welcoming the end of harvest. The Celtic people were tribes of an Indo-European descent. They believed there was one day a year where the spirit realm met with the material world which was typically at the end of the harvest time. Meaning, they believed spirits would rise from their graves and be able to walk amongst the living and this was caused by Samhain-lord of spirits and evil.

On the day where the spirit realms met ours, the Celts would dress up as evil spirits and light a huge bonfire. The Celtic tribe joined the Druid Priests during the festival (Druids were Celtic Priests, teachers, or even Judges) to light a community fire and dance around in scary costumes in hopes to ward off evil. The Celtic tribe would sacrifice cattle on this day to appease Samhain. Samhain was lord of spirits and Celtics believed he would send evil spirits to attack them. This is why they would dress themselves as spirits in hopes of being mistaken as an evil spirit themselves. They would dress as some of their own monsters mentioned in Celtic mythology such as a headless woman with a pig, a shape-shifting monster, and even headless men on horses. You can read this HERE.

After a few centuries, the Samhain holiday continued and these pagan traditions eventually melded with Christianity. Pope Boniface dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to the Virgin Mary and that is where All Saints Day originated and was originally celebrated on May 13, 609. Two centuries on, Pope Gregory the III decided to change the date of All Saints Day to November 1st and All Souls Day on November 2nd as an alternative and instead tried to make Samhain a Christian holiday.

 Christianity was gaining much popularity and Samhain was a pagan festival that did not mesh well with Christianity. While Pope Gregory’s attempt to weed out the pagan worship was strong… he did not succeed. All Hallows Eve began to be celebrated on October 31 and the Samhain practices along with it. These traditions continued throughout Europe and were brought over along with Irish immigrants as they made their way to America. This is a broad overview of how Halloween came to modern America.

The Halloween traditions we know today like pumpkin carving come from pagan roots.

Pumpkin carving originates from a myth involving a man named Stingy Jack and the Devil. This myth originated in Ireland and Scotland. In short, Jack and the Devil were having drinks and Stingy Jack would not pay for his own. He convinced the devil to turn himself into a coin so Jack could pay for his drink. Jack instead took the coin and placed it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the devil from changing back into his original form. In summary, after Jack dies, the devil will not allow him into hell. The devil banished him to wander the earth forever and gave him one burning coal to light the way. Jack placed this in a carved out turnip. In the same way that the Celtic tribes built fires and dressed up to ward off evil sprits. Jack O’ lanterns were thought to posses the power to ward off evil sprits.

You can read more on this HERE.

Another connection: 

Wicca is rising in America and has very similar practices as the Samhain Festival. Wicca is practiced by witches and it is gaining popularity in America more today. There are many similarities between Wicca and the Samhain pagan rituals.

Our pastor always says, “There is nothing new under the sun.” He is 100% correct. These pagan religious practices and beliefs are still with us today. Everything seems to make its way back around one way or another. 

Another fun fact, have you ever seen people wear shirts that say “Happy Reformation Day” on Halloween? 

This is the day that Martin Luther decided to nail on the Wittenberg church door his well known 95 Theses. This was a protest against the corruption within the Roman Catholic Church. Luther posted his complaints on or around October 31st. Many Christians celebrate reformation day as an alternative to celebrating Halloween.

You can read more about Luther HERE.

SHOULD CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN? 

Celebrating Halloween is something you will have to decide for yourself. Personally, I do not celebrate Halloween. I do not purchase decorations or participate in dressing up. I also do not participate in going to haunted houses or anything of the sort. 

As Christians, we should not want to participate in pagan religious activities. We should focus on honoring Christ and glorifying Him through our actions.

“when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;  to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

— Ephesians 4:21-24 (NIV)

When we participate in pagan traditions like dressing up for Halloween we are sometimes unwittingly apart of something that is idolatrous. Is dressing up as a demonic figure helping you grow closer to the Lord? What if it is your child? 

We should want to protect our children from evil. By allowing your child to go trick or treating, we are normalizing pagan traditions.

I remember as a child going and walking past people on the sidewalk with my little candy bag. Dressed as a little princess and strutting my stuff, I only cared about the candy I was about to get. However, I remember being terrified of the people walking past me with the horrendous masks on and fake murder weapons. After all, I thought it was something fun, so why did everyone try to scare me or look as if they wanted to hurt me? As a child, it made no sense. The more my parents grew in their walk with the Lord the less we participated in the “Trick or Treat”. They had certain convictions on Halloween, and I am thankful. 

Children are innocent and just enjoy the idea of getting to play dress up and getting loads of candy. Girls love to be a princess for day and boys love to be a superhero. When things begin to involve our children more, we need to be even more careful. Maybe as a compromise…just let them dress up whenever they want to at home and even participate with them! Get them some candy every so often as another compromise. 

CAN CHRISTIANS STILL HONOR THE LORD ON HALLOWEEN?

Churches will get the congregation together to help in fall festivals every year and have fun games for the children to play. Many Christians wonder if participating in these types of events, is supporting the pagan holiday.

I believe there is a difference. These games usually always have Scripture involved in some shape of form. Trunk or Treat is another option churches will do. Rather than having a bunch of random trunks decorated with no meaning, my old church does Drive Through the Bible. Each trunk has a Bible scene and makes it entertaining for the kids and even the parents sometimes. It is another way to present the Gospel to people who may not have ever heard it. 

God can take anything Satan meant for evil and turn it into something good. Halloween is a great day to witness and share the Gospel to a lot of lost souls. While you don’t have to dress up as something scary, you can still canvas your neighborhood.

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.”

— Genesis 50:20 (NLT)

Ideas of Compromise: 

• Giving kids Gospel Tracts with the candy

• Giving people little booklets on the origin of Halloween (HERE)

• Canvassing your neighborhood and trying to build relationships and talk to people about the Gospel

• Suggest your church do something like Drive Through the Bible

CONCLUSION:

While this is again, a conviction based topic… It is important to know the origin of holidays and why we celebrate them. Knowing the facts of something is huge. If you are struggling with celebrating Halloween or letting your child participate, pray on it some more. Read up on the history and do a deep dive into it. Refer to Scripture and if you do not have any convictions about it, then celebrate it. However, if you do have convictions… then maybe take a step back and look at some of the areas to compromise in. With all that being said, can you have fall items like leaves, pumpkins, and cute decorations? ABSOLUTELY! Autumn is a season, and that is different than decorating your home glorifying pagan traditions.

Isabel

Sources : 

• https://study.com/academy/lesson/celts-history-culture-religion.html#:~:text=What%20race%20were%20the%20Celts,only%20populated%20the%20British%20Isles.

• https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/samhain

• https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2021/10/the-origins-of-halloween-traditions/

• https://www.history.com/news/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-irish-origins

• https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/the-connection-between-halloween-reformation-day.html

• https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2013/10/29/a-biblical-look-at-halloween/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw28W2BhC7ARIsAPerrcKz2RO9oOX-4H5lwUq5RRi6teI52KtAqmGPeXd_n4-nMNTd_zdvKFMaAs7kEALw_wcB

• https://www.irishamericanmom.com/what-is-a-celtic-druid/

Quotes Sources:

• https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/samhain

• https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%204&version=NIV

• www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/the-connection-between-halloween-reformation-day.html.

• https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2050&version=NLT