Is it okay for Christians to celebrate/participate in Halloween?
It is quite a divisive question in the West, even among the Christians.
Is it really a harmless celebration?
If you see nothing wrong in celebrating Halloween, please don’t read on and be triggered. This post might be triggering for you because I have strong opinions against Halloween. You can leave a comment letting me know why it is okay for Christians to join in Halloween celebration, but please say it in love and best with a bible verse supporting it.
Background of Halloween
I googled for the origins of Halloween. Quoting from non-Christian sources:
Halloween, or Hallowe’e (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows’ Eve, or All Saints’ Eve), is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day.
Halloween is also the the beginning of Allhallotide, a three-day *Christian triduum dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints, martyrs, and all the faithful departed. It begins with Halloween (October 31) and is followed by All Saints’ Day (November 1) and All Souls’ Day (November 2). It’s a time when Western *Christians honour all saints and pray for recently departed souls who have yet to reach Heaven.
In popular culture, the day has become a celebration of horror, being associated with the macabre and supernatural.
Wikipedia and Britannica
* This is more of a Catholic belief and practice rather than Christians.
Even if Christians do not practise in the three-day Catholic triduum where believers pray for recently departed souls who have yet to reach Heaven, Christians could have used this day to remember the martyrs who died for Christ. Even if not, should Christians then join the Halloween fun?
From celebrating the Saints who were taken away by death, the day became celebrating death itself. Should we honour death instead of remembering the Saints? Like how the focus on the birth of Jesus on Christmas became blurred by Santa, or how the remembrance of the resurrection of Christ became confused with Easter bunny and eggs – all in the name of “harmless” fun.
Some Christians rationalised that their community treat it as a fall or harvest festival, and consider it harmless fun for children to dress up and collect treats from neighbours. Perhaps so, but in Singapore, Halloween often has that element of shock and horror, even though they are sometimes cute in disguise.
Even the origins of trick-and-treating can be traced to Allhallowtide. Quoting from non-Christian sources:
Starting as far back as the 15th century, among Christians, there had been a custom of sharing soul-cakes at Allhallowtide (October 31 through November 2). People would visit houses and take soul-cakes, either as representatives of the dead, or in return for praying for their souls.
“Later, it became the custom for poorer Christians to offer prayers for the dead, in return for money or food (soul cakes) from their wealthier neighbours. People would go ‘souling’ – rather like carol singing – requesting alms or soul cakes: ‘A soul, a soul, a soul cake, Please to give us a soul cake, One for Peter, two for Paul, have mercy on us Christians all.'” Citation from Jackson, Jeanne L. (1995). Red Letter Days: The Christian Year in Story for Primary Assembly.
Wikipedia
Christians and Halloween
To be honest, I am quite surprised by Christians celebrating horror Halloween. Because to me, this matter is quite black and white, of darkness and light. Dark horror and death are the exact opposite of what Jesus brings – light and life. It’s gory and death that pinned Jesus to the cross. So why celebrate it?
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
2 CORINTHIANS 11:13-14
For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Matthew 24:24 (NKJV)
Even if Christians have the wisdom to know when to draw a line when participating in Halloween, children usually do not have that maturity. When parents allow their children to celebrate, children might simply assume that it’s okay to accept everything Halloween since their parents okay-ed it. It might be hard for them to differentiate between gory and harmless fun.
But is it really fun when Halloween injects fear into our kids? And why test it and open the doors, even slightly ajar, in our and their lives for fear to enter?
With more people celebrating Halloween, including Christians, the society becomes more accepting towards Halloween decorations – even if this means putting scary decorations in family-friendly supermarkets and shops. The photo in the beginning of this post was taken in a popular supermarket in Singapore, a place where babies and toddlers go. Even I find it a horror, what’s more little children. Now, the public has a place for such horror decorations to scare unwillingly participants, and an easily accessible place to buy the devil’s fork.
I’ve heard people saying that this is good – exposing young children to such horror because now they wouldn’t be easily scared. Why are we training them to be accepting of witches, gory and horror? Moreover, children are generally more sensitive than adults to the unseen realm of spirits. Why are we de-sensitising our children to such concepts?
Violent games are okay until people get desensitized to violence – shootings, and violent acts become rampant in real life. Pornography is okay until people cannot control their growing desires and objectify women – sexual assaults are on an exponential rise.
Everything starts small and “harmless” until it’s too big, too late.
Desensitization works for animals and humans, I took this excerpt because it explains well:
Desensitization is a behavior modification technique in which an animal is gradually and systematically exposed to a trigger stimulus until the stimulus no longer triggers an emotional response. Desensitization begins with a very low intensity of exposure – low enough that any reaction is minimal. Over a series of sessions, the intensity is gradually increased until there is no emotional response, even when the stimulus is presented at full intensity.
vcahospitals.com
Halloween or Hallowed be Thy Name (Matthew 6:9b)?
Ultimately it’s your choice whether to celebrate Halloween. But remember we are not wrestling only with flesh and blood but against the unseen.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Ephesians 6:11-13 (NKJV)
Do you celebrate Halloween?
Update (6 Nov 24): Do you know that Halloween has eclipsed another important event that was said to happen on 31 October?
It is the anniversary of the day Martin Luther is said to have posted his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany (October 31, 1517). The Ninety-five Theses questioned the practices and beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church. The day is later known as the Reformation Day, a religious holiday celebrated on 31 October in remembrance of the beginning of the Reformation. It is significant for the Lutheran and Reformed Churches, although other Protestant communities also tend to commemorate the day. The Roman Catholic Church recognized it only recently. (Source: Wikipedia, Britannica)
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