Halloween & the thoughtful Christian
What to do, what to do
What the advertisers call "spooky season" is upon us, with today being the first of October. Stores are already packed with Halloween candy and costumes, ghosts and bats and skeletons. Some Christians reject Halloween as synonymous with evil. Why is that? And what is the best way for Christians to respond to the holiday? I'm glad you asked!
How it started
The pagan Celts of ancient Ireland celebrated the new year on November 1. So, much like we celebrate the night before New Year's Day, they celebrated the night before (October 31) as well. They called it "Samhain" — a night when they believed the dead in the form of ghosts could return to walk the earth. The Celts built huge bonfires, dressed in costumes to disguise themselves from the ghosts, and made lanterns out of gourds (like pumpkins, although they likely used different gourds). The fires attracted many insects which attracted bats.
When the influence of the Catholic church began extending into pagan lands, sometimes the two cultures influenced each other. The Catholics celebrated All Saints' Day on November 1 — also known as "all hallows" — which was an occasion to remember the dead who supposedly were now in heaven. So, Samhain eventually came to be known as "all hallow's eve" or Halloween. And the bats, ghosts, costumes, and jack-o-lanterns made of gourds — the trappings of Samhain — continued to be part of the celebration. The origin of trick-or-treating is not entirely clear, but it seems to be a mix of pagan and Catholic traditions as well.
How it’s going
History is important. But so is understanding what is happening now. In the U.S., Halloween is primarily about one thing, and that is trick-or-treating. Kids love dressing up in costumes and getting free candy, of course. But trick-or-treating is even more driven by commercial candy manufacturers who make a great deal of their profit from Halloween-related sales of their highly processed sweets. Which is the reason we start seeing the Halloween candy displays about ten minutes after school starts in the fall, if not earlier. (Or course all holidays in America are exploited and commercialized, but you know that.)
Few talk about what I would argue is one of the biggest evils associated with the American cultural practice of celebrating Halloween — the glorification of highly processed terrible-for-everyone garbage candy. I've seen the arguments that Halloween is somehow "Satan's day" and a peak time for witchcraft and other evil doings, and although it is certain that every day on the calendar belongs to God and none of them belong to anyone else, including the devil, I don't deny that people could choose October 31 in particular to celebrate evil. However, for the vast majority of Americans, it's about strolling the neighborhood in costume and collecting said garbage candy.
So what's a Christian family to do?
Our highest calling, of course, is to love our neighbor. And Halloween brings those neighbors to our door, literally. What if we prayerfully and thoughtfully considered how we can bless those neighbors on this one day, with an eye to building relationships?
I am not talking about handing out Christian tracts instead of candy. Don't be that person. I am talking about eagerly seeking an opportunity to connect with at least one if not more families in your neighborhood with whom you can begin to build relationships. This, in fact, is why God has you where you live (see more on this HERE).
Let me tell you about what one family did for Halloween. They set up a pole tent in the driveway, hung lights from it, and under the tent placed their BBQ grill, on which they cooked hot dogs. A table held buns and condiments, a bowl of Halloween candy, and jello shots for the adults. They publicized this on the neighborhood webpage a day or two before Halloween.
To be clear, they weren't Christians seeking to love their neighbor. They were seeking to promote the father's business. But how might we promote our Father's business, similarly? Ideas:
If you have access to one, a pole tent in the driveway with lights strung on it is very welcoming on a dark night!
Grilling dogs wasn’t a bad idea — another might be a big crockpot filled with chili, with paper cups and spoons for serving
A hot drink station with cocoa, cider, tea, etc.
Fresh made pumpkin bread or oatmeal cookies in little treat bags as an alternative to commercial candy
Set out lawn chairs and invite people to sit down and rest for a moment - and if they do, introduce yourselves and get to know their family
Let your kids dress up and pass out the goodies (and if you do allow your kids to trick-or-treat, one of you can hold down the fort while the other takes the kids around the neighborhood)
Let people know a day or two ahead that you welcome them to come by and "sit a spell" (as they say in the South)
This will cost you time, effort, and money. But it is a ministry investment in the lives of precious people God has placed in your neighborhood. You can't love them if you don't make an effort to know them, and you can't know them if you never even meet them.
You could also just set out lawn chairs toward the end of the driveway where you will be able to actually see and converse with the adults as you pass out candy. Compliment the kids' costumes. Ask the adults where they live in the 'hood. They won't linger long without a reason to stop at your house, but at least you'll physically meet some of them.
A few do's & don'ts by way of suggestion
DO wear a costume. Bible costumes are fun. So are a lot of others. Don't be anything that will scare children. Don't be a witch. Don't be the devil (duh).
DON'T hand out Christian literature that talks about how evil Halloween is. In fact, don't hand out Christian literature. I heard someone say once that if you feel you absolutely must hand out some kind of Christian tract, you best be handing them out with full size candy bars 🙂
DON'T make it all about your kids and their candy. Recruit them to be part of your family blessing the neighborhood, whatever you end up doing.
If you think Halloween is evil, don't hunker down in your house with all the lights out. Unless you live somewhere with no trick-or-treaters, get out there and redeem it. Halloween is an opportunity for your family to bless others and begin forging relationships to lost people in need of Jesus, all by being a good neighbor.
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