how Christians can interact with Halloween

They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. John 17.16

Halloween

Images of trick-or-treaters dressed to the nines in Dorothy, princess, superhero and witch costumes, candy and carved pumpkins come to my mind.

And yet, I’m sure Christians around the world have heard it before:

“Don’t celebrate Halloween. It’s the Devil’s holiday…”

That thought never entered my mind until I got to college.

Just the other day, a friend said the same thing.

What happened? I mean, sure, there’s a lot of worldly things tied to the holiday itself, but where did the community aspect of it go? Is it even okay for us to have fun?

When I was a kid, my parents never taught me how to honor the “evil” side of Halloween. Sure, I knew about it, but we didn’t celebrate that. We celebrated community and shared relationships with one another. I have many good memories tied to this particular yearly event (outside of Christmas and Thanksgiving).

As a child, I remember dressing up as princesses, Raggedy Anne, Ariel (Disney’s Little Mermaid) and Belle (Beauty and the Beast) each year and going trick-or-treating in the small town where my family attended church.  It was harmless fun, plus, I got tons of candy, which went bad because I got sick of it after a while and probably led to all those pesky cavities…not to mention the inches on my adolescent waistline. But I digress…

A few years passed and somewhat similar costumes made their way back into my fall wardrobe, worn once a year, in the forms of witches, vampires and road kill during my high school and college years. I attended high school parties, held at school…I wasn’t the partying type although those occurred to, I’m sure, and festivities held at what will always be my first official home church when I moved to Brookings, SD. Trunk-or-Treat was the huge thing then…seemed fun, even though I never went.

And even now, as an adult, I do enjoy dressing up, for the fun of it, but opted not to today. I donned a simple, black turtleneck sweater and jeans this morning and chose one of the two pairs of “Halloween” earrings I own and dressed down. There’s still the office Halloween potluck, put on by the Team Member Engagement Committee, of which I’m very active in and a party with my church crew tomorrow evening…perhaps then I’ll don my Merida costume in every effort to live the life of a Scottish princess for a few hours.

One hot topic that is continuously brought to the table: Christians shouldn’t have anything to do with Halloween. I’ve taken part in conversations with friends who share what they’re doing instead, but, in thinking about my past experience with the day and the festivities our culture has around it, I discovered one common thread: relationships.

When I was a child, we went door to door. Even the cranky, old man living in the darkest house on the corner joined the world in handing out candy. We related.

In high school, college and today, those parties and festivities were held to connect with people.

Yes, God commands in his Word that we should be in the world, and not of it, but he doesn’t demand us to hide from it (John 15.19, 17.16, Romans 12.2).

I’m called to be involved.

To be interested in…

To reach out…

To relate…

To get my hands and feet dirty…

I stumbled on an article conveying just that thought this morning at Relevant Magazine, found here. David Valentine writes about his home state of Texas, how they observe Halloween and how other churches across the country view the holiday in general. He also makes a valid point that Christmas has its origins in pagan religions and how Christians don’t seem to shy away from that holiday.

He points out that while steering clear of the things of this world, we shouldn’t lock ourselves away and how we should instead get our hands dirty:

“In our increasingly fast paced society, we see less and less of our neighbors. Whether you live in a high-rise in the city or your closest neighbor is a mile down the dirt road on the left, we are more disengaged with society than ever before…it becomes increasingly difficult to take time to engage with our neighbors.

Halloween is a once-a-year opportunity where everyone is out and about. Children with parents in tow are running door to door (or trunk to trunk) for the next bit of free candy. The cranky old man turns his porch light on and gives out candy by the handful. Not to mention, someone in the neighborhood, there is a party happening…”

Valentine poses this question: What if the Church stopped being afraid of the world on Halloween and began to engage it?

What if?

What would that look like?

What if we allowed God to take something meant for evil iand spin it around for good?

What if?

We need to step up and redefine the way we interact with Halloween and we need to find a way to include the gospel in doing so. Could that mean handing out candy or other goodies, including healthy options? Sure.

We need to engage with our neighborhoods and surrounding community.

Our children get dressed up (because it’s fun) and go door to door asking for candy.

We choose to sit on our front lawns and talk with our neighbors.

We revamp the way we see Halloween and not view it as just another day, but rather one day a year when all of our neighbors are out in the streets. We have a unique opportunity to interact with everyone.

Here’s an idea: throw a Halloween block party every year for the kids in your community. People will show up to play games, get candy and hear the Gospel…just a thought.

Valentine closes with this thought and I couldn’t agree more:

“If you feel convicted that you shouldn’t celebrate Halloween, you certainly don’t have to. But perhaps you should reconsider how you can use the opportunities the holiday provides to reach other. If nothing else,  Halloween is a day designed by our culture to engage with our neighbors. Perhaps instead of condemning the “evils” of Halloween, or even simply turning off the front porch light on October 31, you should consider giving our candy and chatting with your neighbors or inviting everyone to a party…engage with your community. Who knows, you may have the joy of watching the resurrected Jesus bring those who are dead to life.”

And what greater joy is there than that?

Recommended further reading here.

Week 33: All Hallow’s Eve

I once read somewhere that parents shouldn’t allow their children to dress up on October 31^st. Yes, I understand that there are evils that lie within the context of that holiday, but why not let the kids dress up for the fun of it? I did when I was a kid and didn’t officially “celebrate” Halloween.

Halloween is one of the world’s oldest holidays and is celebrated differently in a number of countries around the globe. In Latin American communities, Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) honors deceased loved ones and ancestors. It’s a three day celebration that starts on October 31^st and ends on November 2^nd.

Halloween originated in Ireland nearly 2000 years ago. When Christianity spread to the Celtic isles of Ireland, higher officials declared the holiday evil and sought ways of making the festivities more Christian-oriented. In the 7^th century, Pope Boniface IV proclaimed November 1 All Saints Day, which is known as All Hallows. From there, we get All Hallows Eve…a.k.a Halloween.

Cultures around the world celebrate Halloween much like it is in the United States. Children dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating. Adults throw parties with neighbors and friends. Spooky stories are told in an effort to scare each other.

But what harm is there in Halloween? To some, the holiday emphasizes violence, death, horror and fear. To others, it’s Satan’s holiday.

I agree whole-heartedly with Anderson M. Rearick III in his article Matters of Opinion: Hallowing Halloween – Why Christians should embrace the devilish holiday with gusto – and laughter in Christianity Today (found here).

In his article, he states how he’s is “reluctant to give up what was one of the highlights” of his childhood to the “Great Imposter and Chief of Liars for no reason except that some of his servants claim it as his.” I tend to agree with him.

Halloween was a fun time for me as a child. It was the highlight of the fall some years. I remember being a clown (personally, the costume itself scared me and probably shaved about 10 years off my life), a princess (3 years in a row), Pocahontas, and a witch. I even went as roadkill one year. Now that was a fun costume. There may have been a vampire in there somewhere too…my obsession with the gothic was a bit much when I was a teen.

I have a friend in Brookings who designs his own costume every year. Two years ago, he was Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and boy, did he look just like him! And last year…Iron Man. Sweet…Should his creativity be taken away? No!

Halloween was a day to celebrate my imagination. I looked forward to concocting my own outfit from things around the home. We didn’t have the money to purchase a new costume every year. Why not be creative?

Rearick also argues that with the coming of Christ, came a “great light that reclaimed not only individuals but also the holidays they celebrated.” He goes on to use quotes from C.S. Lewis (one of my all-time faves) and Thomas More, stating that Satan hates to be mocked.

He also points to what I mentioned in my post about yoga, if the person redeemed has been saved from the occult, then they shouldn’t have to celebrate Halloween. Just like in Corinthians, when Paul clarifies the eating of meat offered to idols…you may recall.

Christians should instead celebrate Halloween with humor. If we have a good time at Satan’s expense, he flees.

Rearick closes with the following, and I agree with him: “If we give up All Hallows Eve, we lose the delight of God’s gift of imagination and we condemn the rest of society to a darker Halloween because our laughter will not be there to make the devil run.”

What are your thoughts on All Hallow’s Eve?