Halloween is a controversial subject among Christians. The issue is figuring out how we’re supposed to feel about a day dedicated to themes of death and fear when the Word of God speaks so much of life and faith. The actions carried out during Halloween have their beginning in a Celtic holiday called Samhain. This day was known as the end of the harvest season and it was believed that the veil between the living and the dead was at it’s thinnest. As a result, the living would dress up as the dead in order to blend in and avoid whatever trouble the deceased tried to incur. But the name Halloween is actually Christian in nature and was originally intended to honor the saints of the past. And so the issue becomes whether or not Christians should celebrate a holiday that’s dedicated to anti-Biblical themes. Here are three reasons I believe it’s important to take advantage of the opportunity known as Halloween…

First of all, Halloween provides an opportunity for community. In the Book of Acts, it’s clear to see that those involved in the formation of the early church spent a great deal of time together. This tells us that fellowship is extremely important. Unfortunately, people are less inclined to come to worship services now than ever before. As a result, though our focus will always be on worshiping God, we must also employ other methods to involve those on the outskirts of our fellowship. Relationships, food and activities make this possible for the modern-day church.

Secondly, the enemy would love nothing more than to paralyze the people of God with fear and pressure them to hole themselves up in locked houses for an entire evening for fear of what the kingdom of darkness may try to accomplish in their midst. By convincing us to act as a recluse, we are failing to love and serve those around us. Choosing to celebrate a day that was originally meant for good and not evil would actually be causing great damage to the enemy’s intentions. We’ve given up far too much ground to the enemy. What would happen if we allowed him to maintain complete possession of every day that he used for evil?

Lastly, having grown up in a Christian environment, I’m all too familiar with the traditional methods of prohibition that come with an uninformed faith. I’ve heard many Christians tell of how they were forbidden to play recreational sports, watch television, go to the movies or listen to secular music. I truly believe that the Word of God is clear when it comes to God’s demand for holiness. However, I also know that if I portray Jesus as a weak, easily-offended, fuss-pot, my kids will grow up to think that anything other than Scripture and hymns are sinful and displeasing to God. Simply put, what real harm is there in telling our kids that we’re going to take one day a year and allow them to dress up as anything they want (meaning cartoon/movie characters and excluding characters that promote death and terror) and permit them to eat all the candy they want? We’ve robbed our children of the simple pleasures of being a kid all because we choose not to look at things with proper perspective. My children know that we do not promote fear, terror, nightmarish ideas, horror, or anything that glorifies harming others. But I will always allow my babies to enjoy dressing up like a pirate or a princess, if nothing more than a single evening. Is our faith really so fragile that we can’t allow them that?