Is Halloween For Christians

No one can deny that Halloween is mainly focused on fear, darkness, monsters, the occult and violence. Are these the kinds of things that we should be exposing our children or ourselves to? Paul said that Christians should "...have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." (Ephesians 5:11) He also wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 that we are to "Abstain from all appearance of evil."

Halloween is a holiday that glorifies that which is dark, that which is diabolical. The Bible tells us to "shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9). Jesus wants to lift us above the paganism and wickedness of this world (John 17:14-15). How are we to let our lights shine (Matthew 5:14-16) if we are relishing in a custom that promotes darkness? "And what communion hath light with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14). Our delight and meditation should be on that which is pure, lovely, and virtuous (Philippians 4:8).

The Bible is clear: God is opposed to occultish practices (Deuteronomy 18:10-12, Galatians 5:20, Revelation 21:8). You can also read in Acts 19:18-19 about Christians who renounced all dealings with the occult after they accepted Jesus as their Savior.

Therefore, it is inappropriate for Christians to celebrate Satan's high holy day or to celebrate with those who practice witchcraft and use occult symbols such as witches, black cats, ghosts, jack-o'-lanterns, etc. This time can be used to make children aware that Halloween is an alliance with the powers of darkness and that it is now our privilege to live as children of light.As believers, we can take this opportunity to provide a creative alternative to this celebration of darkness.

In ancient Israel, the majority of Jewish festivals occurred at the same time as pagan festivals. God did not simply tell his people not to engage in pagan festivals, He provided an alternative. During every major pagan festival, the Hebrew people would take part in a God-given alternative, a festival celebrating the same general subject but with a completely different focus.

As a parent of young children, you have a responsibility to follow the biblical admonition to protect and train them with Scriptural principles. Children need to be taught that there is no such thing as a "cute" witch or a "friendly ghost". Scripture is very clear that Christians are not to celebrate pagan rituals. The Halloween season is a golden opportunity to make this clear to the children.