Halloween is celebrated by millions of people in multiple countries as a fun time for kids by putting on costumes and going door-to-door to get candy. But it is also known as a time of witches, ghouls, goblins, and ghosts. On the one hand, some Christians see Halloween as a harmless time of fun and on the other, a ghastly and demonically inspired night that should be avoided.
As Christians, there is a lot of debate on whether or not we should participate in Halloween. Is it alright to go trick-or-treating? Can we dress our kids up in costumes and send them out door-to-door? If we do any of this, are we celebrating an evil holiday?
Halloween’s Origins
The word Halloween is derived from the term, “All Hallows Eve,” which occurred on Oct. 31. “All Saints Day” or “All Hallows Day” was the next Day, Nov. 1st. Therefore, Halloween is the eve of All Saints Day.
Some say that the origins of Halloween can be traced back to ancient Ireland and Scotland around the time of Christ. On Oct. 31st the Celts celebrated the day because it was when animal herders would move their animals into barns and pens and prepare to ride out the winter. This was also the time of the crop harvests. This annual change of season and lifestyle was marked by a festival called Samhain, pronounced ‘sow-ane’ which means ‘end of summer.’ Sow rhymes with cow.
There was much superstition associated with this time of change, including the belief in fairies and that the spirits of the dead wandered around looking for bodies to inhabit. Since the living did not want to be possessed by spirits (only non-Christians can be possessed by a demon because the saved are indwelt by God the Holy Spirit), they dressed up in costumes and paraded around the streets making loud noises to confuse and frighten the spirits away. In addition, the new year began for the Celts on Nov. 1. So, the day of Samhain was believed to be a day that was in neither the year past or the year to come. Since it was in between, chaos ruled on that day. Often, people would pull practical jokes on others as a result.
Later, around the 5th century, as the Catholic Church developed and moved into the area, instead of adding a new day to celebrate, it took over the Samhain celebration. Nov. 1st became “All Hallows Eve” where all the saints of the Catholic church were honored. The Catholic church incorporated many pagan holidays into the religion and still celebrate them today. Also, they renamed pagan statues that are in Vatican City, with biblical names. The warning to not do these things has never been changed by God, only man. A later custom developed where people would go door-to-door on Nov. 2 requesting small cakes in exchange for the promise of saying prayers for some of the dead relatives of each house. This arose out of the religious belief that the dead were in a state of limbo before they went to heaven or hell and that the prayers of the living could influence the outcome, which contradicts Hebrews 9:27, once we die then we are judged. This may have been the precursor to Trick-or-Treat.
The Jack-O-Lantern apparently comes from Irish folklore about a man named Jack who tricked the devil into climbing a tree. Once the devil was in the tree, Jack carved a cross on the trunk preventing the devil from coming down. The devil then made a deal with Jack not to allow Jack into hell after he died if only Jack would remove the cross from the tree. After Jack died, he couldn’t go to hell; and he couldn’t go to heaven. He was forced to wander around the earth with a single candle to light his way. The candle was placed in a turnip to keep it burning longer. When the Irish came to America in the 1800’s, they adopted the pumpkin instead of the turnip. Along with these traditions, they brought the idea that the black cat was considered by some to be reincarnated spirits who had prophetic abilities.
So, it appears that the origins of Halloween are a mixture of old Celtic pagan rituals superstition and early Catholic traditions. You can’t mix evil with the good of God’s Word and expect Him to agree with it.
Another thing is the Jack-o-lantern was used by pagans to mark a house where a sacrifice was already taken from that location. Sacrifices would according to some writings, be a child taken from the home. This would be in line with what the bible spoke about many times when in the old testament, kings and subjects would sacrifice their children to the gods, such as Molech. These rituals are shown throughout history and are still alive and well today. This is satan worship.
More information:
What does the Bible say about Halloween? Nothing. But it does speak concerning witches, the occult, and paganism.
- Exodus 22:18, “You shall not let a witch live.”
- Deut. 18:10-12, “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD…”
The Bible definitely speaks negatively about occultic practices, spirits, and witches and condemns not only the practice but also the people who are involved in it as well. As Christians, we are to have nothing to do with the occult. Tarot Cards, contacting the dead, séances, lucky charms, etc., are all unbiblical and can harm a Christian’s fellowship with God and open the Christian to demonic oppression. Most Christians know this and avoid these activities. But, the question still remains. Since there are ancient pagan connections and modern day occultic connections also, what is the Christian to do?
The Christian is not to be involved with or support the occult, witchcraft, demonism, or any other thing that uplifts the occult. To do so is to contradict God’s word, dabble in the demonic, and invite judgment from God.
If a Halloween celebration is centered on demons, devils, spirits, etc., I would say don’t have anything to do with it.
Recap: This holiday is centered around demonism and magnifies evil. God says not to mess with these things, in His Word. We must choose to give in to what the world minimizes and says is okay or to follow what God says to stay away from. We are to meditate on what God calls good and righteous, not what our enemy satan wants us to focus on (death, hate, demonism, darkness, and the like) which is the opposite of what God wants.
Narratives from Matt Slick – C.A.R.M. and Pray5