Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

Halloween is celebrated by millions of people as a fun time for kids, putting on costumes, and going door-to-door to get candy. But it is also known as a time of witches, ghouls, goblins, and ghosts. On one hand, some see Halloween as a harmless time of fun and on the other, a ghastly and demonically inspired night to be avoided. I think we should look to the origin of the holiday and more importantly the Bible for the answer. As Christians, there is a lot of debate on whether or not we should participate in Halloween. Is it alright to go trick-or-treating? Can we dress our kids up in costumes on that day? If we do any of this, are we celebrating an evil holiday? Halloween, no matter how commercialized, has completely pagan origins. As innocent as it may seem to some, it is not something to be taken lightly. Christians tend to have various ways to celebrate Halloween. For some, it means having an “alternative” Harvest Party such as “Trunk or Treat” For others, it is staying away from the ghosts, witches, goblins, etc., and wearing innocuous costumes, e.g., little princesses, clowns, cowboys, super-heroes, etc.  

The Origin of Halloween:

The idea of observing October 31st as a holiday originated with the ancient Celtic priests, called “Druids”, around 300 B.C. The Druids lived in the area between Great Britain and Germany. Their new year began on November 1st, so October 31st was set aside to worship their god, Samhain, the god of the dead. So October 31st was the Celtic New Year’s Eve, the time for their Festival of Death. The Druids believed that Samhain gathered all the souls of the past year’s dead on this night. These souls had been confined to the bodies of various animals to atone for their sins. Animal sacrifices and even human sacrifices were carried out , usually in forests. This practice was observed until around 61 A.D. when it was outlawed by the Romans. However, some animal sacrifices were still practiced as late as 400 A.D. Halloween is filled with all sorts of pagan characters and customs that Christians should completely avoid. The black cat, for example, was believed by the Druids to be evil spirit friends of witches, and even witches themselves. These cats were often kept in wicker cages and burned in animal sacrifices. Witches are worshipers of Satan, and they are an abomination to God (Exo. 22:18; Deu. 18:10-11). Why would a God-fearing Christian want to dress-up their child like something that God hates? Scary masks were worn by the Celts to scare away evil spirits. The jack-o-lantern was used for the same purpose, although a turnip was originally used. What most people think of as “ghosts” are not the spirits of dead people, but rather EVIL spirits which we are warned about in the Bible (Lev. 19:31; 20:27; II Kgs. 23:24; Mat. 10:1; Mar. 3:11; Acts 8:7; Rev. 16:13). Why would a Christian want to decorate their home with such wickedness? Do you really think God want you to dress your child up like an evil spirit? Even the orange and black colors of Halloween have a wicked origin. At the Druid Festival of Death for Samhain huge bon fires were used for offering human and animal sacrifices. So the colors of the night were orange flames glowing in the dark. Trick-or-treating finds it’s origin in the custom of peasants going house to house begging for money to purchase necessities for a feast for Muck Olla, the Druid sun god. A blessing was promised to generous givers, while threats were often made to those who were stingy. Even more disturbing is apple bobbing this comes from the Roman festival of Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees. This festival was merged with the festival of Samhain after Rome conquered Britain. In honor of Samhain, subjects were forced to bob for apples in boiling hot water. Those who lived through this ordeal were set free. In most witchcraft covens, the closing ritual includes eating an apple or engaging in fertility rites. In witchcraft, eating an apple is symbolic of bringing life. The practice of bobbing for apples brings together two pagan traditions: divination and the fertility ritual. The Druids taught that the spirit world was closer to the earth on this night than at any other time, and that “the gods” would even appear on this night to play tricks on people. Pope Bonoface III, in the seventh century, set aside May 13th as “All Saints Day” or “All Hallows Day” as a time for Roman Catholics to honor all known dead saints. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III moved the date to November 1st which conveniently merged “All Hallows Day” and “All Hallows Eve” with the Celtic New Year and the Festival of Samhain. This custom wasn’t much observed in America until the 1840’s when large numbers of immigrants came over from Ireland and Scotland.  

What Does The Bible Say About Halloween and Pagan Celebrations?

First off the Bible tells us to “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good “ (1 Thessalonians 5:21) so do you think we can “Prove” Halloween is “Good” in the sight of God? If Jesus were here today do you think he would take all the disciples out Trick-or-treating?  

Scripture does not refer directly to Halloween, but it does give us some principles on which we can make a decision. In Old Testament , witchcraft was a crime punishable by death (Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 19:31; 20:6, 27). The New Testament teaching about the occult is clear. Acts 8:9-24, the story of Simon, shows that occultism and Christianity don’t mix. The account of Elymas the sorcerer in Acts 13:6-11 reveals that sorcery is violently opposed to Christianity. Paul called Elymas a child of the devil, an enemy of righteousness and a perverter of the ways of God. In Acts 16, at Philippi, a fortune-telling girl lost her demon powers when the evil spirit was cast out by Paul. The interesting matter here is that Paul refused to allow even good statements to come from a demon-influenced person. Acts 19 shows new converts who have abruptly broken with their former occultism by confessing, showing their evil deeds, bringing their magic paraphernalia, and burning it before everyone (Acts 19:19).  

Spread to North America:

North American almanacs of the late 18th and early 19th century give no indication that Halloween was celebrated here. The Puritans of New England, for example, maintained strong opposition to Halloween and it was not until the mass Irish and Scottish immigration during the 19th century that it was brought to North America in earnest. Confined to the immigrant communities during the mid-19th century, it was gradually assimilated into mainstream society and by the first decade of the 20th century it was unfortunately being celebrated coast to coast by people of all social, racial and religious backgrounds.

More to come on this subject!!!