In the fall of each year, Christian families face the question of whether or not to celebrate Halloween. I know a lot of families who struggle with this question, so today we’re going to consider some different ways to answer it.
Before we explore these answers, let’s review the history of Halloween.
The history of Halloween has more twists and turns than many people realize! You may want to keep its history in mind as you decide whether or not to celebrate the holiday.
Common ways Christians approach Halloween
In my experience, there are four common ways that Christians approach the celebration of Halloween.
- Some believe that the modern holiday of Halloween is a fun, secular celebration that has nothing to do with its origins, so they participate enthusiastically. They may steer their children away from the grim aspects of the holiday (scary costumes, ghost stories, etc.), but they dress in costumes, go trick-or-treating, and carve pumpkins. Many cite 1 Corinthians 10:31 in support of their approach: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
- Some believe that the modern holiday of Halloween stems less from Samhain and more from the traditions of All-hallows Eve and All Souls’ Day. From their perspective, Halloween practically originated as a Christian holiday, so they participate. Many cite historical information in support of their approach.
- Some believe that Christians shouldn’t participate in traditional Halloween activities, but that they should use the holiday as an opportunity to draw others to Jesus. They may participate in “reverse door-to-door evangelism” (handing out tracts to people who come to the door trick-or-treating) or invite neighbors to church harvest festivals. Many cite Romans 12:21 in support of their approach: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
- Some believe that Christians should not participate in Halloween at all because of its origins as the festival of Samhain and its continued association with darkness and death (superstitions, ghost stories, etc.). They treat Halloween as they would any other day. Many cite 2 Corinthians 6:14 in support of their approach: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”
Deciding how to approach Halloween
I’m not God, so I’m not going to try to tell you how you should or shouldn’t approach this holiday. However, I will provide a few suggestions regarding how you go about making your decision. I’ll also share the choice we’ve made for our family.
- Think about it. It’s important that you do consider if you should participate or not. I know some folks who simply do what they grew up doing. They’ve never taken time to consider if this is best. We should never blindly do things one way simply because “this is how we’ve always done it.”
- Read the Bible. The Word of God is always the first place we should go when trying to answer a question like this one. We’re not going to find a verse that says “thou shalt not celebrate Halloween” or “thou shalt celebrate Halloween,” but we will find the principles we need to use when deciding. Always remember that we need to use all of the Bible, not just isolate a verse or two. We can find individual verses to justify nearly any behavior, but that’s not how we should use the Bible. We must take it as a whole, not pick out the verses that support what we think is right.
- Listen to your conscience. A conscience is an individual’s sense of right and wrong. As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit in us to guide us—this is our “conscience.” Does it feel right or wrong to celebrate Halloween? Do you feel misgivings about anything? Pray and ask God to guide you to the right decision.
- Consult wise advisors. If you’re unable to reach a decision after reading the Bible and listening to your conscience, then you can turn to wise advisors such as pastors or mentors. Make sure to choose advisors who give advice that is congruent with the Bible and who produce fruit that shows they are genuine followers of God (Matthew 7:15-20).
- Do what is certain. If you’re still not sure what to do, then I encourage you to “play it safe.” I know for certain that the Bible doesn’t command us to celebrate Halloween. We can debate if we’re allowed to celebrate it, but nowhere are we commanded to take part in it. Therefore, you won’t miss the mark by abstaining. If you’re not sure what to do, then simply refrain from participating.
In my household, we don’t participate in any sort of Halloween celebration. This is partly due to reservations we have because of the origins of the holiday, but it’s also due to the modern significance of it. We don’t want to participate in activities that make light of some very serious things (witchcraft, death, blood and other gore, etc.). Of course, we could attempt to take part in the more family-friendly aspects of Halloween (I know many families who do this), but the dark aspects are so pervasive that I find it practically impossible to weed them out.
Because we do have misgivings, we’re playing it safe. We may be way off and Halloween is totally permissible, but this doesn’t make it beneficial (1 Corinthians 10:23). Going out and about on a night when people are engaging in mischief isn’t beneficial to my family. Seeing kids (and adults) dressed in scary and/or distasteful costumes isn’t beneficial to us, nor is listening to stories that make light of witches and ghosts. Knocking on strangers’ doors and asking for candy isn’t beneficial to my kids. Eating tons of said candy isn’t beneficial to them, either. We don’t currently take part in any sort of outreach activities on Halloween night, but I’m open to considering these if I feel they could actually draw people to Jesus and they aren’t Halloween celebrations that are couched as “fall festivals” or something similar.
I don’t think better of you or worse of you because of your take on Halloween. I’m just trying to do what pleases God and what’s best for my family. This is probably what you’re trying to do, too! I hope this post has been informative and thought provoking for you as you consider what your family should do in regard to Halloween.
How does your family approach Halloween? How did you decide on this approach?
This is such a great post, Shannon! I especially love how you mention the importance of thinking about why you do what you do surrounding this holiday, because it seems easy to just do whatever one grew up with without further thinking about it. I personally appreciate how in the case of Halloween, the Feast of All Saints was moved specifically to the time of Samhain-I think it’s a neat witness of how Christ can sanctify that which has been pagan. For Catholics like myself, All Saints Day (Nov 1) is a big celebration, as is All Souls Day, and Halloween kicks off the festivities for us! However, I have NEVER liked it when Christians who celebrate this holiday make light of witchcraft in their costumes or decor-on this day which has “holy” in its name (“hallow”), why would we give the devil any place? And there are many people who do partake in pagan festivities in this time of year, so I think it’s all the more important to sanctify this time. Can a Christian celebration include an element of creepiness or macabre elements? I believe so, but we need to do all things to glorify God and it must direct to him (I wrote a blog post a couple years ago which fleshes this out more)-but I totally respect people who don’t want to include anything creepy!
Growing up, we spent Halloween as a family by either wearing our costumes for All Saints Day and going to stores that offered trick-or-treating type events, or we would darken the house, wear our saint costumes, sit in the basement with candy, and watch a family (non-scary) movie. There was one church fall festival we went to a few times which was pretty awesome-it had a room that was set up with tents and booths to look like the Holy Land, and all of the volunteers who had biblical-themed activities and games were dressed up in clothes that looked like what Jesus, Mary, and the Apostles probably wore. So far since moving out of my parents’ house, I’ve kept things pretty low-key for Halloween (there are different books I like to read, we usually watch a movie and have treats), and one of the years we might go trick-or-treating with our son, since we have a great community in our neighborhood and know many of our neighbors well. We haven’t developed any hard-and-fast practices as our own family yet, but I do like celebrating Halloween in some way. And this year we’re hosting an All Saints Day party, which should be pretty fun (I went to those all the time growing up but haven’t been to one in years, so I’m excited about that!).
Thanks so much for taking the time to share these thoughts, AnneMarie! As I wrote this post, I wondered many times about the Catholic perspective. Most Protestants don’t celebrate All Saints Day or All Souls Day, so these don’t factor into their celebration of Halloween. I’m going to look up the post that you mentioned–I’m eager to read more!
I hope your All Saints Day party is awesome!
Halloween is pretty much a non-issue for me, because although I’m American, I’ve spent much of my life in countries where Halloween isn’t a thing. I highly doubt I’d celebrate Halloween if I did live in the USA, just because it’s not part of my culture and I don’t see anything really appealing about the “holiday.”
On the other hand…I don’t personally feel called to only participate in holidays that are part of my faith. Many of my neighbors and friends in this country celebrate Deepavali or Chinese New Year–holidays that certainly do not honor Christ and have their roots in religion, but primarily involve large get-togethers and meals shared with the whole neighborhood. Refusing to attend neighborhood parties for these holidays would, I feel, not be conducive to building up better relationships and continuing to show the love of Christ in this community. In the same way, I’ll invite my neighbors to my Thanksgiving and Christmas and Easter feasts!
You make a great point about being able to connect with neighbors at holiday get togethers and parties, Rachel. Thanks for sharing this!