Halloween. For some
Christians, this is the ‘H’ word, a BAD word.
Some of you might be saying, ‘Of course it is, it’s evil.’ It makes you
want to rear up and yell “Get behind me Satan!”
Okay, hang in there. Let’s take a
look, let’s educate ourselves with some history, let me please entertain you
with my thoughts and ideas of redemption for this controversial day. In return, I hope to get exactly that…
thoughts and (gentle) opinions. Let’s
remember that we are all from different homes, families, cultures and
churches. You have our own set of
convictions, and not everyone else shares them with you. Set aside judgments, preconceived ideas and
read on.
The history: Halloween started out as a religious festival of the Celtic
people, and yes, it
included the Celts believing that there is a material world that we live in,
and a supernatural world occupied by strange creatures, gods, elves, and the
spirits of the dead. Twice a year (end of February and end of October), the
borders between these worlds become thin, and you can pass between the worlds etc etc. (there is much more, feel free to look it up). In
my opinion it brought attention to some evil things and instilled fear in
people.
Later, The Catholic Church designated the
following holidays, (they built churches on holy Pagan sites and moved holidays
to the corresponding Pagan celebrations).
- November 2 - All Souls' Day, remembrance of all the dead.
- November 1 - All Saints' Day, remembrance of the dead 'who found special favor with God.' Since saints = holy people = hallowed, All Saints' Day is also known as All Hallows' Day.
- October 31 (night) – Halloween. The evening before All
Hallows' Day was called All Hallows' Eve, which was shortened to
"Halloween".
There is more history-
and to each country and each people group, it might be unique. I’m not going to
get too complicated. I want to look at
America, and specifically Christians in America. We have gotten very mixed up, tense, and
shall I say, judgmental toward others this time of year.
As a kid, growing up (in a Christian
household) my sister and I dressed up with my parents and went 'trick or treating'- and dare I say, as ghouls, witches, ghosts, goblins, and
monsters! Today, I have different thoughts on how to dress, but do I judge my parents or myself as an 8 year old? No. We had not really educated ourselves or even thought about the
history behind the pagan Celtic holiday and the meaning behind acknowledging evil spirits. (I think I turned out okay! Can you believe it?!)
I see now, why the
Catholic Church wanted to label it as something completely different… a day to
respect and remember those who have passed, especially saints. To add to the mix, many
Christians and churches have put their own changes into this time (or day) of
the year by celebrating Harvest and having harvest parties. So now, people have no idea what to do, or what to believe and sometimes they shut down and throw up a brick wall before thinking it through. Personally, as I grew older, I felt (and still feel) that
Harvest parties and/or other alternatives, are a redeeming way to celebrate this time of year especially if
you feel convicted or weird about Halloween, trick or treating etc. (Hang in
there, even if you don’t agree!)
Wouldn't you say that
society has a way of twisting and perverting things? Originally, the Celts had a twisted way of remembering those who had passed. Now, commercial America has used Halloween to make
money and many adults have used it as a day to reek some havoc, dress (very)
inappropriate, get drunk and eat WAY to much candy. Some kids have decided to adopt those traits
of the ‘holiday’ and follow suit.
As
a Christian, how can I bring any redemption to this? Taking absolutely no part in it (even though it will never go away), and throwing
up judgment… well, that doesn't have too many redeeming qualities. If a child
comes to your door dressed as a little ghost in a bed sheet, are you really
going to turn out the lights and act like you are not home? Are you going to turn them away and shout
‘REPENT!’ Poor kid… and poor you. His or
her parents will most likely label you as mean, religious, stuck up,
unloving, judgmental Christian. Truth is, they may not know the history of the
Pagan holiday, and/or they just don’t care and think it has nothing to do with
them. The child is thrilled to play dress up and show everyone!...Until they met you. And, instead of understanding why you are freaking out or hiding from them, they just think you are mean (and maybe crazy). Maybe we should try a different
approach. Christians should be loving,
right? Even to those they may not agree
with? YES. (please!)
How can we bring some redemption to the 'dress up' part of it all? Kids have imaginations and most love dressing up. Come on, don’t hold it against them. In fact, I still love dressing up! (As a creepy witch or slutty nurse? NO. Maybe as an 80’s prom queen). If your kid wants to dress
up like a princess, cowgirl, pirate or knight any other time of year, it’s okay ( I
hope!). But, all of the sudden, we won't let them and are absolutely against them doing it when other kids are doing it (all at the same time...and getting
candy for it!) I think a
young kid might get confused, maybe even slightly bitter. I'm not one to say "All the other kids are doing it, so they should get to do it too"- but in this instance, is it going to do them harm? Is it going to lead them into a life of witchcraft? If you have some good taste concerning what they wear and can explain why they aren't going to be scary or gross looking, is it still going to damage them spiritually? My little girl just went to a Ninja Turtle birthday party and now she'd like to dress up as a 'baby inja turtle- the red one.' I do not think this will have a profound impact on her life, her motives are...well, fun and imaginative . My motives are seeing her have fun and use her imagination. Not to mention, I was a big Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fan as a kid.
How can we bring some redemption to the festivities and parties this time of year? Why not
try a safe place or event, where you can come dressed up if you want to (nothing scary), play fun
games, eat great food, get your candy fix, and celebrate what God created… harvest,
people, fun, and fellowship. On a side note, harvest is a real thing worth celebrating and
pumpkins aren't evil.
I’m going to take a risk
and say I don’t think God sits up there grumbling about these
alternatives. I don’t think he frowns
upon Christians in the business of redeeming things for the good (or providing safe, positive alternatives to otherwise crappy, sketchy parties) just like I
think He is okay with celebrating Jesus’ birth at Christmas time, (even though He was most likely born in the spring, the Catholic church, again, replaced a
Pagan holiday), as long as we are doing just that… glorifying Him and the birth
of Jesus without getting wrapped up everything else, like buying the 'perfect' gift for
everyone until we are terribly in debt and stressed out. He looks at our hearts, our intentions, our motivation.
