Halloween

I grew up celebrating Halloween in the 70's and 80's like most people in America my age, in a non-Christian family. As far I was concerned, it was about the candy. Dressing up was also fun, which most kids enjoy.

Now as a devoted follower of Christ and a dad in my mid-thirties, I am convinced that Halloween has no worth, and at the same time I am less judgmental than I used to be.

It is easy enough to do the research on Halloween and find its pagan and Catholic roots.
http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/festivals/october/halloween-samhain.html That should concern us; yet as believers I think we should not avoid cultural events in a knee-jerk reaction. So easily we slip into a Pharisaic self-righteousness, and do little better than the Jehovah's Witnesses, who do not celebrate birthdays as they think it is a pagan custom.

The answer probably lies in starting from what we believe, not from avoidance. My cultural customs ought to be examined in the light of who God is and who He calls us to be. As I shared with my 4th grade students last week, God is a God of hope and life and light, not fear and death and darkness. How then shall we live? 1) Do we approach everything in our American culture as something to be opposed? That sees grace as fundamentally against human nature. 2) Do we approach holidays, etc. as things to uncritically do, as if our faith only belongs to Sundays? That is nature over grace. 3) Do we take worldly ideas and Christianize them? That is grace superimposed over nature. My humble opinion is that, according to a Biblical vision, 4) God’s grace can transform nature.

Each view of culture would lead to different ideas about Halloween:
1) Avoid it like the plague, and fear being corrupted by the least hint of the holiday. This is a satanic day, turn off the lights and hide until it’s over.
2) Do the whole ball of wax. It doesn’t matter, because it’s all fun, and everyone else is doing it.
3) Put a Christian twist on Halloween by handing out tracts with treats or pumpkin-carving as an object lesson for the gospel.
4) Figure out what is good and true in life which led to this custom in the first place, and think, how does Christ fulfil this? The Celtic people made Samhain to mark the harvest, the coming of winter, and to remember the unseen world. These are part of God’s creation which we can respond to as God intends i.e. by celebrating His providence in the harvest, accepting change in life as God’s sovereign plan without grumbling about the winter, and remembering the unseen world that we are spirits as well as bodies, meant to live by faith not merely by sight. This means at least 2 things… it’s this faith in Christ alone which reassures us that even though the outdoors “dies” in wintertime, life will return in spring as God’s gracious unseen hand guides us faithfully to future resurrection. Even the seasons are signs of God’s redemptive plan for the world (which is no coincidence, see Gen. 8:21-22). Remembering the unseen also includes recognizing the past cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1) by celebrating the movement of God in history through Christian heroes of the past, like Martin Luther (also appropriate for October 31, see here).

If I can take part in festivities with a redemptive vision for them, then they will point somehow toward the God whom we serve. So because I follow Christ who is hope and life and light, I will want to enjoy every inch of life as a gift from Him, doing that which naturally flows from the truth. This is why instead of Halloween, we celebrate Reformation Day and Thanksgiving. The candy and dressing up can be sprinkled throughout the year, with some creative thinking.

However, to be honest, I see Halloween only increasing in its darkness and bloodiness and creepiness (just look at the decorations in a Michaels or Wal-Mart, or costumes at Spirit stores). I think to myself: good grief, it's even more pagan than it was when I was growing up (if that's possible). It is becoming more and more an adult holiday just as it was in ancient times, and its cuteness will be replaced with serious devotion.

This calls for discernment and freedom of conscience.