Parenting/Bible Discussions/Resources
By Summer Lane
Photo: Deposit
Spooky season is upon us! You know what I’m talking about: Halloween decorations at Home Depot (Boo!), Halloween candy EVERYWHERE, and movie marathons of slasher flicks on cable.
For most people, Halloween is a blink – it signals the beginning of Autumn and the slow and steady prologue into the wintery months, where Thanksgiving and Christmas end the year. Halloween is often the hallmark for the transition into the holiday season. There’s something delightfully comforting and cozy about being cuddled up in a blanket with a mug of steaming cocoa, reading a good book, or watching an autumnal rom-com. It’s a break from the go-go-go pace of life we all struggle with, and it’s such a short-lived season, that many take great pleasure in enjoying every single second.
But for some Christians, they may struggle with the concept of Halloween. Is it rooted in Satanic heritage? Is it “evil,” as some might argue? How spooky is TOO spooky for kids?
Let’s dig in!
The history of Halloween
Here on the Counter Culture Mom blog, we’ve dissected the history of Halloween over the years. Let’s revisit this history for a moment before we dig into the real, nagging questions about the holiday. The celebration of Halloween, or “Samhain,” dates back to the ancient Celts, who believed that by dressing up in strange costumes, they could frighten away ghosts or evil spirits. Therein lies the roots of the holiday, which is, of course, not Biblical at all. We’ve reported here at CCM that these ancient Druids used to build massive bonfires and make sacrifices to their deities. They also engaged in fortune-telling.
The roots of Halloween are certainly not Christian, but does that mean that today’s comic-book version of Halloween is just as evil? Like anything else, it depends on how you approach it – and on this matter, culture is almost always wrong.
Is dressing up in a costume a sin?
Nowhere in the Bible does it say that children can’t dress up in costumes and have fun. Are your children dressing up to collect candy in a church parking lot? Not a sin. Are they dressing up to sacrifice a chicken in a backyard bonfire to a Celtic God? Definitely a sin (Exodus 20:3).
You get the idea. Most parents dress their kids up in a cute costume, take a picture, and grab some candy at a neighborhood trick-or-treat event, and that’s the end of it. There’s no fault here. For anyone.
Is celebrating evil spirits and divination a sin?
Yes. The Bible explicitly warns us against communicating with the dead, as well as practicing witchcraft (Gal. 5:19-21, Deut. 18:10-14, Ecc. 9:4-6, Exodus 22:18). Christians should think about the kind of characters they want to portray when they dress up in costume, and they should also think about the types of stories and music they listen to. Dressing up as a superhero or a pumpkin is one thing – dressing up as a demon is another. Like everything else, this situation simply calls for a little common sense discernment.
Teach your kids to discern independently – and have FUN
We do not need to teach our kids to be afraid of Halloween. Many Christians actually celebrate October 31 as “Reformation Day,” because it marks the day when, in 1517, Martin Luther King nailed his Ninety-Five Thesis to the wooden doors of the Wittenberg Castle Church. What a wonderful day! And perhaps it’s not a coincidence at all that it intersect with “All Hallow’s Eve” – a spiritually dark night for the Celts, later reclaimed by Christ as the starting point of the Reformation.
Our children should be celebrating this moment, and realizing that they can also have fun on Halloween while being obedient to Christ! Chew on the good, and spit out the bad. This is a concept that is taught by Mama Bear Apologetics. This approach emphasizes allowing children to digest culture (without reason, of course) and chew on what’s good and spit out what’s bad. This teaches them to logically analyze worldly things and discern whether they are Biblical, safe, and true.
“The chew and spit method acknowledges that we’re in the world, we can’t get out of it, so we have to know how to navigate it,” they write on their site.
Hiding from the world is not the answer. Interacting with it in a healthy and intelligent way is a much better option – especially when it comes to Halloween! Don’t be afraid to have fun. As a Christian, it can be easy to shrink away from the world and want to keep your kids in a bubble. But remember, we are to be salt and light. We are not to hide from the world:
“Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house. Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
Let’s take this mindset with us as we enjoy the Halloween season! Don’t be afraid of it. Face it head-on, have a little fun, and keep the Word of God first in your hearts.
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Summer Lane is the #1 bestselling author of 30 books, including the hit Collapse Series and Resurrection Series. She is an experienced journalist and editor who is covering the White House and Trump administration. She owns Write Revolution News.
Summer is also a mom and wife who enjoys rural country living, herding cats, and gardening. She is passionate about writing on women’s issues, parenting, and politics from a theologically-grounded perspective that points readers to the good news of the gospel.
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