When I was a child, we went trick or treating, we wore costumes, and we even went to Halloween parties… at our church. GASP!! Perhaps even more surprising was that this was a Bible teaching, evangelical, conservative church. Some would even have said this church was legalistic on many issues of the day. However, celebrating October 31 with a Halloween party was not unusual for churches in those (ahem, long ago) days. In fact, the first time that I heard murmurings about Halloween being “the devil’s day” was when I was in college in the 1980’s. Since that time, I have had Christians tell me that they don’t use the word “Halloween” because it is evil. Other Christians have said that they don’t celebrate Halloween because it is the “devil’s day”. And, at least two Christian friends have told me that they just like to lock all their doors on October 31st, hop under the covers early, and hope for that day to be over soon.
So, I ask, is Halloween, or October 31st, really “the devil’s day”? Should we avoid saying the word “Halloween”? Is it wise to avoid this day all together? In order to answer these questions, I did a little internet research. The online history of Halloween is somewhat sketchy, and often conflicting, but I have summarized (briefly) some of the results below.
1. The name, Halloween
The early church (pre-reformation, Roman church) set aside a day (May 13), called All Saints Day, to remember and pray for the martyred Christian saints. Sometime in the early 800’s, Pope Gregory III moved the date of All Saints Day to November 1. Some say that this date was moved to coincide with the dedication of the All Saints Chapel at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Others say that the date was changed to coincide with and therefore Christianize the pagan druidic celebration, Samhain, in the British Isles. In England, All Saints Day was known as All Hallows Day. Thus, Halloween is simply a shortening of All Hallows Even or the night before All Hallows Day.
So, the word, Halloween, is not an evil word at its origin. The Christian church created this word for the evening before the day of prayers for the martyrs and saints.
2. The traditions
The traditions on and around Halloween have come from many places, and have changed over the years. In 998, the church added All Souls Day as a day to remember and pray for those souls in purgatory. So, several catholic sources online suggested that, since the church was remembering those who were saints in heaven on Nov. 1, those who were “not quite there yet” in purgatory on Nov. 2, they also at this time thought of those who were not in either of those places, but were instead damned to hell, probably on October 31. These reminders of hell and its tortures brought about some of the traditions that we see in Halloween today.
A. Dressing in costumes
This practice has been linked to two historic practices– The first is the danse macabre (dance of death) of the medieval church in France in which people dressed as skeletons and other grisly things to illustrate death which is the fate of all mankind. The second is the Guy Fawkes day celebration from England which occurred on Nov. 4, and which also involved wearing masks and costumes. Furthermore, years ago when my children were small, I had read an article that said that during the Celtic festival of Samhain, many of the pagan adherents believed that the boundaries between life and the afterlife were removed on October 31. Because of that, many people would put out offerings to appease these lost and wandering souls. Then, these fearful pagans would hide in their homes and hope that the departed souls would not bother them through the night. As a way to picture the Christian church triumphant, some Christians dressed up their children as scary things and walked them through the town as if to say, “Here are your lost and wandering souls– just our children in costume. As Christians, we are not afraid of this night. We are a part of the triumphant church.”
B. Trick or Treat
Most sources attribute the origins of the trick or treat practice, which really was developed in America within the last century, to a historical practice in England where people would go door to door on All Souls Day and beg for treats or “soul cakes” in return for praying for souls of loved ones for the people.
C. Jack-o-lanterns
The carved, lighted pumpkins we call jack-o-lanterns came to our country from Ireland. Originally, they were carved turnips, and were used as a means to scare away evil souls during the Samhain festival.
3. Evil Day
Is Halloween an evil day? The Bible does talk about an “evil day”. In fact, in Ephesians 6:13, we are instructed to put on the full armor of God, that we may be able to stand in the “evil day”. The evil day that is referred to here, is however, the current age we live in — a time where evil exists (as opposed to the time after the creation of the New Heaven and New Earth when evil will be judged forever and eternally restrained by God). But, during this evil day, there is not one day that is especially singled out as being more evil than the others.
Also, remember that Martin Luther nailed his theses on the door of the church in Wittenburg, Germany on October 31, 1517. So, Protestant Christians can rejoice that this day was used by the Lord to bring about the reformation.
In light of all of this, I would like to lovingly suggest the following recommendations to you, my Christian friends:
Don’t be afraid of the word “Halloween”. This word is actually from the early Christian church. There is no inherent evil or sinful power in this word.
Do remember that the gospel of Christ is the power of salvation (Romans 1:16). We as Christians have the powerful word of God. Let us use these words on Halloween and every other day.
Don’t consider “Halloween” the “devil’s day”. The devil has no more power on this day than on any other day. So, while we must be watchful for the “fiery darts” of the devil on this day, we must not be any more or less so than any other day.
Do consider that every day belongs to the Lord. So, on this day and every other day, remind yourself that “This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24
Don’t hide in fear behind locked doors on this day like the superstitious pagans of old
Do remember that you belong to the church triumphant. You belong to the winning side!
“Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:7
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21
Read here for my 6 Halloween ministry ideas
Some references:
The Crossroads Initiative – Halloween
Grace to You. org Christian and Halloween
Christianity Today – Halloween
ucatholic.com The Catholic origins of Halloween
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Excellent! Thanks for the reminder that all days are God’s days. Our church has a festival each halloween called King’s Kids to remind the children that we’re all children of the King, Jesus. It gives young parents an alternative to going door-to-door and is more focused on games and activities than getting tons of candy, plus many activities are Bible-story-centered. I have been one to avoid use of the word halloween, but now, I’ll not be so worried 🙂
Thanks, Rhonda! I think it is great when churches offer alternative activities– especially when they are Bible and Gospel centered! 🙂
Very interesting….thanks for sharing with us at #JoyHopeLive !
Thank you, Mary!
Wow Kathleen, you tackled a very controversial issue! Good for you :).
At the end I appreciated the very practical “Dos” and “Don’ts”.
I’m glad you mentioned Martin Luther nailing his theses on the door on this day in 1517. That was definitely one of the great moments in church history. Unfortunately, it seems to be overshadowed by Halloween. Most Christians don’t know what Reformation Day is. I wonder if it would receive more attention if not for Halloween?
Also, I appreciated your discussion of the origin of Halloween and those things associated with it, but I wonder if an equally important question relates to what it is today. Sort of like the bronze serpent started off good, but it had to be destroyed in Hezekiah’s day when it became evil.
Thanks again, Kathleen, for tackling something so controversial!
Thanks for sharing the background on this. I grew up celebrating Halloween and always loved it. I think we can enjoy the fun parts that are innocent and avoid the bad stuff. We can be the light shining in the dark.
Yes– I agree that the important part of that and any day is being the light shining in the dark. That’s our job!