Halloween – HARMLESS or HARMFUL?

Every October provides a controversial dilemma for the church, namely, “Should Christians celebrate Halloween?” Is it Harmless or Harmful? With no direct references to Halloween in the Bible, resolving the debate is a challenge. To this day, Christian perspectives around the world vary considerably on this subject and are often sharply divided. Some feel complete freedom to observe the holiday, whilst others run and hide from it. Many choose to boycott or ignore it, while a number of believers see it as an opportunity for evangelistic outreach.

Perhaps the question we should consider today is how Christians should, or rather Salvationists, approach Halloween? As you consider this issue, here is some information about the celebration – which includes the historical background, what the Bible tells us, and what Halloween means for Christians today that can guide our thoughts and decision regarding this event.

Let’s begin with exploring the history of Halloween.

Historical Background

Halloween, or ‘All Hallows Eve,’ originated over two thousand years ago before the days of established Christianity to a practice of the ancient druids of Britain, France, Germany and the Celtic countries. The celebration itself honoured their pagan god ‘Samhain’, lord of the dead. This Druid harvest festival ushered in the New Year, beginning on the evening of October 31 with the lighting of bonfires and offering of sacrifices. As the Druids danced around the fires, they celebrated the end of the summer and the beginning of the season of darkness. The Celtic people also considered November the 1st as being the day of death because it was the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, what better time to celebrate ‘the lord of death’ than when all the leaves are falling from the trees.

To the pagan druids, Halloween opened the invisible “gates” between the natural physical world and the spirit world, allowing free movement between the two worlds. The druids believed in the unchristian belief that on this particular evening, the spirits of the dead returned to their former home to visit the living. If the Living did not provide food for these [evil] spirits all types of terrible things would happen to the living, and if the [evil] spirits did not get a treat they would then trick the living. This ancient practice is still celebrated today with people dressing up, knocking on doors and saying ‘trick or treat,’ without realising the origin of what they are doing. This night functioned as the pinnacle of evil activity and was considered the night that Satan and his witches have the greatest power.

It would probably be advantageous to take a moment here to understand what witchcraft is all about considering its irrefutable connection with Halloween. Witchcraft is known as the ‘Old Religion,’ an ancient practice dating back to Biblical times. The word witchcraft emanates form the English word ‘Wiccian,’ meaning the “practice of magical arts.” In terms of a definition, witchcraft can be defined as “the performance of Magic forbidden by God for non-Biblical ends”. It was during the Middle Ages that witchcraft experienced a great revival, mostly fuelled by people’s belief in the supernatural and their unbounded superstition. The practice of Witchcraft and the worship of Satan is still practiced today by hundreds and thousands of people in various forms and expressed differently from culture to culture.

With the rise of the superstitious and occultist practices in the Middle Ages the church had to have an answer in dealing with the pagan celebration of Halloween. Initially, Pope Boniface IV created All Saints’ Day or “All-Hallows Day” to be celebrated before summer. All Saints’ Day focuses on celebrating martyrs and saints who sacrificed their lives for the Christian faith. Later, during the 8th century in the diocese of Rome, Pope Gregory III moved All Saints Day to November 1, officially making October 31 “All Hallows Eve.” Some say this was the church’s way of claiming the celebration for Christians. However, this feast commemorating the martyrdom of the saints had already been celebrated by Christians for many centuries before this time. Over the years, All Saints’ Day or All-Hallows Day continued its evolution into the modern celebration of Halloween, however, followers of witchcraft today still practice and preserve early pagan beliefs and consider Halloween to be sacred and a deathly powerful time, when the separation between the spiritual and physical realms is the thinnest.

This leads me to the question of what the Bible tells us about Halloween.

Halloween and the Bible

As aforementioned, it’s true that the Bible contains no direct references to Halloween by name. However, Scripture carefully instructs Christians against participation in pagan practices directly involving witchcraft, the occult, and the worship of other deities.

One such scripture is found in Deuteronomy 18:9-13, where the Lord establishes rules for the Israelites concerning a wide variety of practices when he says, “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God.”

Ephesians 5:7-15 says, “Don’t participate in the things these people do. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” So be careful how you live.” (NLT).

Lastly, there is an account in Acts 19:18-21 where following a sizable conversion of individuals who practiced magic and sorcery, Paul and his followers led a burning of magical and supernatural books done “in the sight of all”. Following the book burning, the account says this happened “so the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily”. Within Paul’s context, practicing magic arts was seen as a visible threat and limitation to the conversion of others in the area. In other words, the simple presence of deceptive behaviour and magic arts prohibited the effective conversion of the entire community.

These are just a couple of Scriptures I believe address or lend a Biblical perspective on Halloween. But, for a more contemporary or balanced perspective, perhaps we should look at what Christians believe about Halloween today?

Christians and Halloween

It’s important to note that perspectives on Halloween can differ widely among Christians, and the approach taken often depends on personal beliefs, cultural traditions, local church traditions, and denominational teachings. Ultimately, there are I believe, three common responses to Halloween in the church today. The rejection, acceptance, or redemption of Halloween.

Rejection of Halloween:

Most of the debate surrounding the celebration of Halloween focuses on the celebration’s unhealthy fascination with evil and there are things about Halloween that are clearly Anti-Christian. Despite the distance from its period of origin, Halloween still remains connected to paganism. Going further, some of those otherworldly spiritual connections that are aggressively pursued during this time align with Satanism. Additionally, Halloween’s premise includes an intentional and public display of imagery, mischief, and behaviour generally looked down upon any other time of the year, and this is why many Christians today choose to abstain from Halloween entirely, believing that it is incompatible with their faith.

All things considered, this leaves Christians in a difficult place. On one hand, there are elements of Halloween that are harmless and fun. While on another, Halloween contains sinister influences and promotes behaviours that have direct correlation with the occult and activities condemned in Scripture.

Acceptance of Halloween:

Some Christians however, particularly in the Western hemisphere, choose to participate in Halloween festivities, seeing it as a harmless fun event for children. After all, dressing up in a costume and handing out sweets, or asking for sweets, on October 31 is not a sin, nor is it inherently evil. There are others however, who say that demonizing Halloween is an attempt on the part of some Christians to remove themselves from the world. Ignoring Halloween or celebrating it only with believers is not exactly an evangelical approach. Scripture says that believers are supposed to “become all things to all men so that by all possible means” they might save some (1 Corinthians 9:22).

However, they would also say that if Christians are going to take part in Halloween, our behaviour and presence should mirror our belief in God who conquered sin and death to save us.

Redemption of Halloween:

Some Christians believe this celebration can be redeemed by engaging their community with the Gospel, offer alternatives that emphasize Christian values, or use it as an occasion for evangelism. This has been the position of the church for centuries. This group of Christians see this time as an opportunity to teach their children about discernment, the difference between good and evil and the values of their faith. Some Christian individuals and groups engage in prayer and spiritual warfare activities on Halloween to counter the dark spiritual forces whose intention is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).

In conclusion, as you will notice, the way Halloween is viewed and celebrated within Christian communities vary significantly. Ultimately, the decision to participate in Halloween or not is a personal one. However, I personally believe that as Christians, we have to ask why we are here in this world? Are we here to live in a safe, protected environment, guarded against the evils of the world, or are we called to reach out to a world filled with dangers and be the light of Christ? And how do we reach out to unbelievers in a way that will attract them to faith in Jesus Christ? Halloween puts people on our doorsteps, literally, providing an opportunity to come against spiritual forces of evil and bring people into God’s glorious light. As with all things, this holiday is a great opportunity to focus on Jesus, His victory over evil, and to develop new relationships and share our faith with people. May God bless, anoint, and give you the courage and strength for this endeavour.