Is it wrong for Christians to celebrate Halloween? How should a Christian approach such a holiday? Here are a few thoughts.
1. Halloween is not necessarily a special day for Satan.
We should be extremely cautious on days like Halloween simply because of the dangers that are present because of such a day—drunk driving, pranksters, vandals, unsupervised children, and people out there who may try to do crazy things to children or candy, etc. So, a heightened awareness would always be wise.
But, from a spiritual standpoint, believers have no reason to fear Halloween. What I mean by that is that Satan and his evil spirits are no more active and sinister on Halloween than they are on any other day of the year. We need to keep in mind that EVERY day is a good day for Satan to prowl about seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). No time is a good time let our guard down, but we need not fear one particular day over another one because “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
2. Just because it is a holiday doesn’t mean we have to celebrate it.
The pagan roots of Halloween are well documented and the Bible clearly teaches that the Christian is not to be involved with or support the occult, witchcraft, demonism, or any other thing that uplifts the occult. To do so is to contradict God’s Word, dabble in the demonic, and invite judgment from God (Deut. 18:10-12). Therefore, if a Halloween celebration is centered on demons, devils, and evil spirits, etc., I would say don’t have anything to do with it.
The Bible says that we as believers should live differently than those in the world because they are in darkness and we are in the light.
Eph. 5:7-12 Be not ye therefore partakers with them. 8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. 12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
3. Don’t do anything that would hurt your conscience before God.
Paul said in Acts 23:1, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.”
Also be careful of offending a weaker believer’s conscience. Paul went on to say in Acts 24:16, “And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.” (Rom. 14:21; 1 Cor. 8:9, 13).
4. Take every opportunity to be a witness.
Just because the world has a special holiday or observance that is not something we can celebrate or support, that doesn’t mean Christians can’t use that as an opportunity to be a witness to others. I know some who look down on churches for having a Fall Festival or Halloween alternative. I agree, the lines can get blurred if the church actively promoted dressing up like ghosts, goblins, witches, and things of that sort. But to have a fun time for families who do NOT support Halloween can be a great alternative and a great tool to use in teaching our children WHY we do not celebrate Halloween.
As I said earlier, IF a particular event or party was centered around an occultic theme, then I believe it would be wrong for a believer to support it. But a church Fall Festival or Halloween alternative does not do this and is therefore not celebrating that which would be sinful.
We, as Christians, can be a witness by giving out gospel tracts on Halloween, but another great way to be a witness is to not let Halloween (or the celebration of it) cause you to miss church. For you to miss church to take part in Halloween would do more to hurt your testimony before the world and also send the wrong signal to your children as to what is more important, Halloween or God?
Everything we do should be done with a motive of glorifying our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 10:31 says, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” I have a difficult time believing that a Christian can miss church to take their children trick-or-treating and be able to honestly say they are doing it “to the glory of God.” You can’t glorify God by disobeying Him.
Let’s not get “tricked” by all Satan has to offer. We serve a great God Who is worthy to be Hallowed!