During the fall celebration of Halloween, we can see many homes and dorms decorated with white-sheeted ghosts, vampires, monsters, spider nets and jack-o-lanterns—pumpkins with gloating smiles.
Over the course of history, a lot of originally bad things were turned into something innocent, which was neither good nor bad, and confused people. For this reason, it may be problematic to define Halloween since many people redefine this celebration for themselves instead of simply not celebrating it. What is this celebration truly about, and should Christians take part in it? I would like to argue from a historical and biblical perspective that Christians should not celebrate Halloween.
Halloween stands for All Hallows’ Eve and was originally the evening of preparation for the Christian celebration of All Saints’ Day. It was a holiday of remembrance of all deceased Christian martyrs. According to historian Philip Schaff, on that day the people would give thanks to God for all his mercies, and the symbols and pictures they used were at first quite innocent and spread greatly with the growth of the worship of saints. Sadly, this event is not connected to what the modern world is currently celebrating. For modern youth, it is simply “trick or treat” or a “fright night.”
David Bissett in his article “Culture’s Dangerous Infatuation with Halloween” mentions that November 1 was the Druid New Year and October 31 was then their New Years’ Eve. He explains that for both Celtic pagans and Druids, it was the significant night that brought the world of the dead into closer contact with the world of the living. It is also known as Samhain.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12 clearly says that God considers detestable in his eyes everyone who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, casts spells, or consults the dead.
Some people may think that they are celebrating a Christian holiday, but it is actually a mix of the pagan Samhain and All Saints’ Day caused by them taking place on the same date. Bissett argues that Halloween really is the ugly stepchild of Samhain and bears no resemblance with the long-forgotten All Saints’ Day Christian holiday. Most of the present practices presently associated with Halloween came from the pagan night.
While Christians would stage plays about great martyred Christians of the past, pagan revelers would dress up in frightening costumes related to their celebration of the dead. “Trick or treat” comes from the pagan tradition of besetting neighbors and local farmers with promises of bad fortune to those who wouldn’t supply them with food and drink, hiding their identities behind their masks and bizarre costumes. According to Bissett, the tradition of carving a pumpkin has no basis in any Christian tradition but has its roots in an old pagan Irish legend of a man named Jack who fooled the devil. I read the legend, and it is indeed full of bad theology and many superstitions. Apparently, pagan appeals have triumphed over the All Saints’ Day holiday.
Another problem is with decorating houses and dressing up in evil outfits that glorify darkness and death. I think that as the children of God, we have to behave accordingly. By pretending and dressing up in evil, scary outfits, people are behaving like children of darkness, which is not what the Bible teaches us to do. We should not imitate evil with our actions, as the Bible states: “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime …” (Romans 13:12-13a).
For Ancient Celts, dressing up as demons was a defense mechanism so if they encountered a real demon roaming the Earth, he would think they were one of them. A question that I was thinking about—If Jesus came on Halloween, would he be proud and happy to see me in some evil outfit and claim me as his good and faithful servant? I don't know about you, but I would be very ashamed and would probably set a new record on speed changing.
What if the Halloween I celebrate is not related to paganism or Satan but is just an opportunity to have fun? Even such reasons prove sore excuses. When people call it “All Hallows’ Eve” but celebrate it by performing pagan traditions, aren’t they just celebrating a pagan holiday? Not everybody knows or puts meaning into Halloween, but it does not mean that it is meaningless and not pre-loaded.
Some believe that if they do not put meaning into it, there will be no impact or consequences of their actions. Yet, there is an objective reality from which you cannot escape, and being unaware of that will not change it. As Christians, we are called to investigate and see things in light of the Scripture that says, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22).
Personally, I think that the dangers and problems outweigh the possible benefits of the short-lasting joy of celebration Halloween brings. I believe that as the children of God, we should not take part in celebrating something that is directly connected to paganism, detestable for God, glorifies darkness, might be spiritually dangerous, and does not influence us in any good way. As the apostle Paul says: “‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say—but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’—but not everything is constructive” (1 Corinthians 10:23).