Halloween can be a tricky subject even amongst Christians. Here are some articles my parents have written that might encourage you. If you haven’t signed up for the monthly Mom’s Corner, or Dad’s short weekly Seriously email, we encourage you to do so. They’ll arrive straight to your inbox! You can sign up below.
Links if your browser is blocking the ones with preview.
The Example We Set For Our Kids
Halloween
Halloween and Halloween Alternatives
The Dark
Proving Opportunities
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what
communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).
Thank you Sarah for pooling together those articles! Those were excellent articles. I grew up with parents who did not like the idea of Halloween, especially after a particular year when four masked adults came to the door and would not remove their masks when my father asked them to. I always felt a little “left out” compared to other children during that “holiday”; however, deep-down inside I agreed with my parents and I didn’t like the idea of it either.
When I became a young mother, I followed somewhat of the same path your mother did, trying to dress my littles into something “cute”, and took them to safe places, even to “harvest fests” held at churches, which were filled with kids and adults in costumes, activities, and treats. All seemed “safe” and “harmless”, but really, I still didn’t feel comfortable with it. Like your parents, I eventually saw how this “holiday” did not line-up with scripture. I wondered if others saw me as the Christian version of “Scrooge” over this issue?
I do not feel that way anymore, because I rejoice in the Lord – He has given me a hope that is so great – and Halloween has nothing to do with that hope. Some Christians argue that Halloween is harmless – but when you encourage children to “celebrate” a holiday of “death and darkness”, you might just end up with adults who “celebrate” the the making of state laws that support the “death” of infants, or even grandparents.
Love your comment, Cindy! Thank you for sharing your journey!!!
This is a subject very important to me, and I appreciate the insight Steve and Teri have shared over the years. I grew up “celebrating” Halloween, in a Christian home. When I became the mother of twin boys, we started out with cute costumes for the boys, and tried to keep things innocent and fun. However, every year I felt more and more uneasy. I just had no peace and felt very uncomfortable as we went from house to house in our neighborhood.
As I grew in my walk with the Lord, I began to see that this holiday brings no glory to the Lord Jesus. In fact, it seems that evil is glorified and celebrated. When my boys were 6 years old, I spent two days fasting and praying over the issue. I asked the Lord, “what do you want us to do about Halloween?” I sensed that He spoke, “I want you to have nothing to do with it.” So, that settled it for our family.
The next Halloween, we began “celebrating Fall”. For us, we found it best to leave our neighborhood completely. We began a yearly tradition of going to the mountains overnight, picking apples, and going gem-mining and hiking. We did this for 7 years in a row. God blessed that decision so much! 🙂 We made wonderful memories as a family and enjoyed the beauty of God’s creation each year.
Now our boys are 14. This year, the Lord has enabled us to go to the beach for the weekend. Again, we want to remove ourselves from the sights and sounds within our neighborhood. We don’t judge others who do things differently; and hopefully our neighbors don’t judge us! We just want to bring Honor to the Lord and obey Him. For us, He gave very clear direction. And can I tell you, every year for 8 years now, the Lord has given such peace and a wonderful tradition of going away together for a few days! He has given us something way better than what we let go of. Thank you Steve and Teri, for your example in this area.
Kristin,
I love your testimony! Wow. So inspiring! Thank you for sharing.
Sarah
I really appreciate these testimonies which show that there are more God-honouring alternatives to what mainstream culture views as acceptable. Thank you for raising this topic, and the great articles!
I also want to say thanks for these articles. As a young married couple, we always have out candy and gospel tracts. My interest in this didn’t last long, though. Buying candy to give away was a real financial hardship for us. And it was a shock to me when some of our visitors were adults who were asking for treats for babies who didn’t even have teeth! It also seemed especially sad to me when we saw toddlers dressed in dirty sweat suits with gruesomely painted faces.
When my two oldest boys were young, we continued to observe Halloween. For me, as a child, the anticipation was the most fun thing about that day and I wanted them to enjoy that, too. My concerns about participating in such a dark celebration had been growing for a time when God called us to move away at just the right time as our oldest nephew began to go deeper into the scary and gruesome aspects of the day. The year we moved, we were going to look at a house for sale and couldn’t go trick or treating, but the boys still dressed up and my mother gave them candy. She continued to buy candy for years, but we didn’t dress up again after that night.
We also don’t participate in trunk or treat. I realize that churches who plan those events are seeking an opportunity to witness, but we have come to see the best witness as being separate from this “holiday” altogether. One year we were fortunate enough to be able to go on a camping trip that day and it was wonderfully relaxing to get away the chaos!
I noticed that there are much fewer comments on this blog post than most others. But I’m hopeful that as Holy Spirit speaks, many more will be encouraged by the testimony of brothers and sisters who have left this”celebration” behind in the freedom of the LORD! Thank you for sharing your story and convictions!