Thoughts on Halloween

Halloween is sometimes a controversial holiday especially in Christian circles. I've had mixed thoughts on it over the years, so I did a little research into its history. It originally started as a Celtic pagan holiday called Samhain to celebrate the end of the harvest season. They would often have bonfires and wear masks to mimic or appease evil spirits. When Christianity spread into the area, they Christianized the holiday by moving a Christian holiday called All Saints Day or All Hallow's Day from May to November 1. The purpose of All Saint's Day is to honor all the Christians who have been martyred for their faith. The day before All Saints Day is known as All Hallow's Eve or Halloween. They celebrated Halloween to mock Satan and his evil spirits. This is where the concept of Satan wearing a red suit with horns, a tail and pitchfork originated from. It was to make him a laughingstock and make fun of him. By dressing up their children as little devils or witches, the intention was to mock and belittle him. But should we mock Satan? According to Martin Luther, we absolutely should. Luther said, “The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn”. By the way, Halloween is not the only pagan holiday that was Christianized. Christmas was originally a pagan holiday to celebrate the Winter Solstice which was celebrated on December 25. The Christians took over that holiday, too, and turned it into a celebration of the birth of Jesus. But back to Halloween, I think that it is fine as long as you're not going out practicing witchcraft or worshipping Satan. There is nothing wrong with children dressing up and getting candy from their neighbors. This is actually a great opportunity for us to get outside and fellowship with our neighbors and build relationships with them especially in a culture that tends to stay behind closed doors. So, let's be like the early Christians and take over Halloween for Christ. Let's celebrate with him that He has won the battle and defeated Satan. He is victorious. I think God would be glorified by that.