Christianity and Halloween

A Christian should celebrate Halloween? Take your call on the basis of Bible while it's an absolute no for me, personally!

"What are the origins of Halloween?

Whatever the history and origins of Halloween, Halloween is celebrated in many different ways by all sorts of people around the world. Traditionally, it was known as All Hallows’ Eve, when the dead were remembered. Over time, it became cultural. For Americans, it has become extremely commercialized. We begin to see Halloween decorations in the stores several months in advance. Unfortunately, the emphasis on this commercialized holiday has shifted from innocent costumes to a much more evil and pointed attraction to all things hideous and pagan. Satan has undoubtedly made this commercialized holiday into something that has subtly focused on the ugly and demonic.

What are the origins of Halloween? Many believe the festival of Samhain to have been the beginning of the Celtic year. At Samhain, farmers brought livestock in from summer pastures and people gathered to build shelters for winter. The festival also had religious significance, and people burned fruits, vegetables, grain, and possibly animals as offerings to the gods. In ancient Celtic stories, Samhain was a magical time of transition when important battles were fought and fairies cast spells. It was a time when the barriers between the natural world and the supernatural were broken. The Celts believed that the dead could walk among the living at this time. During Samhain, the living could visit with the dead, who they believed held secrets of the future. Scholars believe that Halloween's association with ghosts, food, and fortunetelling began with these pagan customs more than 2,000 years ago.

Many of the customs of the pagan Celts survived even after the people became “Christianized.” In the 800s A.D., the church established All Saints' Day on November 1. About two hundred years later, it added All Souls' Day on November 2. This day was set aside for people to pray and remember friends and family who had died. People made many of the old pagan customs part of this day. Some people put out food for their ancestors, or left a lantern burning in the window so that ghosts could find their way home for the night. Through the years, various regions of Europe developed their own Halloween customs. In Wales, for example, each person put a white stone near the Halloween fire at night and then checked in the morning to see whether the stone was still there. If it was, the person would live another year.

In the United States, the origins of Halloween start with the early settlers. When early American settlers came from England, many of them brought various beliefs about ghosts and witches with them. In the 1800s, many immigrants from Ireland and Scotland arrived in the United States and introduced their Halloween traditions. Other groups added their own cultural influences to Halloween customs. German immigrants brought a vivid witchcraft lore, and Haitian and African peoples brought their native voodoo beliefs about black cats, fire, and witchcraft.

Whether or not Christians should celebrate Halloween can be a very controversial topic. Some Christians celebrate Halloween simply by dressing up in a costume and having fun, seeing it as innocent and harmless. Other Christians are equally convinced that Halloween is a satanic holiday established to worship evil spirits and promote darkness and wickedness.

Halloween, no matter how commercialized, has almost completely pagan origins. As innocent as it may seem to some, it is not something to be taken lightly. Christians tend to have various ways to celebrate or not to celebrate Halloween. For some, it means having an 'alternative' Harvest Party. For others, it is staying away from the ghosts, witches, goblins, etc., and wearing innocuous costumes, e.g., little princesses, clowns, cowboys, super-heroes, etc. Some choose not to do anything, electing to lock themselves in the house with the lights off. With our freedom as Christians, we are at liberty to decide how to act.

Scripture does not speak at all about Halloween, but it does give us some principles on which we can make a decision. In Old Testament Israel, witchcraft was a crime punishable by death [Exodus 22:18 (You shall not permit a sorceress to live); Leviticus 19:31 (Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God)]. 

The New Testament teaching about the occult is clear. Acts 8:9 -24 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+8%3A9-24&version=NKJV]. The story of Simon shows that occultism and Christianity don't mix. The account of Elymas the sorcerer in Acts 13:6-11 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+13&version=NKJV], reveals that sorcery is violently opposed to Christianity. Paul called Elymas a child of the devil, an enemy of righteousness and a perverter of the ways of God. In Acts 16 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+16&version=NKJV], at Philippi, a fortune-telling girl lost her demon powers when the evil spirit was cast out by Paul. The interesting matter here is that Paul refused to allow even good statements to come from a demon-influenced person. Acts 19 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+19&version=NKJV] shows new converts who have abruptly broken with their former occultism by confessing, showing their evil deeds, bringing their magic paraphernalia, and burning it before everyone (Acts 19:19).

So, should a Christian celebrate Halloween? Is there anything evil about a Christian dressing up as a princess or cowboy and going around the block asking for candy?

The decision is ultimately ours to make. But as with all things, we are to incorporate the principles of Romans 14. We are to do all things as to the Lord."

Source: gotquestions.org

-PeeJay