HALLOWEEN: RECEIVE, REJECT, OR REDEEM?

Throughout my ministry there have been people who have come to me and asked my opinion concerning the subject of Halloween.  Often I receive a text message or email on Halloween from my friends that say “Happy Reformation Day!”  My own wife, whom I love dearly, cannot stand Halloween.  She despises this holiday with a passion.

The question has always been raised in my mind: How should Christians respond to Halloween?  Should we receive the holiday, reject the holiday altogether or can we redeem it?

First, let's talk about some fun facts concerning Halloween:

·      Halloween is celebrated by millions of people each year worldwide.

·      Halloween is the Second highest grossing commercial holiday only to Christmas.

·      A quarter of all candy sold annually in the USA is for Halloween night.

As we consider Halloween let us remember that this day carries with it a lot of baggage.  Few holidays have a history as strange as that of Halloween.    One could stand to make a case that this day is a celebration of Reformation Day!  Often it is referred to as the Eve of “All Saints Day.”    You might say it is not Halloween but rather it is Hallelujah! 495 years ago this Halloween a little monk (Martin Luther) nailed 95 Protestations to the church door in Wittenberg.

At the same time, Halloween commemorates activities, ideas, and philosophies that the church has been at war with since its inception.  It is the night when ghost and goblins walk abroad, luring young minds into a darkened world.  It's hard for me, and others to understand this curious mixture of both light and darkness, good and evil.

Halloween: It’s Origins

Generally speaking it is fairly agreed-upon that Halloween had its origins in Celtic festivals.  These festivals marked the end of summer.  In the Celtic festivals there was a popular festival called the Festival of Samhain.   There are two schools of thought on this festival.  One suggests that the basis of this festival was human sacrifice.   Others want to suggest that the origins of Halloween arise not from human sacrifice but from a festival of the dead celebrating supernatural intensities bringing on the onset of winter. 

Whichever origin you want to take, I think both are pretty dangerous.  Here is what has happened in our culture: Halloween has been rejected as demonic or pagan, and today it is relatively accepted as harmless fun for children, yet we continue to let our children dress in ghost and goblins and skulls and skeletons. 

The British culture made some contributions to Halloween, as we know it.  In fact most of the actual traditions and practices of the holiday developed out of the medieval Christian holy day known to us as All Saints Day.   In the early 4^th century people begin to practice the celebration to remember the martyrs of the early Roman persecutions.  However by the 9^th century, festivals begin to shift in their focus.  The original intent was being lost, and almost forgotten.  By the end of the 12^th century, All Saints Day was a well-established moment in the Christian year, and by the end of the Middle Ages this day was among the most important days.  In fact the church had declared it one of the six days of obligation, marked by high masses and prayers.  It had become a holiday that affirmed the collective claims that the dead had on the living.  The masses also served as insurance against hauntings from ghost.  These ghosts were generally understood to be dead relatives who visited their kin to rectify wrongs committed against them while they were alive.  As night fell All Saints Day had arrived.  The bells would ring for the souls in purgatory; these were people who were in spiritual suspension.  An intermediary space said to be between heaven and hell.  On this day Saints would pray prayers and offer penance for their sins before the Day of Judgment.  Churches would make sure that their bells were in good shape and in working order.   It was an effort to ward off the demonic spirits.

Over time several rituals were added to the celebration of the mass.  In England churches purchased extra candles and torches for processions during All Saints Day celebrations.  Bonfires were built in graveyards to ward off any coming spirits.

After the Reformation in the 16th century the rituals of All Saints Day came under attack from the Protestants.  Because of the association with the doctrines of purgatory, Saints and prayers for the dead the reformers denounced purgatory and rejected the idea that the living could influence the condition of the dead by their prayers.  The reformers also rejected the belief that Saints could function as mediators between humans and Christ.   Various Protestant leaders such as Thomas Cranmer tried to abolish Halloween practices and rituals, but the Catholic leaders made sure it died a slow death and faithfully tired to revive them.

Nevertheless, by the end of Elizabeth's reign official practices surrounding All Saints Day (Halloween) and Hallowmass had been eliminated.  However, the more popular customs that grew out of this continued among the common people.  It had now become ingrained in the culture. 

Over time, Halloween traditions developed apart from any religious connotations.  Although the initial religious celebration had in mind to remember those who lost their lives during immense persecution, what grew from that practice was diversity in ideas and a declining fortune for the holiday. 

As you can see, Christians should be very thoughtful in their approach to Halloween. This is but a brief overview of the issues at hand.  In Scotland and Ireland and England Halloween was observed throughout the 19^th century and into the 20^th century.  During these times there was immigration to North America and with it guess what?  They brought Halloween.  It had become a strong tradition of disguising and pranks, and Halloween continues to evolve today in the world we live in.

Halloween for the follower of Christ:

So, should the Christian reject, receive or redeemed the day?  Halloween does have an uneasy history with the church.  And rightly so, Christians have not always been sure what to do with the holiday.  Is Halloween redeemable, does it cause us to compromise our faith, are there ramifications concerning our religious purity? Or is there an opportunity for us to emphasize certain aspects of our own faith within the holiday?

There are 3 positions as I see it:

1.     Halloween is “the Devil Day” and we should reject it.

The Christian church has tried to deal with Halloween in many ways throughout the centuries it has been rejected as demonic and pagan holiday.  And for many, this is the only option.  When the most recent examples comes from a well-known individual, Pat Robertson, who called Halloween the “Festival of the Devil.” He suggested that participating in Halloween was a mistake for Christians and wrong.

In rejecting this holiday out right, I think Robertson and others fail to ask the question:  To what extent does something's evolution from pagan roots prohibit our participation?  Albert Mohler, makes an observation that there has been a shift in Halloween from a pagan ritual to merely a commercial fascination with the dark side. 

I agree that dressing up, as witches and goblins is a tricky and risky issue, I ask people among our church not to dress and scary costumes.  But to think that putting on a scary mask or makeup opens us up to the dark supernatural side is a bit naïve, it would take a lot more than that to open up some dark experience with the enemy.  Still, I do believe however, that we as parents should be careful that not to promote or cultivate a mindset that would begin to grow in a young child's mind in that direction.   That my friend is where my fear for Halloween lies!  It's not that one costume on one night is going to ruin the child forever, but that it begins perhaps a curiosity, into the darker aspects of that evil reality. The war is between light and darkness and we need to be careful not to subject our young minds to the evil influence.

I do see a problem with the blanket rejection position of Halloween.  First, it is very hard, if not impossible, for those who insist on rejecting certain holidays to be consistent.  Should we reject other holidays because there is a propensity toward excess, or roots in something ungodly?  If that were the case then we would have to reject Thanksgiving!  How horrible would that be?  I mean after all gluttony is a sin, and who on Thanksgiving not stuff their stomachs with too much food and pie?  We would also have to reject Christmas, as it is today, because the idea of going into debt for Christmas is really against what the Scripture teaches but it is what the culture pushes. Not to mention the culture commercialism of almost all the holidays.  Even Easter with the bunny would be in question. 

The second major issue that I see with a blanket rejection of Halloween, is that this assumes that the evil world will taint the faith of the Christian.  I would ask you to read Mark 7:21-23.  Jesus seems to make the point that the fruit of our lives whether tied to holiness or sin is found within our heart.  If our hearts are prone toward sin, than sin we will!  Sin indeed corrupts, but the sin we should worry most about is not what is in the world, but it's the sin in our hearts that matters most.  We see the reject position falsely assumes that sin is what we do rather than who we are.

2.     Halloween is innocent therefore I should receive it.

To accept Halloween as innocent is both ridiculous and foolish.  I think if you have even the most basic informed understanding of the history of Halloween, you will be concerned, and cautious in your practices.   Light is at war with the darkness, and we cannot stick our heads in the sand and ignore that fight. 

3.     Halloween does have its issues and we should seek to redeem it.

Just how Christians ought to feel about redeeming Halloween is and will always be a tricky subject.  In order to navigate the waters effectively and successfully, we must distinguish between the cultural aspects of Halloween and religious aspects of the holiday.

In the past the church has tried to redeem the religious aspects of the holiday by adding it to the churches calendar.  And as a pastor, this issue is a real struggle, because not everyone shares the level of knowledge, or the desire to redeem this day.  I truly believe there should be no pressure placed upon others to participate on this day, and for those of us who do commence to engage this day, we should do so wisely  and with caution.  We should thoughtfully walk through this day fighting for truth and being light.

I believe Martin Luther was wise as he a reformer concerned with Halloween’s association with the evil spirits.  He said on one occasion: “The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield the text of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him for he cannot bear scorn.” 

Perhaps instead of fleeing the darkness in fear, we should view Halloween as an opportunity to mock the enemy who has no power over us because any power he possesses, has been broken by the power of the cross!