Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

Before I begin, this is a study to draw your own conclusion from. Anything you see with “~...~” is my personal opinion. The rest is Scripture and information from articles cited at the end of today’s blog. If you find something while reading that you do not agree with, please check out the citations and study more into it.

When you think of Halloween what comes to mind?

Dressing up as vampires, princesses, and Disney characters to go trick-or-treating or to a party? Pumpkin carving and decorating with cobwebs, spiders, and witch’s cauldrons? Going to haunted houses and watching horror movies?

Halloween’s origin began as Samhain (pronounced sow-win), which was first celebrated a few hundred years after the death of Jesus, and All Saints’ Day, which was started by Pope Boniface IV in 609 A.D., merged sometime in the 9th century and slowly transitioned into what we know as Halloween today.

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What do we know about Samhain?

“Samhain is a pagan religious festival originating from an ancient Celtic spiritual tradition.”

It was their belief that during this time the barrier between this world and the “Otherworld” was worn thin. Aos Sí (spirits like “banshees”) could pass through during this time, which meant those celebrating Samhain would place offerings for the Aos Sí to keep their anger from being kindled. They also would disguise themselves as “one of them”, often as witches or demons. Along with the belief of Aos Sí being able to pass through the veil, they believed that dead ancestors would pass through.

“To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes.”

Nowadays, Samhain is still practiced just as it was almost two thousand years ago. Instead of Celtics being the main believers, it has become Wiccans who primarily observe Halloween as the traditional Samhain festival.

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The Catholic church incorporated this festival into a day of remembrance for the dead and saints. This is when Pope Boniface IV claimed the celebration as All Saints Day (Also called All Souls Day and All Hallows.)

“For the souls in purgatory, waiting for eternal happiness and for meeting the Beloved is a source of suffering, because of the punishment due to sin which separates them from God. But there is also the certitude that once the time of purification is over, the soul will go to meet the One it desires.” “pray fervently for the dead, for their family members and for all our brothers and sisters who have died, that they may obtain the remission of the punishments due to their sins and may hear the Lord’s call” -Letter of Pope John Paul II for Millennium of All Souls' Day

You can find All Souls Day also called Day of the Dead or Festival of the Dead in other cultures.

Britannica states, “All Souls’ Day, in Roman Catholicism, a day for commemoration of all the faithful departed, those baptized Christians who are believed to be in purgatory because they died with the guilt of lesser sins on their souls.”

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Samhain and All Souls Day throughout the years turned into more of what we know of as Halloween.

“On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.”

Sounds much more like our modern day Halloween.

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What does the modern day Halloween look like?

Today, you will find many traditions in this holiday that still hold dark roots from Samhain and even All Souls Day.

“Adults may celebrate by watching horror films, holding costume parties or creating haunted houses or graveyards.

Many children dress up in fancy costumes and visit other homes in the neighborhood. At each house, they demand sweets, snacks or a small gift. If they do not get this, they threaten to do some harm to the inhabitants of the house. This is known as playing 'trick-or-treat' and is supposed to happen in a friendly spirit, with no nasty or mean tricks being carried out. However, if your children take part, it is important to accompany them and to check their 'treats' to make sure they are safe to eat or play with.

Some families carve lanterns with 'scary' faces out of pumpkins or other vegetables or decorate their homes and gardens in Halloween style. These were traditionally intended to ward off evil spirits. If you are at home on Halloween, it is a good idea to have a bowl of small presents or sweets to offer to anyone who knocks on your door. This will help you to please the little spirits in your neighborhood!”

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Besides traditions, the image Halloween portrays is also dark.

“There are various symbols associated with Halloween. These include the spooks, ghosts and walking skeletons that represent the contact between the spiritual and physical world and between the living and the dead. Human figures that are often represented on Halloween are witches and wizards, who are seen to have the power to contact the spirit world. Bats, black cats and spiders are often connected with this holiday. These animals are associated with the night and darkness and often accompany witches and wizards.

There are also a range of objects associated with Halloween. These include blood, fire, gravestones, pumpkins, bones and skulls. They all have connections with death, the spirit world or protecting property from evil spirits. Many of these objects are now available in stores as decorations for the Halloween season.”

~If you type in Samhain or Halloween in Google and look at the photos, it doesn’t look like something a Christian should take part in.~

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Let’s take a look at what the Bible says.

1 Corinthians 10:21 “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.”

3 John 1:11 “Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.”

1 Thessalonians 5:22 “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”

1 Peter 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;”

Ephesians 4:27 “Neither give place to the devil.”

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After reading the origin of Halloween, the roots from witchcraft and paganism that still shine through in our modern celebrations, and what the Bible says about evil, devils, and darkness- do you believe this is a holiday Christians should take part in?

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What is Halloween and should Christians celebrate it? (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/it-wrong-celebrate-halloween

History.com Editors. (2018, April 06). Samhain. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/samhain

Samhain. (2020, October 29). Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain

History.com Editors. (2009, November 18). Halloween 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween

Halloween. (2020, October 27). Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

Religions - Christianity: All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. (2011, October 20). Retrieved October 30, 2020, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/allsaints_1.shtml

All Souls' Day. (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/All-Souls-Day-Christianity

Halloween in the United States. (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/halloween

John Paul II. (1998). Letter to the Abbot of Cluny (June 2, 1998): John Paul II. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/letters/1998/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_19980602_cluny.html