Okay, so I have been putting off writing this post for a while now. You know how God told Jonah to go to Ninevah, but Jonah ran the other way? Well, lately, that has been me. God has put the subject of Halloween and our celebration of it in my thoughts constantly, it seems, over the past few weeks. He has reminded me over and over, “I have given you this platform. Now use it!”
Quite frankly, I have worried that I might offend someone or turn away readers if I posted a raw, honest, and controversial post like this. I try to stay safe. I’m not a big fan of controversy! But God keeps putting it on my heart to discuss this subject. Not for me to tell you what is right or wrong, but to simply share with you what He is impressing on my heart and point you to information which will help in your own decisions.
This verse from Hosea has been like a signpost regarding our lack of information when it comes to the history behind Halloween. I am right here in the lack of knowledge.
“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” – Hosea 4:6a
If you are so inclined, I want to suggest you take a look at the document I have linked to below, “A Biblical Perspective on Halloween.” It was very enlightening for me to read up on the history and reasons behind the rituals of Halloween.
Honestly, our family hasn’t made a firm decision on what we are going to do this year. I am praying about it and seeing where God lands our family. I am not looking for advice, but I would love to hear your thoughts and feelings on this subject.
Please keep in mind, I want Faithful Provisions to be a place of discussion, not controversy.
A Biblical Perspective on Halloween
So, what do you think when you read this? What has been your families decision to celebrate Halloween? Have you made it consciously or just celebrated it because that is what you have always done? I would love to hear your thoughts.
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Amen! Thank you for this post!
Ever since my children were little we have celebrated “fall”, not halloween. My children never went out on halloween. They were allowed to pick candy to fill their pumpkin and choose what we would make that evening together as we celebrated. Sometimes we made candy coated apples, other times peanut brittle, but it was always so much fun they never questioned the holiday. They were brought up in a very strict Godly home, therefore I think they knew in their heart that there were things about Halloween that wasn’t Godly.
We are really struggling with this this year. I’ve never done the scary stuff but have never thought much about princesses and superheroes. Lately, we’re becoming convicted to avoid it altogether and replace it with something righteous.
I’m curious, where did you get the article? Just wondering who wrote it.
A friend of mine forwarded it to me. She received it from the wife of the rabbi at their messianic synagogue. Sorry, I tried to cite it, but no one knew the source. If anyone finds it, please let me know, I’d love to cite it.
Thanks for this! I’ve passed it on to the pastor of our church to read over and possibly have available for our families. I’ve also saved it for my husband to read. He’s always been a fan of Halloween stuff (movies, haunted houses, etc) and I think this will be a good way to challenge him to think about it with Biblical principles in mind.
I feel that it is just like anything else, it is what you make it. Thats just my opinion though 🙂
I agree. I think you can take any event or holiday and make it bad by your motives. If you look for the evil, then you are bringing those thoughts into your mind. If you appreciate it for the joy, then you are bringing joy to the situation.
This is my daughter’s first Halloween. She is going as a duck, because it is the only word she says (besides DaDa). I am not looking at this day as a satanic day or an anti-Christian day. I am looking at it as a day for my child to get dressed up as a character she loves and play with her frineds, show off and get candy. She has not teeth, so we will have to help her with her candy. 😉
Personally, we take our children to our church’s Fall Festival and then we come home for a little trick-or-treating. I don’t allow my boys to dress up in scary costumes and our decorations are minimal and fall-ish.
We have carved pumpkins with the salvation message symbols in the past and proudly displayed them on our front porch.
I use Halloween as an opportunity to reach our neighbors. We make up treat bags, inside each are some candy, goodies, and a tract. One year I put in the pumpkin prayer poem. This year we’ll probably put together 100 bags – last year we ran out. It probably helped that I set up a table at the end of our driveway and personally visited with the kids as they walked by. Imagine if you stuck in an invitation to a “Birthday Party for Jesus” or even a cookie exchange at a later date! 😉
I think it’s an opportunity for us to shed light into what can be a dark celebration.
I believe if we refuse to participate, shut off our lights, not put out candy, etc. it can have a negative impact on those who are lost. Instead we can make the choice to participate in a way that brings God glory.
However, that being said, listen to God’s will and direction for your family first.
I appreciate your boldness in posting such a sensitive topic.
I don’t have kids yet, but I am much more concerned about lying to them about Santa Claus, etc. than them playing dress-up on Halloween (depending on the costume of course!). I think lying sends quite a message, where I’m not sure what message costumes and candy send…besides rotting your teeth and sugar! 🙂
I have heard that Christmas trees also have pagan origins…go figure.
Honestly, I was shocked to read how dark some of the traditions began but with that said. I’m with Paul. As an adult I know it’s a false idol. My problem for the kids is since public schools celebrate I don’t want my kids to be singled out for not participating with their peers. I believe that could be more damaging for a young child than participating. Honest conversations about what’s real and what’s of the devil should steer your kids right.
Now, I will say Kelly since you get the pleasure of homeschooling if you feel the Lord convicting you. Your kids are likely not going to be set apart socially for not participating. Then by all means don’t expose them.
Hi Bridget! I just wanted to say how fortunate we were while my daughter was in elementary school. A Christian teacher offered an alternative Fall celebration for the children not wishing to participate in the school’s annual Halloween traditions, which were quite elaborate, including a parade throughout the town to show off the children’s costumes. My daughter was proud to consider herself set apart for Christ and different for Him! If your children do not have someone in the school willing to give an alternative, maybe you can contact the school and be the one to lead the activities! Just a thought. What a great way to make an impact on young lives!!
I agree with the “it is what you make it” comment and we make it an opportunity to reach those who are far from God. If you isolate yourself, it makes it difficult to reach others.
While I understand the origins of Halloween, I doubt anyone thinks about the pagan origins of bobbing for apples when they are enjoying the activity at a fall festival. I think that while the article has some good points, the practical implications related to our family’s choices of how to celebrate are limited.
Instead of dismissing the holiday as a representation of evil, our church has chosen to embrace the holiday as a prime opportunity to reach our community for Christ. When else will we have both children AND their parents as captive audiences in such large numbers? In our rural county of 25,000 people, our church of 150 is expecting a crowd of 500 at our Trunk or Treat event the evening of Halloween. We’re going all out – cars decorated with candy, blow up castles, a dunking booth, a picture booth, and free popcorn, cotton candy, and hot dogs for all. The event will be spook-free, with all fun fall decorations instead of scary themes and our volunteers will have ample opportunities to engage with kids and parents from the community who are not plugged in to a church body. We can’t wait to see who God brings to our doors using a pagan holiday as the catalyst.
While I understand the perspectives of parents who choose differently for their families, this is another way to view the holiday – as an opportunity.
I am glad you posted this. I am a mother of two girls and a pastor of a small church. We stopped celebrating Halloween several years ago because I felt exactly like the person writing the article.
The bible says that we are supposed to be set apart and different from that of the world. It is a hard thing to do around the holidays. We do not celebrate Santa and Easter Bunnies either. People expect everyone to celebrate the traditional things and when you choose not to because of your own personal walk with God, you will be talked about and worse. You would be suprised at the number of people that would just not understand if you all of a sudden stopped celebrating certain holidays. I could not believe the impact it had on the people in our lives when we stopped. However, the price we have to pay to be different than the world is not a small one sometimes. I do not try to impose my walk with God and what He has put in my heart on any others. I do believe that once God has shown you the truth, then you must abide by it no matter the cost.
As a pastor, my church has been taught the truth but whether they choose to celebrate Halloween or not, that is between them and God as it is with everyone. The one thought I always try to impress on people is ask youself this question…If Jesus were walking among us today, would you find him celebrating Halloween? He was our example and if we follow Him we can’t go wrong.
For all of you who are praying for God to show you the right thing to do, may God bless and may you find your answer and have peace about your decision.
God bless!
When my son was an infant we dressed him up and took him “Trick or Treating” to his relative’s houses. After that year, I was convicted about Halloween and we decided to celebrate fall instead.
My kids are still very young (5 and under), and we plan on home schooling as well (so we won’t have to deal with the peer pressure aspect of Halloween). As of right now, I pass out goody bags to trick-or-treaters (which include a tract, a prayer of salvation bookmark, and lots of good treats). During the time when kids our coming to our door, my husband takes our kids upstairs for a fun night of watching a movie and eating popcorn/treats. They are too young to be seeing all of the scary-looking kids that come to our door. But as they get a little older, I definitely plan on including them in some type of outreach, whether it be passing out the goody bags or something else that God has laid on our hearts.
I’ve done my best to avoid celebrating Halloween for many years. It was relatively easy since I didn’t have a child most of those years. When I lived in a subdivision I would put candy out in front of the door to stop the endless barrage of knocking and doorbell ringing. Since bringing my daughter home I’ve tried to keep her away from its influence. However, once she was in preschool I no longer had as much control. They celebrated and invited the kids to wear costumes. This year she says she wants to go trick or treating. I think the time has come to stick to my guns and tell her why we won’t be following the pagan traditions. I think we’ll be spending the evening at church this year — and she’ll come home with far more candy than she needs.
an article from christianitytoday.com writer…i like what she says.
http://blog.kyria.com/giftedforleadership/2008/10/trick_or_treat.html
I agree. Thanks so much for sharing.
I appreciate your boldness in posting this, knowing that there are a lot of strong opinions out there. I grew up in a family that did not celebrate Halloween for many of the same reasons you posted. While I found it difficult to explain my family’s reasons to other kids when I was growing up, I made it through just fine. Now my husband and I have a family of our own, and we will continue to refrain from celebrating this dark holiday. What I have found difficult this year is how to distinguish what is “fall” from what is “halloween.” I want to be able to enjoy one without having anything to do with the other, and that’s admittedly difficult! I guess we all just have to really lean in and listen to the Holy Spirit in making decisions. That being said, I know that some Christians think it’s perfectly fine to celebrate halloween. While I disagree, I do not judge them in a negative light for deciding something different from me. We all just need to listen to what God is telling us, and I am only responsible for what He says to me. Thanks again, Kelly, for opening a forum and sharing your heart.
We don’t get into scary Halloween (no decorations, instead we focus on fall). Our kids do go out for candy. I tell them that it’s the only time of year that people can show their true inner self as a costume. So there are no scary costumes of zombies or witches, etc. I think every family should choose to do what is best for them. Either way you can find a way to have fun with fall.
Thank you so much for posting this information and for sharing the thouhts of your readers. I was a member of a church who celebrated HALLELEUJAH Night (to celebrate and draw attention to the ‘light’) instead of the traditional Halloween every October 31st-Congregants were encouraged to invite neighbors, family and friends to the celebration as an alternative to the traditional. In order to prepare for this huge event, a team from childrens ministry began requesting donations of candy and small ‘blessings’ (i.e. little activity books, small packs of crayons, $1 McDonald gift certificates etc) and monetary offerings a few weeks in advance so that they had enough time and resources to create activities, order light refreshments (pizza, cupcakes, juice boxes, homemade lemonade) and put together the ‘goodie/treat bags of blessings’ . All the donated candies were placed and mixed together in a huge barrel and the ‘treat bags’ were put together to be given at the end of the Halleujah celebration night as the children departed to go home. The children dressed up as biblical (Jesus, Moses, Paul, John, a disciple, Esther, Deborah, the judge etc) or career (doctor, pilot, minister, missionary etc) characters- there were (approx 10 different activities) called ‘play’ stations/booths set up (i.e. biblical trivia wheel of knowledge, Biblical Jeopardy etc) where everyone won something for participating. A fellowship area was set with tables and chairs for participants to sit, eat and fellowship or just sit, rest and/or fellowship-The celebration gets bigger and bigger every year because even the neighborhood kids who did not attend church otherwise find it to be so much more fun than going door- to- door collecting candy. Parents find it safer-the church find it rewarding and an opportunity to share and celebrate the love Christ.