As Christ followers, all we do should be to the glory of God.
This seems easy when the holiday is Thanksgiving or Christmas. Even participating in observance holidays, such as Memorial Day or Veteran's Day, is usually given little thought in Christian circles. But what about when Halloween comes around?
Should Christians celebrate Halloween?
Due to the origins of Halloween, many Christians struggle with their participation level. The pagan roots of Halloween give Christians an added layer of consideration. After all, Scripture tells us to “take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness . . .” (Ephesians 5:11). Yet, the reality is that we live in a post-Christian culture.
Maybe instead of celebrating Halloween, we can seek to redeem it.
Scripture has some principles we can apply to this cultural phenomenon, allowing Christians to be a light for Christ without compromise.
While not the same cultural tension the early Roman believers faced, the writer of Romans gives us a roadmap for navigating our response to Halloween. In Romans 14:5-6, we read:
“One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.”
This passage could be used to inform participation in Halloween or abstain from doing so; yet the key principles are clear. Halloween is not really a special day to Christians – it is a phenomenon brought upon us by secular culture. And, it provides a choice in how to respond.
Being bold in our faith means engaging the culture.
For the Buckland Family, avoiding Halloween by hiding in the basement with the lights out and making our own family fun left us feeling uncomfortable. What were we teaching our kids about engaging culture and being confident in our faith with this approach?
We want our children to be bold in their faith. We should be bold in our faith. Hiding from our neighbors is not very bold.
God has not given us a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7), and if we are indeed clothed with the armor of God as described in Ephesians 6, we are equipped to stand and engage our culture at any time.
We can use Halloween as an opportunity to be a light.
Based on the principles above, we have the freedom to participate in Halloween. We can dress up in fun costumes and give the best candy in the neighborhood. We can share in the joy of the empty-nesters who love seeing all the littles (and not-so-littles) in those fun costumes. We can have a driveway firepit and talk to the neighbors as they pass by with their children. These are ways we can be a light on what many want to be a dark day.
There is no need to hide when we can take what the Enemy wants to use for evil and use it for good.
Instead of canceling Halloween, let's redeem it!
Ephesians 5:16 tells us to make the best use of our time–to redeem the time–because the days are evil. As Christians, we ought to be the brightest lights in our neighborhoods with how we love and engage others. We can practice this on October 31. Together, instead of canceling Halloween, let's redeem it!
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