Should Christians celebrate Halloween?

[JehovahsWitness]

Harmless fun or Satanic propaganda? What is your opinion?

[Peds nurse]

[Replying to post 1 by JehovahsWitness]

As a child, I celebrated Halloween. It was mostly fond memories. Then, when I was 22 my husband died on Halloween night. It seemed that this put a cloud over the fall holiday. I remarried, and we had children. We let them participate in Halloween festivities. As I drew nearer to God, my convictions to do something different became clearer...and we stopped, for a very long time.

We do foster care, and we had 4 girls, and their favorite holiday was Halloween. I prayed, and then prayed some more, and this is what I feel the Spirit was saying to me...Love is God's greatest gift to man, so it makes sense, that is the greatest thing that we can give each other. I took those girls trick or treating out of the love for God and the love for them. When I get to Heaven, I don't think God is going to care one bit that I took those girls trick or treating, He just cares that I love them, and showed them who He is through that love.

So, I don't think God really cares if we go trick or treating, follow the Easter Bunny, or sit on Santa's lap, He is going to ask us if we loved Him and thus loved His people.

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to post 2 by Peds nurse]

I can respect your journey Ped. Personally I see the holiday as one of Satan sneaky means to get us to be involved in things God hates. I do think God cares what we do with our time; I just can't see Mary and Joseph dressing Jesus up as the Devil and the younger children as witches and taking them out to get sweets in a bucket shaped as a skull.



For this reason I personally don't participate in this "holy day".

JW

[Peds nurse]

[Replying to JehovahsWitness]

Jw? Why would God hate Halloween? I am very curious to read your response.I can understand hating the fact of him being angry because we don't serve his people, or that we don't put him first, but dressing up and getting candy?

[JehovahsWitness]

[Replying to JehovahsWitness]

Jw? Why would God hate Halloween? I am very curious to read your response.I can understand hating the fact of him being angry because we don't serve his people, or that we don't put him first, but dressing up and getting candy?

I think of the scripture that says that whatever we do, whether eating or drinking (or presumably dressing) we do to God's glory. There are, in my opinion, certain things God hates and certain things he loves, and there was a stated and explicit emnity that would exist between God and his children and the Devil and his children (see Gen 3:15).




So while I am not suggesting God hates "dressing up" (ie wearing costumes) or candy or cake, dressing up as characters that God hates and celebrating with candy and cake things associated with spiritism, witchcraft, demonism and excessive violence etc (all things the bible warns lovers of God to stay away from) is not in my opinion honouring either the spirit or the letter of divine law.

Please don't take this personally I am just expressing my own personal views and respect others right to see things entirely differently.

JW

To read more, please go to to other posts related to

CHRISTMAS , .EASTER and ... HALLOWEEN

[Peds nurse]

[Replying to post 5 by JehovahsWitness]

No worries JW, of me taking things personally. This is a debating site, and there will be differences.

I happen to see things in a different light, for I believe that God cares more of our hearts, then ever our actions. If our hearts are in sync with His, than our actions will follow.

Have a beautiful evening!

[bjs]

[Replying to JehovahsWitness]

Out of curiosity, are you opposed to Halloween in general, or only if includes spiritism, witchcraft, etc. What if someone dresses up as a bumblebee and goes trick-or-treating carrying a bag that looks like a pumpkin. Is that acceptable?

[catnip]

[Replying to post 1 by JehovahsWitness]

I am Episcopalian and so it is closely associated with the very early Christianity of the British Isles. I suppose this will be ignored, but Hallowe'en, or more specifically All Hallow's Eve, like Christmas Eve, is the evening before a Holy Day called All Saints Day. It is close in time and made some fun out of some aspects of Samhain, a Pagan celebration, but this was the practice of the early church as it spread to foreign cultures early on--to draw away Pagans from their worship and turn the day to God's purpose.

In short: It has the word "Holy" in it and it is a time to remember those who have died in Christ. Yes, Hallows is Old English for Holy. You also find this in the word holiday because back in the early years the days people took off from work were all holy days.

Notes:

All Saints Day is celebrated throughout the Western Church, Catholic and her protestant churches. It is a way to remember all the Saints who we know or may not know because there are special days set aside for the great saints of the church. But, as Paul considered all who believed to be saints, all who belong to Christ are.

Samhain was not set on a particular day like October 31st, but according to the moon phases around the same time of year. It was a day for human sacrifice early on and many of the bog bodies that are found were sacrificed at that time.

[ttruscott]

[Replying to JehovahsWitness]

Jw? Why would God hate Halloween? I am very curious to read your response.I can understand hating the fact of him being angry because we don't serve his people, or that we don't put him first, but dressing up and getting candy?

Well, Peds Nurse, the candy is gotten by extortion, the tricks of trick or treat. The dead are not thanked and revered by family memory rituals like the Day of the Dead in Mexico (with its attitude of casual mockery of death supplied by faith in the resurrection) but rather dead things and evil things are a source of fear and horror alleviated not by Christ but by materialism - it's not real you know.

All the pagan ritualistic holidays have accepted a patina of Christian churchism at worst and have become (for a few) totally eradicated of pagan meaning by the meaning of Christ at best...except halloween. Is there even one symbol of Christ expressed in any of the ways of celebrating halloween? Not any beyond the new name...

[ttruscott]

If our hearts are in sync with His, than our actions will follow.

Have a beautiful evening!

How does not this contradict Christians being involved with halloween? If a heart is with Christ how could that Christian support disporting himself as something evil?