It’s that time of year again. The leaves are changing, the air is cooling, and the days are getting shorter. And…Halloween is just around the corner. Every October many Christians question whether they should even participate in the “holiday,” but are not sure what the answer really is. As a result many refrain from what they perceive as Pagan or satanic practices in order to sustain their faith. But should they? Or should they find some other way to participate? What is Halloween anyway? In order to best answer these questions, I think a short history lesson is in order….
Halloween is observed on October 31 every year. It is believed to be the Christian adaptation of an ancient Druid practice known as Samhain. Samhain had many of the same practices associated with today’s Halloween. The Druids believed in the idea that we who live in the living realm are most vulnerable to those in the spirit realm during times of transformation. Their New Year was what we now call November 1, and this transformation from one year to another (especially at the transformation of the seasons and also at midnight, the transformation from one day to the other) left us especially vulnerable to those spirit forces attacks. Their “celebration” of Samhain marked the end of one year and the beginning of another. The practices of this holy day to the Druids helped them to ward off the demonic forces and protect them and their families for the coming year.
It contained costumes, usually used to scare away spirits and demonic beings or to serve as disguises so that the spirits would believe the participants to be one of their own. It also has some of the same rituals like bobbing for apples, tricking people, begging for food from neighbors (usually the poor non farmers who worked the fields for the farmers would collect their wages in the form of food for the winter), and most importantly bonfires. The Druids believed that bonfires, if built large enough, would create enough light that they would confuse the evil spirits into thinking the daylight was still going and that night had not begun.
So…what do Christians have to do with any of this?
In the 3rd and 4th centuries after Christ, Christians were on the move. They had pushed into Northern Europe and some had even spread to what we now know as the British Isles. The Celtic Druids of Scotland, Ireland and Wales, as well as some in the North of Gaul (France and Germany) were still practicing Samhain on the 31st of October. In concordance with the Apostle Paul’s teachings in Colossians 3:17 these early Christians began converting the Pagan practices into rituals designed to uplift God and Jesus.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him
In short….No. Then what is Halloween exactly? Well, it is not Samhain. Although it does currently share some similarities with the ancient practice, they are not the same. Samhain sometimes included human sacrifice and was thus outlawed by Christian courts by the 15th century. Halloween doesn’t make a real appearance until about 200 years later and is known as “All Hallow’s Eve.” This is a distinctive Christian holiday! All Hallow’s Eve is the day before “All Hollow’s Day” (November 1), also known as “All Saint’s Day,” “All Martyr’s Day,” or “Dia de Los Muertos” (to our Hispanic neighbors). These days were originally set aside to remember those that were faithful and had already passed on into Heaven. The name Halloween was not adopted until the mid 18th century and is derived from the words “hallow” (holy) and “evening.” It is a shortened form of these two words and has changed several times before becoming the Halloween that we know today.
So…Should Christians observe Halloween?
Absolutely! That is, if they feel led to do so. But what they should absolutely not do is criticize those that do participate. A better approach for those that oppose the practice toward those that do would (in my opinion) be to offer alternative suggestions for how they observe the holiday. Maybe suggest that they hand out New Testament bibles with the treats, or get involved with their church’s “Trunk-or-Treat” or “Harvest Festival.” After all, Paul said to make everything you do be about Christ.
Christians have an inherent calling to minister to the lost! Matthew 28:19-20 says, “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. …” How can we as Christians do that if our doors are shut and our lights are off. Every year on October 31; if you live in the right neighborhood; God puts hundreds of young children literally on your doorstep begging for goodness from you. Are you going to be the one that says “no” just because the day is too scary for you? Or are you going to be the one that one that offers the best Treat (with no tricks) that anyone could ever receive?
