Halloween…

This week I would like to talk a little about the upcoming Halloween holiday. As Christians, should we celebrate this holiday? I don’t know if there is a definitive answer. First of all, understand that Halloween is mostly a western custom and it has no direct reference in the Bible. However, there are several Biblical principles that directly relate to the celebration of Halloween. Perhaps the best way to understand how Halloween relates to the Bible is to look at the meaning of Halloween and its history.

The word Halloween literally means the evening before All Hallows Day (or All Saint’s Day) celebrated on November 1. Halloween is also the shortened name of Allhalloween, All Hallows’ Evening and All Saints Eve which is celebrated on October 31.

The Roman empire in A.D. 43, had successfully conquered most of the Celtic lands. During the next 400 years, merged two Roman holidays: Feralia, a day when Romans commemorate their dead, typically at the end of October, and secondly Pomona, a day of honoring the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. Pope Gregory III expanded the holiday to include all the Saints and is still practiced today on November 1st as All Saints’ Day

There were traditions of ringing bells for the souls in purgatory; poor people, mostly children, would go from house to house “souling”—they would get ‘soul cakes’ in exchange for prayers for departed loved ones; people even wore costumes in order to protect themselves from wandering souls of the dead.

Protestant Christians began to celebrate Reformation Day by providing different options for people who didn’t want to celebrate the Catholic holiday. Some dressed up in Bible characters or reformers themselves and used the day as an opportunity to gather together and pray and fast.

Today’s costumes take the place of disguises and candy has replaced Soul Cakes and other fancy foods as children go door-to-door trick-or-treating. Over the course of history Halloween’s visible practices have morphed and merged with the culture of the day, but the purpose of honoring the dead, veiled in fun and festivities, has remained the same.

Wow! That’s a lot of history. But does it mean we should celebrate Halloween or not? Well, that depends. Let’s look at some of the ways and thoughts of celebrating Halloween.

1. Some Christians reject Halloween. There are many Christians today that look at Halloween as a pagan holiday during which the devil is worshipped and evil is glorified. Ephesians 5:11 tells us, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” They want nothing to do with the evil out there and will do everything in their power to shield themselves and their children from this holiday.

2. Some Christians accept it. Halloween, they say, is a fun, harmless opportunity for kids to dress up, get lots of candy and have a good time. It’s a time for cute decorations, parties, pumpkin carvings, lots of laughter, and enjoying going trick-or-treating with their neighbors. Today some churches celebrate a Harvest Festival with activities like Trunk or Treat. Still others celebrate with the kids dressing up as Bible Characters.

As a Christian thinking person, consider for a moment what and why you are celebrating. Is the holiday uplifting? Is Halloween spiritually pure? Is it praiseworthy, or is it of God or of Satan?

There is no pressure on a Christian to participate in this holiday. If your discernment leads you to abstain from participating or focus on the harvest festival activities associated with Halloween, wonderful. If, on the other hand, you feel alright to participate, the Bible gives you the freedom to wisely engage in Halloween celebrations. The apostle Paul tells us, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being.” (1 Corinthians 10:23-33) In other words, ‘everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial’, and ‘let no one seek his own good but the good of his neighbor’.

In this tricky subject of Halloween, Christians must exercise discernment and be attentive to how the Spirit leads them. If you are lifting up demons, witches, ghosts, warlocks, the devil, or the occult in anyway… This is definitely wrong. Remember this, God will hold you accountable for the way you celebrate Halloween with your kids. Please don’t dress up your children as a witch or a devil etc. 

In closing, seek the will of God on this matter about Halloween. To find God’s will… you need to have a relationship with Him.  So, how’s your relationship with God? Have you experienced God’s leadership and guidance? There’s no better time than right this minute, to let God lead you and know His will for you. Please don’t wait until it’s too late.

Please… if you don’t know Christ or have fallen away, please pray… Tell God you believe His Son Jesus paid for your sins and rose again. Tell God you are sorry and want to start Living for Him. He will forgive your sins and mistakes and give you Everlasting Life with Him… and place His Spirit deep within your heart. In 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I pray that God will truly Help and Bless you. If you would like for me to pray with you, please email me at Bob.L@magnificentPromises.com.

May God Bless and Keep!


I thank you for reading my blog. I do not claim to be any expert or affiliated with any religious organization. All I can say is that I’m affiliated with my Lord Jesus Christ. This is one man’s opinion and observations. My hope is I stirred up some thoughts for you to think about. There is one place where we can find all the answers to life. That road map is Commonly known as the Bible. If you want the answers to life all you have to do is read. If you would like me to pray with you or want to send a comment, please email me at Bob.L@magnificentpromises.com

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

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