Should Christians Celebrate Halloween? Maybe?

“Should we celebrating Halloween?”

Every year, people ask me this question: And I always respond with a question: “What is your definition of Halloween?” It never ceases to amaze me what comes out of people’s mouths.

If you define Halloween as a holiday where people sacrifice babies, then my answer is “Probably not. I would avoid doing that.” And, “please call 911 if you see anyone doing that, cuz that’s bad.”

I often follow up with questions like: “What do you imagine the history of Halloween to be?” And once again, people often tell me all sorts of funny things.

So, let’s go there! What’s the history of Halloween? Believe it or not, certain parts of the Halloween tradition were actually created by the church.

Throughout the middle ages people believed in a theological concept called purgatory…a place between heaven and hell where certain people could pay for their sins. Of course, most scholars don’t believe the concept even exists in the Bible (which I agree with). Some credit Pope Gregory the 1st (late 6th century) as the originator. But keep this belief in mind; because, as you’ll see in a moment, it had an interesting twist on the rituals of Halloween.

As Christianity spread through the tribes of unchurched Europe, the Catholic church wanted to co-opt certain pagan holidays by creating a new “Christianized holiday” on top. (For example, “Easter” is technically the name of the pagan goddess of fertility, but… don’t tell anyone). Also Jesus was probably not born on Christmas Day (also, don’t tell anyone).  So, to overtake the pagan festival of Lemuria (and later, Samhain,) the church created “All Saints” and “All Souls” days as times to honor the memory of your “late great Aunt Edna.”

Observers of Samhain (pronounced SOW’en) believed that the barrier between the after-life and the present became thin at this time. Catholics found their belief in purgatory to be a convenient parallel for those transitioning out of pagan traditions. So to co-opt this pagan tradition, Catholics began an interesting ritual called “Souling.”

Keep in mind, Catholics believed that Christians could help people get out of purgatory by giving to the church (indulgences) and by praying. So, people were often quite zealous to recruit help for their poor relatives (you know… the ones who didn’t live quite right). And let’s face it. We all have a few family members who could probably use a “little help.”: ) So, All Souls day provided a unique opportunity for recruiting prayer.

On All Souls Day, kids would go out “souling” – a ritual in which they went door to door, offering prayers for “soul cakes” (spiced cakes mixed with cinnamon and raisins). Naturally, this was good for the poor (as they offered prayers in exchange for food). And over time became a tradition more like Christmas caroling (songs for figgy pudding). But the main purpose was to encourage young people to pray. In some ways, it’s pretty clever. As a young kid, I would have been quite happy to pray if someone paid me in KitKat bars. And to think I was helping people on top? Wow!

And in modern times the practice was revived with candy. Legend has it that modern trick or treating was revived right here in the Twin Cities (Anoka) back in the 1920’s. So, the next time you sneak a piece of candy from your child’s stash, you can thank your Catholic friend…or the city of Anoka, Minnesota : )

Now, obviously, I’m not trying to say that Trick or Treating is good or bad. (After all, I know that many Christians have strong opinions about this stuff). Obviously, I don’t believe in purgatory… nor celebrating pagan holidays. But, doggonit, I’m all about giving thanks to God for candy – in moderation of course.

Yet it begs the question: Is Halloween good or bad? Well, there’s a lot of nonsense that happens on Halloween night. Certain Satanists claim to pray against Christians on Halloween. (And if you’re curious, I wrote an entire blog about what modern day witches (or Neo-pagans) actually do on Halloween.

But is trick or treating bad? Well, if you’re performing neo-pagan rituals, then yeah. But I’m not convinced that trick or treating qualifies — any more than I believe that driving a Honda supports Buddhism — (although I respect you if you disagree). I certainly wouldn’t wear half of the costumes at my local Halloween store.

The apostle Paul faced a similar debate about food sacrificed to idols. (See Romans 14). In those days, if a person bought food from a local temple (which is where the majority of restaurants were in the ancient world) some Christians saw it as an implicitly demonic thing – like you were supporting the local false god. Other Christians found it virtually impossible to avoid eating meat sacrificed to idols – without totally pulling out of society. So Paul’s advice was simple: “Follow your conscience!” And ultimately, “Do not destroy friendships over food” (see Romans 14:10-21). I’m pretty sure that the only real reason why Satanists announce their Halloween plans is because they know, it causes Christians to fight and destroy friendships over it.

Ironically, the Bible DOES say something good about fasting and praying on October 31st in Nehemiah 9:1-2

“On October 31 the people assembled again, and this time they fasted and dressed in burlap and sprinkled dust on their heads. 2 Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners as they confessed their own sins and the sins of their ancestors.”

Now technically, in the original Hebrew, it was the Jewish calendar month of Tishri (which was converted to the Gregorian calendar). And when I read it I thought: Now there’s a great thing to do on October 31st!

To be honest, if we’re going to be legalistic about Halloween, then I encourage you to be legalistic about all of it: I.e., No Christmas, No Easter, No driving Hondas. And I would probably just become Amish because, there are thousands of things you spend money on that cause 10x’s the damage of Halloween. Heck. Highschool sports and NFL football has caused FAR people to miss church than Halloween ever has. So, you certainly better be against those things too…(Just sayin’).

But here’s a better idea: The Gospel is all about RECLAIMING and SANCTIFYING things – not shunning them. Aren’t you glad that Jesus did that with YOU? In some ways, YOU are Halloween. “While you were still a sinner, Christ died for you.” Romans 5:8. He redeemed you and called you to his purpose (2 Cor.5:15). And he celebrates you! Granted, you’re not the same person you once were. But you get my point: Our entire mission is taking back what Satan has stolen for the one true King. Believe it or not, I’ve probably led more than a thousand people to Christ on Halloween night over the years. So, for me, this is a day that I (and a lot of other people) will celebrate forever.

But, in regards to trick or treating: If you see yourself worshipping pagan demons by doing it, then, Yeah, I’d avoid it. But if you simply see it as a good opportunity to reach out to your neighbors, then no. I don’t believe that dressing cute kids as Yoda or Elsa is going to demonize you or them.

But here’s some simpler advice: Read your Bible. Follow your conscience. Pray for your neighbors. Eat candy with moderation. And don’t dress up like a sexy kitten.

BTW, if you want to have a REAL conversation about Demons, I have an entire book and teaching series on it here: