Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

October 31st is a date well known for its costumes and candy. Many people, regardless of race and religion unite together to celebrate this holiday with the excuse that it’s “for the candy” and “harmless fun.”

So is it a holiday used to promote a satanic agenda, or is it a spiritually meaningless tradition?

And better yet, should Christians be participating?

Origin of Halloween

Samhain (pronounced Sah-win,) also known to many of us as Halloween, is a pagan religious festival that has its origins in Celtic traditions. It is a holiday celebrated from October 31 to November 1st.

When this tradition originated, it was thought to be “the time of year when the veils between this world and the otherworld were believed to be at their thinnest: when the spirits of the dead could most readily mingle with the living once again. Later, when the festival was adopted by Christians, they celebrated it as All Hallows’ Eve, though it still retained elements of remembering and honoring the dead.”

This celebration originated as a way to honor the dead, believing that the dead spirits would come to help their priests predict the future. As “Halloween” evolved through the Irish, and others, things like mumming were introduced to the holiday.

“In Ireland, mumming was the practice of putting on costumes, going door-to-door, and singing songs to the dead. Cakes were given as payment.”

So Is It Bad?

Many say that as long as you simply put on a costume for fun, do it for the candy, and do not have any spiritual connection to the origin of Halloween, or Samhain, then there is no harm.

I do not believe that.

After seeing people get delivered from demons and seeing the damage that they cause to people, I don’t understand how anyone in their right mind could want to celebrate anything that is closely related to the realm where demons operate.

As always, the choice is yours.

A Few Things To Think About

1. It promotes fear. As Christians, we celebrate faith. We are believers who belong to the household of faith and our lives revolve around it. We are called to live lives of faith because that is what pleases God! The Bible says that “perfect love casts out fear…” It does not celebrate it (1 John 4:18).
2. It promotes darkness. Jesus is the light of the world and we are called to be a reflection of His light in this dark and broken world. The Word of God is Light and nothing about Christianity revolves around the darkness.
3. It promotes death. The only death we remember is Jesus’s. It defeated the grave and death. We believe in the cross, not in a skull! As Christians, we believe in the Holy Spirit, and in Him alone are we to rely on for guidance and direction in our lives–not the dead, and not any other spirit from “the great beyond.”

If we imitate the world, we will lose our distinction; but, if we isolate ourselves entirely from the world, we will lose our influence. Christians need to engage the culture if we expect to make an impact, but the Bible is clear about not conforming to our culture.

Although the Bible does not give us clear instructions regarding this topic, the wisest thing would be to not give any room or “place to the devil” to have power over you or your family.

Christians shouldn’t celebrate Halloween because it promotes fear, darkness, and death.

At the end of the day, there is more possibility for risk (spiritually speaking) if you celebrate it than if you decided to act like it was just another regular day.

Sources:
BBC
History