Question:

I have a friend who is a Christian. She asked me why she should not celebrate Halloween. I know it is not of God, but I need to be able to show her from a Bible prospective.

I come from a culture where Halloween is not celebrated and it is not hard for me to stay away from the whole Halloween scene. I would like to get some scriptures to back up my belief. I am sure the Plain Truth has an issue on this topic. If so, please let me know how I can get a copy. Thank you and God bless you.

- Iva

Answer:

Dear Iva,

The Bible does not speak directly about Halloween. Halloween has become more of a North American observance, not celebrated in other areas. And it has become an enormous force for marketing - with costume rentals, restaurants, grocery stores, agriculture, and many other areas of the economy very involved. Halloween, as far as we know, started with the Celts in Great Britain.

Many Christians are understandably uncomfortable with participating (and having their children participate) in a holiday that glorifies and emphasizes the occult, Satan, the demons, evil, etc. Many modern practices in North America have become pagan - that is, the practices and behaviors in which people engage at this time.

But we need to make a distinction - Halloween is very different from other days and observances that Christians have taken from the pagans, and reinvested with the gospel.

For example, Christmas and Easter both come from pagan origins - in terms of the specific days and dates. Christians don't celebrate the dates - but the meaning, which is not at all what the pagans celebrated at those times. In fact, that is the very reason history tells us that early Christians decided to use these times. Of course there is no way that the Christian practice of worshipping and honoring Christ at both these times can be pagan - although a few still object to some of the forms that may be used.

Early Christians knew that they needed a time when they celebrated the birth of the Lord as well as his resurrection. Because paganism was such a force to be reckoned with, they decided to meet these two dates and times head-on, "borrow" them, and win them for Christ. There are some Christians who do not "keep" Christmas and/or Easter in the sense that they do not like the emphasis on Santa Claus, materialism and greed, the bunny rabbits, the eggs, etc. But if they are Christians they do know and they do celebrate, in some form, the birth of the Lord and his resurrection from the grave.

Halloween also has pagan origins - but there is not the same kind of evidence that Christianity has tried to redeem this day. Nov. 1 is All Saints Day in the Catholic tradition, and there is a link to the basic theme of death and the grave. Oct. 31 is Reformation Day in the Protestant tradition, for it was on that day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Neither All Saints Day nor Reformation Day is exclusive to North American, of course. And neither are attempts to directly appropriate Halloween.

Most Christians believe that most of the practices associated with Halloween itself should be avoided because of the pagan, occultic and ghoulish kinds of behavior that are encouraged. Some people do try to redeem the night by carving a cross in a pumpkin or the name of Jesus. Some Christians sponsor a Harvest Party as an alternative for children. Some allow their children to dress up in costumes that do not glorify death, evil, and the underworld. But most Christians do not completely celebrate or involve themselves in all of the activities of Halloween.

I hope this helps!

In Christ,

Greg Albrecht