For whatever reason, there seems to be a lot of confusion about Halloween: should Christians celebrate it or not? I say not. Here's why.
Abominable Practices
If you study the origin and history of Halloween which I am examining this season on my blog, you will see that it comes from the Irish (Celts). All the Celts like all the peoples of the world save the Jews and their predecessors were pagans. Each had their own brand of paganry connected with their own brand of witchcraft. For the seven Celts, their brand was Druidry.
The Druid religion like any other has its feast days, Samhain being one of them. Some view it as merely a harvest festival and while it certainly is that, it is deeper than that. Samhain (pronounced "sow-in") was one of the recognized "time between the times" where the veil between our world and the world of the dead is thinned. At this time, spirits pass from that world into ours. Samhain celebrates the dead, and seeks to communicate with as well as appease them in hopes that they will not be malevolent to those still dwelling on the earth. It is the original trick or treat: I leave you a food or even an animal or human sacrifice, and you don't bother me and mine. I light my "bone fires" for the fire god "Bel" and bake cakes unto the Mother Goddess, and the Harvest will be fine. (Click to learn more about the pagan origins of Halloween.)
These practices are very similar to that of the Canaanites who occupied the Promise Land. They worshipped the same fire god and the same Queen of Heaven and the worship thereof was an ongoing snare to the Ancient Israelites throughout the Old Testament. And yet, God was well aware of these practices and through His prophet Moses, warned the people to shun completely the abominations of the heathens.
"When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you." (Deuteronomy 18:9-14)
Idolatry
As you can see by the above passage, witchcraft always comes with idolatry. Heck, witchcraft is idolatry. And we know that as Christians, we are not to have any gods before, beside, or below the one, true God (Exo. 20:3, 23:13; Deut. 5:7, 6:14, 18:20). Of idols, the Apostle Paul said:
Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live. (I Corinthians 8:4-6)
And it follows that if you are participating in a festival that is dedicated to idols seen or unseen, then you are participating in idolatry. And some people bring their idolatrous parties into the four walls of the church, God help us!
Glorifying Death & Fear
"Why do you seek the living among the dead?" (Luke 24:5). This was what two angels asked the women who went to the borrowed tomb of Jesus only to find it empty. Perhaps there would be some credence in finding Christ among the dead if He were dead, but thank God He's very alive! And His throne is in Heaven amongst the living. He is not, however, found amongst the dead who are by definition eternally separated from Him. Neither is He glorified by the veneration of dead saints, nor the prayers to ancestors, nor the "treats" for supposed haunting spirits (demons). And furthermore, Christians are called to cast out fear, not to welcome it on all the fearmongering and horrification that comes with Halloween (II Tim. 1:7). The Spirit of God is not in these things.
Light Fellowshipping with Darkness
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? (II Corinthians 6:14)
We are called to pierce the darkness, not to participate in it; to eradicate it, not to glorify it. The Common English Bible states, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn't extinguish the light," (John 1:5). On Halloween, Christians should be extinguishing the darkness, not spread it; not extinguishing the Light. Not being unequally yoked with unbelievers means we do not partner with them in their wickedness. Jesus hung out with all manner of sinners, but He did not participate in their sin, not even for one night of fun, games, and candy.
If you are of the mindset that celebrating Halloween is not a sin, then allow us to consider the words of the Apostle Paul: "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify," (I Cor. 10:23). No one's stopping you from celebrating Halloween. Yet I would ask you to consider if it is beneficial to you as a Christian. What redeeming qualities do you find in it? What correlations to Christ's life can be drawn from it? How is Jesus glorified and Satan defeated when we celebrate it? I would ask you to examine your the contents of your heart and your Bible on the matter. Search the Scriptures and ask for the Spirit of Truth to show you the truth of Halloween.
