Halloween...Should Christians Celebrate it or not?

October is nearing its end this year and as I go through the aisles at Wal-Mart, I am reminded that Halloween is upon us.  I often hear many Christians say they don't celebrate this holiday, while other Christians find nothing wrong with it as long as they are not practicing the evil origins of it.  So who is right?  Should a Christian celebrate Halloween or not?

I can't answer that for you.  That is something that you and your spouse have to prayerfully consider, as with anything that involves your family.  I can, however, tell you what God has laid upon our hearts.  Though you and I may ultimately choose different sides of this issue, may each of us have made our decision in prayer.  I don't want to celebrate just because it's fun and all of my children's friends are doing it!  In the same respect, I don't want to NOT celebrate it just to be self-righteous.  I want to take every issue that involves our family to my husband...ultimately, He is the decision maker.  Thankfully, he values my opinion on issues as well.

Ultimately, though, we want to be pleasing to God.  If we are not sure on an issue, it is ALWAYS better to err on the side of caution.

So what is Halloween really all about and why do some people not celebrate it?  Well, I'm not going to get into all the depths of Halloween.  The Bible speaks about not learning about other gods.  You can research it if you must, but let's just say, God wasn't pleased. 

Today, people in America don't celebrate Halloween in the same way of its origins.  It's almost become its own holiday.  Thus, dividing Christians on whether it's okay to celebrate it or not.

Okay, so here's my background with Halloween:

We always celebrated it as children.  It was about the candy and nothing else.  I was never really big into dressing up (took too much work), although we often had homemade costumes.  I usually was a clown or something that was simple to be.  I went to my public school one year in elementary without a costume and I guess the teacher felt sorry for me because she dressed me up.  Halloween was never important to us, just the candy.

When my husband and I first got married, I never saw an issue with Halloween.  My husband, however, did.  Therefore, we did not celebrate it.  Now that I have children, though, I see things differently.

Here are the main reasons we don't celebrate Halloween:

1)  It's origins- Despite the fact that no one really celebrates any of our holidays by it's origins, it's still a holiday that could be associated with how it began (and that is something we do not feel God would approve of).

2)  What it means today- I love corn mazes and such, but it seems that every one of them always has to be associated with Halloween.  Haunted Houses are also really popular this time of year.  There's things made to scare you (I do not want to scare my children), made to gross you out (even I don't want to be grossed out), and much of Halloween represents death and coming back from the dead.  Whether it be someone with a chainsaw, a witch, or a ghost, Halloween represents everything that is the opposite of Christ.  We may think, "what does a little fun hurt," but recently, I've been convicted of something....

"If it's not edifying, it's not worth it."

  I still struggle in this area...Halloween, though, is pretty easy for me to give up.  But with all of the evil that is represented with Halloween today, I don't want my children to have any part of it.

3)  The candy- you heard me.  The thing I loved as a child, is part of the reason I don't like Halloween today.  I certainly don't want my children going door to door to get candy from strangers.  Who knows what could be done to the candy these days.  I get that we could go to a church or family member's home.  But as far as trick-or-treating, it's not for us.

4) It's a good day to deer hunt-  Yeah you heard me right!  We want to spend our days doing something we enjoy, not something we are told we have to celebrate for a tradition we don't care about.  October 31st is a good day to hunt, so we think that is probably where you will find most of us on this day.  While other kids are getting candy, my kids are going to be providing meat!

5) It's expensive- have you seen the cost of costumes these days?  Not to mention bags of candy (which are not good for you anyways).  You'll see that we celebrate most holidays after the actual holiday in this family (we like to get things for 50% off, and if you start young, the kids don't know any difference).  The kids like it because we can get more for our money!

6)It's not edifying-  There is nothing in Halloween that will lead others to Christ...in fact, it's just the opposite.  Now, we could stay at home, turn on our porch light, and hand out candy and gospel tracts.  However, we don't want our children to feel like they're "missing out" when they see the other children.  So for us, we're avoiding it all together.  Although, something we may consider is to leave a few bags of candy on the doorstep with tracts inside (of course, some kids may just take ALL of the candy). 

I think witnessing to others on this holiday is wonderful!  But you also have to be careful what you subject your children to.  In the end, you have to look at your options and decide.  But don't try to fit God into Halloween.  See if Halloween, or anything else your deciding, fits into your life with God. 

These are the main reasons we choose to not celebrate Halloween in our family.  We don't feel like our kids are missing out on anything.  In fact, we will replace that day with something they like better!  Some of our kids may like to hunt, some may not.  The point is to do something together as a family that we all enjoy.  To me, family time is edifying.  Building relationships is edifying.

Halloween can be fun.  Certainly you can go to your church, have a trunk or treat, have good fellowship, play games, and have candy.  I have done this.  But I must say, when I did this, there was no virtually no witnessing, kids wore whatever costumes they wanted, and we as Christians wanted to celebrate for fear of feeling "left out."  My friend, we are children of the King, we are NOT left out!

Celebrate it how you wish, but just make sure it's pleasing to God in all ways.  If it's even slightly questionable, don't do it! 

Instead, we usually try to celebrate Fall.  We all love the fall weather and will probably take our "summer homeschooling vacation" in the fall every year!  We love hayrides, corn mazes (that are JUST corn mazes), hunting, going to the park, and all of the wonderful things we can do together as a family outside.  We want to celebrate this season of the year that God has given us!

So, what are some reasons other than mine that you don't celebrate Halloween?  Or, maybe, what are some of the reasons why you do?  I'm always open for a kind debate.  However, we must all remember that we are responsible for our own families.  If you celebrate Halloween, that has no bearing on me or my family. It does not offend me.  I only ask that everyone prayerfully make decisions based upon Scripture and Prayer and not our own desires for entertainment.  I look forward to your feedback!