I visited a church last year where the pastor taught the essentials of faith vs. the non-essentials. His goal, I believe, was to teach the church about picking your battles when it comes to sharing faith with others. He compared opinions vs. biblical principles, separating the important from the unimportant.
He gave some great examples, including whether you should give your baby a pacifier. Some parents do, and some don’t. That’s non-essential when it comes to our salvation, right?
Then he touched on two very controversial topics: Harry Potter and Halloween.
My heart wept as he shared his opinions on why these two issues are non-essential regarding our faith. What if they are essentials? What if they do affect our relationship with Christ in more ways than one?
What if this pastor wasn’t just sharing his opinion but was himself deceived by the enemy, therefore deceiving others?
I’ll save Harry Potter for another day because as Halloween fast approaches and parents and children pick out their costumes for trick-or-treating, now is a necessary time to talk about this essential issue.
According to a 2018 article published by USA Today, Halloween is a billion-dollar industry. In 2019 it was estimated that Americans would spend $9 billion on Halloween-related items and activities. In addition, more than 175 million Americans are expected to partake in this holiday in one form or another. That means that over half of the U.S. population celebrates Halloween.
The Origin of Halloween
When most people think of Halloween, they innocently think of trick-or-treating and how much candy they can collect for the night. Parents dress their kiddos up in their favorite costumes, and Facebook feeds are filled with princesses, astronauts, and baby sharks, doo doo doo doo doo doo. There’s no harm done, right? People are just having some fun, especially the kids.
Then there are ghosts, haunted houses, older kids and adults dressing up as witches, zombies, and even Pennywise from It, and costume parties give prizes for the best dressed. It’s just adults getting together to have a good time, right?
What if these activities aren’t just harmless?
If we knew what we were really celebrating, would that change things, especially for Christians?
What if it goes beyond just another consumer-driven holiday?
Halloween dates back over 2000 years ago, originating in what is now the Ireland region, celebrated by the Celtics. It was a celebration of the new year for them, referred to as Samhain. According to history, “The Celtic druids revered it as the biggest holiday of the year and emphasized that day as the time when the souls of the dead supposedly could mingle with the living.” So people would light bonfires and dress up in costumes to ward off the evil spirits.
It was believed that October 31 brought demons, witches, and evil spirits to freely roam the land for their season – the winter months – which consisted of early dark and cold nights. To escape their wrath, people would light bonfires and dress up like evil spirits to ward them off.
Let me make one thing clear before we go any further. Evil spirits don’t just wait for Halloween to come out and join the party. Demons are here to stay with the ultimate goal of destroying our lives until the day Satan is thrown into the pit for the rest of eternity or until Jesus calls us home.
Somewhere in that time frame, Christianity and Paganism collided when people began to conform to Christianity. Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as All Saint’s Day to “remember the Saints.”
When the Roman Empire took over, not only did they continue the Halloween tradition of honoring the deceased, they added another twist to it – honoring the Roman goddess of fruit and trees, Pomona. They would give away fruit, especially apples. The symbol of the goddess Pomona? An apple. Sound like some good inspiration for an apple-bobbing contest?
Like many things in our Western culture, we’ve changed it to our liking. Our costumes take the place of disguises used to “ward off evil,” and candy takes the place of a sweet juicy apple. What once was called “souling” is now trick-or-treating. Instead of singing and saying prayers for the dead, we open up our bags and ask for candy.
And again, I will say many of us do it innocently. Why? Because many of the churches in America are not teaching the truth about spiritual warfare. It’s too uncomfortable.
Halloween’s visible practices have changed throughout history with the day’s culture. Still, the purpose of honoring the dead, veiled in fun and festivities, has remained the same. So the question remains, is celebrating Halloween wrong or unbiblical?
That’s a powerful question we must ask ourselves and be willing to sit down and chat with Holy Spirit about.
All Saint’s Day
According to Catholic Online, those who partake in All Saint’s Day only focus on the “known” saints – those recognized in the canon of the saints by the Catholic Church. The website says, “Generally, All Saints’ Day is a Catholic Holy Day of Obligation, meaning all Catholics are required to attend Mass on that day, unless they have an excellent excuse, such as serious illness.”
All Saint’s Day overlaps with Dia de Los Muertos, or as we probably know it best, the Day of the Dead, which is predominantly celebrated in Mexico, but its ties link tightly to the same “celebration” held by the Catholic church and other denominations. The event starts on October 31 and ends on November 2, the same day All Souls’ Day is honored. Stay with me here. We’ll get to more of that later.
As this day focuses on the saints, unfortunately, what happens is that the deceased aren’t just honored; they are worshiped and idolized. They are even prayed to.
Some denominations will include the deceased family members they believe are in heaven, visiting graves, lighting candles in their honor, bringing flowers, etc. All seemingly innocent enough, right?
But when we open our eyes to the darkness these traditions are tied to; we’re opening the door to the unseen realm of darkness in our lives.
I know… Sounds crazy, right? Don’t stop reading even if you want to throat-punch me right now.
In referring to the Day of the Dead celebration I wrote about earlier, some believe that the souls of the dead come back during this time to visit with loved ones. People wait all year for this day to talk to the dead; many are genuinely heartfelt about just wanting to hear from their loved ones again. But it’s not that simple. It’s just not that simple.
And then there’s November 2. The day to celebrate All Souls’ Day.
All Souls’ Day
All Souls’ Day “is a holy day set aside for honoring the dead.” According to the Catholic religion, the souls of people go to one of three places when they die: heaven, hell, or purgatory, where they must fully cleanse their souls before going to heaven.
So, on November 2, the church gathers and offers mass prayers for their souls. Though I don’t have enough time to talk about the ideals of heaven, hell, and purgatory, let me say this: the idea that you must remain in purgatory until others have stood on your behalf and prayed you into heaven is unbiblical. There is no Scripture to stand up to that truth. I encourage you to do your research for yourself. Don’t just take my word for it.
Dating back to England several centuries ago, parades and other festivities were held to honor this day. It is believed that the poor would give “soul cakes” to those willing to pray in trade for their promise to pray for their dead relatives.
Though some say All Souls’ Day is not directly related to Halloween (All Hallows Eve) or All Saint’s Day, I don’t believe it is a coincidence that it coincides with two previous days, which exist not only to honor the dead but to communicate with them as well. I could certainly be wrong in that assumption.
Before we go any further, please hear my heart in this. I’m not trying to ruin your fun. I’m not trying to condemn you because you love to dress your kids up and take them trick-or-treating. I’m simply sharing this truth with you because the enemy does not want us to know the truth. But Jesus tells us that it’s the truth that sets us free.
Opening Doors
I blew it off when I first learned about what Halloween represented several years ago. I told myself, “It’s all about the heart.” If I wasn’t worshipping the things mentioned above, what was it hurting? I didn’t know the details. I just learned from what others said that Halloween was a demonic holiday, and I needed to stay away from it.
Unfortunately, Christians just wanted to tell me it was so, not teach me about it. But I need to understand the why behind things. And Holy Spirit is really great about helping us understand when we’re seeking more.
But since Halloween wasn’t that big of a deal to me anymore, I just moved forward. However, I always had this nagging feeling in my spirit that “it’s all about the heart” just wasn’t enough. So I went on a biblical journey to find out for myself.
Let me ask you this. If you see a strange guy walking down your street, but you know he doesn’t live there, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Maybe you think he’s lost, or perhaps you immediately think he’s scoping your house out to rob later. He looks nice enough. He doesn’t fit the “rob your house” type of guy. He’s neatly dressed in a button-down Polo shirt with some Calvin Klein jeans. He must just be lost, going for a walk, or visiting a family member who is your neighbor.
Should you lock your door or continue to leave the front porch’s screen door open? Nah… He’s harmless. He doesn’t fit the mold, so you back out of the driveway with the screen door open because you’re just going to run a few errands uptown.
Fifteen minutes later, you return to find your home ransacked and your grandmother’s ring stolen. Then you see the Calvin Klein jeans guy running off in the sunset with your stuff. He just didn’t fit the mold, you think to yourself. He didn’t seem like that type of guy. Looks can be deceiving.
What if the seemingly “innocent enough” celebration of Halloween for you and your family isn’t as innocent as it seems? What if it’s not harmless?
What if the looks of something innocent and fun are more deceiving and harmful than you think?
What Do Others Have to Say?
As I prepared for this article, I went to the one place where I knew people would share their true thoughts with me… Facebook.
I asked the question, “Halloween… Is it a sin? A non-essential when it comes to faith? Something Christians should celebrate? Harmless?” The answers varied, and I loved that people from all walks of life felt safe enough to join the conversation, from pastors’ wives to non-Christians.
“It’s all in balance….. you can carry just about anything to the extreme. I dress up as Little Red Riding Hood, a 70’s chick, etc. It’s all about the intent of the heart, the Bible says…..“
“My whole family is Christian, and we always let our children dress up and trick or treat. This was more about American traditions. However, we had a year when we made a haunted house in our barn. The elders at the church frowned upon that, so when we had a big youth group party, they couldn’t visit it, and after a few years, we gave it up. I know a local church that does a haunted house and raises enough money for their youth to go overseas for missionary work, but no one saw my point.“
“I think it’s about your heart. Are you celebrating the innocence of childhood and dressing up, or are you celebrating the darkness it represents? I love dressing my kiddos up, but that’s as far as it goes for me. It’s a fine line, though. I do a lot of explaining to my son around this time.“
“Being a “feeler,” I have always internalized the things around me. Scary/evil things are not welcomed in my world because I don’t enjoy being scared, fearful, or horrified. As a teen, I remember our church youth group visiting the local haunted house sponsored by a world-renowned Christian university and using it as an opportunity to talk about good and evil and how God overcame evil with Jesus. I hated it. Had nightmares. I never went back even though our entire area’s churches took and continue to take their youth groups to it. Not my thing. Why would I pay to be scared? Horror movies? Same thing. The cute costumes and visiting sweet neighbors who want to share candy with the kids? I saw/see no harm in that. We participated on a very low-key scale when they/I was little. However, the older I and my children get, the more we avoid all of it because of the evil that the enemy’s hijackers of all things good, innocent, and fun try to sneak in through its back door. Because of that, we avoid it almost entirely because we don’t want to give darkness any invitation to oppress us in any way. We don’t judge those who enjoy the fun of it, but we hold our breath that it doesn’t morph into something they never intended to participate in.“
“We celebrate other “pagan” holidays and have no issues. But, it is a short time in a kid’s life they get to pretend and dress up. I didn’t do it with the older ones and regretted that decision. But, it is what we make of it…don’t love Jesus any less.“
“I believe the Bible tells us to stay away from demons and the occult, etc., including ghosts, evil spirits, witchcraft, and such, so to dress up or decorate with such is honoring or celebrating them, in my view. There are ways to enjoy the fun of dressing up in funny costumes, as superheroes or princesses or movie characters or animals, and having parties, trick or treating, or whatever to celebrate the fall season. All that being said, I don’t condemn anyone who celebrates the way they choose.“
“Since God looks at our hearts, I’d say it’s an individual decision, not “an essential.” We have fun dressing up, being with friends, and eating candy. We can always use it as a teaching opportunity- why we avoid evil costumes, evil things regarding Halloween, etc.“
“By definition, we sin when we choose our way over God’s way. Is Halloween a sin? I’m not sure. I don’t know enough about it. But I do know that Jesus calls us to be in the world but not of the world. As believers, we are to look different, to be set apart so that we can be used as vessels for His glory. Our personal convictions on it, Jesus went to where the people were and shared truth and love. What does that look like? Be the light even on Oct 31st, don’t hide it. Share the Gospel as you give out candy, cook a meal for someone, etc. Whatever you do, make sure it’s Gospel-centered. Imitate Jesus. What would He do – that’s the real question.“
“Halloween has always been a fun thing for our family. Dressing up like your favorite superhero, cartoon characters, animals, whatever, going trick or treating. We sometimes have a hay ride for the kids with a bonfire to roast weenies, s’mores, or just plain marshmallows. The kids love it. I don’t see any harm in spending Halloween doing these things.“
So, What’s the Problem?
The common theme seems to be “it’s about the heart,” to which I agree. I believe most people who dress their kiddos up do so because they grew up enjoying this American tradition and want to pass it on to their kids. Their hearts are innocent, and their plans are innocent.
So, what’s the problem, then? The enemy’s plans are far from innocent, and if he can dress something up to look harmless to bring more darkness into the world, he’ll do just that. That’s how he works.
The Bible says he has come to deceive the whole world and that he disguises himself as an angel of light. Many translations of that verse say he “masquerades.” He pretends to be something he’s not to deceive us.
And he’ll use whatever tactics he can to make that happen, including a seemingly innocent enough holiday for most people.
But if most people, especially the church, aren’t celebrating Halloween for what it once represented, what’s the problem, especially if it’s all about the heart? You can change your heart but can’t change what Halloween means. You can dress up your child as Spongebob, but that doesn’t remove the fact that Halloween was designed to worship and talk to the dead. Halloween was created to serve Satan, and nothing can take that away, no matter how innocent it may seem in your world.
Please hear my heart in this. When you choose to continue celebrating this holiday explicitly designed for darkness, you are opening doors to darkness in your own life, and Satan will open that door slowly, seemingly innocent enough, and with disguise. He’s patient.
What I’m not saying is that as a Christian, your choice to celebrate Halloween will cost you your salvation. I am saying that opening doors to the darkness will cost you freedom in Christ, especially when we know the truth and still don’t choose it. Any door we open to darkness takes away levels of freedom.
Before you step further into celebrating Halloween, ask yourself if this choice aligns with God’s Word.
Wait a minute, Sundi Jo. The Bible doesn’t say anything about Halloween.
You’re right. But what it does say….
Is Halloween based on that which offers truth, honor, purity, and love, or is it based on fear and bondage and all that comes with those things?
When partaking in Halloween, we’re imitating the customs of those who came before us, whether we mean to or not. We’re opening the door to witchcraft in our lives, whether we mean to or not. And witchcraft always brings destruction, whether subtly or forcefully.
Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.
There is nothing about Halloween that isn’t evil, even if our hearts are innocent in trying to make it so. Had the church not tried to incorporate Halloween into their holy days centuries ago and instead exposed it for what it was, the church today may not have been so deceived.
I will say that again because I see it more and more. So many churches are deceived because they refuse to embrace the truth of spiritual warfare. They refuse to talk about demons and open doors. They refuse to discuss deliverance and freedom. Sure, they’ll read about the armor of God, but it doesn’t go any further than that.
We either believe it’s real because God said so, or we don’t. But if we, as Christians, say we don’t believe such a thing, then we do not believe the Word of God is true. It’s as simple as that.
My friends, we must talk about spiritual warfare in the church.
Spiritual Consequences
We cannot just take something and turn it into a new tradition when it involves inviting Satan into our lives and not expect spiritual consequences. And no matter how you dress it up, partaking in a celebration meant to invite the dead into our lives is still what Halloween is rooted in – evil and witchcraft.
The devil isn’t going to knock on your door and ask if he can come in. He knows you’re not going to let him. But if he can get in through you leaving the screen door open or a window cracked, he’ll climb right on in. Of course, you can’t see him climbing in that window because he’s subtle, and we’re fighting against the authorities of the unseen world. Still, he’s devising a plan as you’re reading this.
The enemy wants to continue to deceive you because if he can do so, he can keep you from the complete freedom Christ died for you to have.
Celebrating Halloween isn’t costing you your salvation, but it’s leaving the screen door wide open for the enemy to come in and play with your life. Unfortunately, the enemy doesn’t play nice, and he never will.
Some pastors are afraid to touch the subject because they don’t want to offend someone or the enemy dupes them. They don’t teach this stuff in seminary, folks.
Then some believe there is something wrong with celebrating Halloween. So instead, they hold Fall Festivals or Harvest Festivals and dress up in costumes meant to represent Bible characters to share the Gospel. Or they bring in games and bounce houses and apple bobbing.
Some churches even actually host haunted houses. I can’t wrap my head around this, but again, the devil disguises himself well. The church will build a haunted house full of ghosts, witches, chainsaw murderers; you name it. They’ll scare the crap out of you with evil laughter, then hand you a gospel tract at the end with the hopes you’ll want to hear about Jesus.
There is nothing about a haunted house that will offer the freedom of Jesus to others. What’s happened is that the church has invited witchcraft into their congregation, their lives, and their families. Over time the effects will show up, and I would bet because the enemy is subtle, the consequences will be subtle, too. That’s how he works.
When I hit publish on this article, I know the backlash will arise from all corners. Speaking the truth often brings attacks. I’d rather make everyone happy and let us all be friends. But I can’t do that when I know the truth.
God calls us to expose the darkness. So I do, hesitantly. Hesitantly, because I know many people in the world aren’t interested in the truth. Hesitantly, because I know I will be called a “judgmental bible-thumping freak” for speaking out. Hesitantly, because some celebrate Halloween for what it really represents – evil and witchcraft – and I will have to pray for protection over myself for exposing the truth.
Despite all of that, I speak the truth anyway. But my prayer is that you hear the truth in love. I pray you read this from a heart that longs for you to be free in Christ and for you to step out of the darkness and into the light.
You know that old saying, “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig?” Unfortunately, it’s true. Of course, you can choose to stay away from ghosts and goblins and dress your kiddos as princes and princesses, but that doesn’t change a thing. Halloween is Halloween.
You can host a corn maze at your church on October 31 as an alternative to the community visiting a haunted house, but that doesn’t change a thing. Halloween is Halloween.
No matter how you dress it up, the day represents one thing – inviting the dead, demons, and darkness into the world.
You, my friend, are more valuable than conforming to the patterns of this world. So, I leave you with this question.
Halloween – an essential or non-essential when it comes to our faith?
Only you can truly decide.