Yes, we should, and we should welcome the costumed kids and parents in our neighborhoods.
The word ‘halloween’ comes from “All Hallow’s Eve.” “All Hallows” is the Christian All Saints Day (November 1st). So Halloween just means “Eve of All Saints Day.” It is far from being a pagan or evil word. Ironically, a church near me changed their party name backward to “Neewollah” in order to avoid the word. Yet that seems creepier to me! We don’t need to avoid the word, or to have a harvest party at the church instead.
The emphasis on death and fear is actually rooted in Christian folk traditions. The idea was that because we aren’t afraid of death or the devil, we can laugh at the devil and the demonic. In some folk traditions, if you dressed up like a demon, the demons would pass by your house, or leave you alone. This is similar to the tradition of placing demonic gargoyles on cathedrals. If it scares people, that’s actually a good thing. It reminds us that death is real, and that only in Christ can we be free from fear.
Of course, people often become enamored with death, evil, and the demonic in morbid or sacrilegious ways. That part of modern day halloween is not healthy for our kids or us. And of course we’ve all seen the inappropriate or risque outfits that people wear, and can’t celebrate that.
But these are all reasons that halloween is not a bad thing. Why is it a good thing? Why should we trick or treat with the kids, and fill our neighbor’s kid’s buckets with candy?
Because we love our kids and our neighbors. Kids love candy. They love being with the parents, and with friends. They love dressing up. This is a fun, neighborly night. We shouldn’t be the ones who turn off the porch light and close the door and say “No candy for you!”
So as a pastor, I would encourage all of us to dust off the old wolf-man mask, help the kids pick out or create a costume, and chuck out that $50 on candy for the neighborhood. Lets not be the imp that stole trick-or-treat. Instead, lets have some fun and get to know our neighbors better. Don’t have a party at your church on Halloween night. Instead, give folks a chance to love on each other the one time of year when neighbors actually walk around and talk to one another.
And then on All Saints Day (Yes, its a real thing! Its always falls the day after Halloween), we should gather for worship, remembering all of those who have gone before us in faith.
Photo by popofatticus via flickr
Greg is the founder of Anglican Compass (previously known as Anglican Pastor). He is an Anglican Priest of the Anglican Church in North America. He served in a non-denominational church before being called into the Anglican church in 2003. He has served as an Associate Pastor, Parish Administrator, and Rector. He currently serves as the Canon to the Ordinary for the Anglican Diocese of the South.
With all due respect to the author, and understanding the good intentions behind his article, I still need to say that this viewpoint is extremely naive. It’s not naive based on only the author’s statement that Halloween has Christian roots (when history clearly shows that All Hallows Eve which is indeed the basis for Halloween has has completely pagan roots, and dark ones at that) but it seems the author has little familiarity with the activities that actually go on during Halloween – the brief nod to the dark side doesn’t come close to what goes on during this time. Because of where we have lived and worked, I have had more than my share of undesired contact with the dark side of this holiday and it’s not a small part of it. It’s the most important holiday for Satan worshippers and is a high-point of occult activity especially in the US. We have experienced this in our day to day lives among people we live with. If you actually believe in the spirit world and the forces of darkness in particular this shouldn’t be hard to believe. It’s not remotely accurate that Halloween is just about candy and cute costumes, no matter how hard some Christians try to believe this. And if we are trying to be remotely Biblical, All Hallows Eve certainly doesn’t qualify. You can certainly love your neighbors and not be fuddy-duddies without participating in Halloween, although culturally it may be more uncomfortable.
When thinking about Halloween, I am reminded of Paul’s arguments in 1 Corinthians 8 concerning food sacrificed to idols. Perhaps surprisingly to some of us today, Paul condones eating food sacrificed to idols, as long as it doesn’t become an impediment to the faith of another Christian. He doesn’t say that making sacrifices to idols is inherently evil and that, therefore, the Christian should have nothing to do with it. In fact, Paul engages and uses the idolatry of the day as a springboard for the Gospel (Acts 17:16-34).
In taking our children trick-or-treating during Halloween, I have never experienced a neighbor for whom this is an opportunity to engage in occult activity (though there may be a few out there). In our increasingly isolated and individualistic society, I appreciate the fact that Halloween is a rare opportunity to meet many of our neighbors and their families. And if we as Christians experience the evil aspects of Halloween, why not follow Paul’s lead and engage the evil with truth and good rather than turning the lights off to our front porches and avoiding the world around us?
I think I understand the concerns about paganism, but I interpret that history differently. I see the taking over of pagan holidays as a victory for the Christian gospel.
I’ve not seen any occult activity associated with Halloween, personally. But even if that happens, I don’t believe that is what the vast majority of people are doing. There will always be extreme exceptions, but that doesn’t mean that the few can define the night for the many.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it! But I do think we need to all be discerning and that we won’t always agree on how to do that, though we all seek the be faithful to the same Lord. Thanks for the comments.