It's the most controversial time of the year! That's right, my Christian brothers and sisters, it is time to battle with each other over whether or not the holidays should be celebrated like Jesus said! To point out the obvious, that was clearly sarcasm. However, is it not the trend within the Christian community in the to argue about these things anytime any major holiday approaches? It has become an absurd tradition within the churches at large that I have had the misfortune of encountering since I can remember. I am not here to argue about if any holidays should be celebrated or not, as I believe the Bible is clear that it is a matter of conscience, even though some have come to the conclusion that it is a sin issue in error. I instead am going to make a case for the holidays, and particularly focus on Halloween as it is quickly approaching and is the most controversial of them all. I hope to encourage my fellow Christians who participate in the holidays, particularly Halloween, as well as hopefully bring some understanding to those who question why devout Christians do from my own point of view.
🎃Beware you're in for a scare🎃
The month of October is filled with 31 Days of Halloween themed activities such as the spooky themed crafts, haunted houses, 31 days of horror films, etc., and it is tons of fun. I enjoy looking at the costume designs of the trick-or-treaters on Halloween night. Whether young or old, as long as I have candy, the trick-or-treaters are welcome at my door. The main themes of Halloween are monsters, death, and fear, and it is because of these themes that I bring my first reason for why Halloween is a good thing to participate in for Christians, which is introducing these very real concepts to children in a way they can understand. How can a Christian do this?
Let us begin with
monsters. What images are conjured up when one considers monsters for Halloween? We can easily envision the vampire, the werewolf, the mummy, and movie monsters like Freddy Kruger, and the list goes on for the number of monsters we consider during this time of year. Yet there are real monsters that children have to lookout for, from the playground bully to the adult with evil intentions. For parents it is harrowing to think of the real dangers, and as Christians it is these very anxieties that have us pleading with God for the souls and lives of our little ones. Halloween is a great time to address the ways in which children can handle situations where people mean them harm. It is a good chance to teach them when to fight and when to flee. A couple of good Bible lessons for this topic that I recommend are from King David's life. King David was brave when he fought against Goliath (read
1 Samuel 17), but he had to flee when King Saul was trying to harm him (read
1 Samuel 20).
Follow me into the topic of
death, which is one of the most difficult subjects to teach a child. If they have not been exposed to death via loss of a loved one. Halloween could be a great time to introduce the child to the concept. For us Christians we can explain where death came from, and why it is here, and most importantly that death will not be around forever. Death for the Christian is a curse that has been around for thousands of years, but it has not always been this way. The Bible teaches us that there was a time in history where sin and death was not in the world, but our ancestors Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and so the curse of sin and death (read
Genesis 1-3). Christ promises us a future in which sin and death will not exist. On the day of the Lord, when everything will be set right. Those who died before His return are coming back with Him, and their bodies will be resurrected from the earth and transformed into incorruptible bodies, and we will dwell with Christ in the newly transformed world for eternity (read
1 Corinthians 15)
Lastly, let us look at
fear. Nothing says Halloween season like attempting to see how scared one will be. Thus, making Halloween the perfect time to teach children that they do not have to be afraid of any challenge life brings them as God is in control of the outcome. The perfect lesson from the Bible on this is Queen Esther's story (read the
Book of Esther), as she had to muster the courage to go before King Xerxes to request mercy for the life of all the Jews including herself. Fear is for those who do not have faith in God when they are taken from this world, for their fate is God's judgment against their wickedness in Hell for all eternity (read
Revelation 20:11-15).
🎃 Shining The Light 🎃
Now that we have covered the major three lessons that Christians who participate in Halloween can teach their children, there is yet another reason why I am for the celebration of Halloween. Before sharing the next reason that I have for Christians celebrating Halloween, I feel it is important to share a bit of my own background concerning the holiday. I was raised by devout Christian parents. They were both saved as young adults, and also married and began having children in those same early adult years. As any devotee of the religion, they saw it as imperative to raise their children in the truth, but as any Conservative Christian family there were some teachings that came from fundamental legalism that crept into our home, and thus Halloween was banned in our home for many years. I can recall how every year the trick-or-treating would begin, and we would all hide in the house with the lights off to inform the neighborhood that there was no candy at our house. The first time I recall trick-or-treating, it was when I was above the age of ten and we went to my maternal grandmother's neighborhood. It was a great deal of fun as I went along with my youngest brother, and because everyone saw him as a short and adorable child, we racked up more candy than our other siblings. We did not participate in Halloween again until I was in my early 20's. In my 20's I passed out candy and Bible tracks for the first time, and I thoroughly enjoyed the joy on everyone's faces. Again, in my 20's when my little buddies (my niece and nephew who are like children to me) were old enough we went trick-or-treating. It is one of my happiest memories to have experienced all of the joy and the fun with them. When I look back on those joyous years that we did participate I sometimes find it odd at times that we did so little. Of course, as an adult I understand that my parents themselves had to struggle against their own beliefs concerning the holiday. Their minds had to change in light of what the Scriptures showed them as much as it would for anyone else on any topic. The many years of hiding with the lights off in order to not "participate in Paganism", as so many Christians espouse, we were quite literally hiding our light from the world. The year that I passed out candy with Gospel tracks was the true example of what Halloween could be, and it has stayed with me, which leads to the second reason I believe it is a wonderful reason for Christians to participate in the holiday. Halloween is the perfect holiday to spread the Gospel of Christ to friends and neighbors. Unlike other major holidays where Christians try to invite people to the church (and hopefully they show up), on Halloween people are literally lining up at your door. Why would we as Christians not take the opportunity to hand out Gospel tracks with the candy, or strike up the conversation about Christ with those who come to our doors?
I have heard the arguments that my parents held to, and that many other Christians still proclaim every year to this very day. Any short amount of time spent in Christian circles during Autumn, and one easily can discover a slew of Christians espousing that "Halloween is a Satanic Holiday!" or "Ex-satanist and ex-witches tell us it is a holiday for the Devil!" or "You're leaving the door open for Demons!" or any other amount of hulla baloo one can think of. The arguments have been spoken ad nauseum, and I for one am unconvinced of what they have said as enough to not participate in Halloween. Even if Satanist and Witches use the day for evil, the majority of people who celebrate Halloween are not involved in human sacrifice and black magic spells. By that logic, if someone claiming to be an ex-satanist or ex-witch says spells are cast on Thursdays and people who work on Thursdays are actively participating in Pagan work rituals, will you then avoid going to work? As for me, as long as no one else is paying my bills I am going to work. The adversary has no power, and I am unconcerned for what people say about them, because my God has all the power. Satan is an ant under the sole of Christ's foot! Praise His name!
While this post has been focused on Halloween, let me make it clear I have this same stance for any holiday. Even the Apostle Paul when seeing the altar to an unknown God did not shy away from using that altar to bring up the Gospel and lead souls to Jesus (read
Acts 17:22-34). So, I admonish my Christian brothers and sisters who have had questions about if they should or should not celebrate Halloween to please consider what I have written. All things can be used to the glory of God, and this includes holidays. I understand my arguments may not have changed anyone's mind, and neither would I force anyone to believe that we must be united on this. I do hope that I have given some light into the situation that may help some understand, as well as encourage others. We are free in Christ to participate in holidays or not to. I pray to see the day that we stop arguing over such foolish things in the Church and love each other despite our different stances because we are family in Christ, destined to the same eternity with Him.
Peace In Christ Always,
~Mrs. Sarchet~
