Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

Halloween

(cc) Denise Krebs (Flickr)

For years, Christian families have struggled with the question of whether or not to celebrate Halloween:

  • Is it OK to let our kids go Trick-or-Treating?
  • Is it OK to let them dress up in costumes?
  • Is it OK to hand out candy to kids who come to our door on Halloween?

Let’s look at this issue from a historical, practical, and scriptural perspective to see if we can find some answers.

The Serendipity of Loss

(cc) Paul O'Rear (Flickr)

(cc) Paul O’Rear (Flickr)

Webster defines “serendipity” as “the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for”. I like to think of serendipity simply as “an unexpected blessing”.

I lost my daughter Ashley to cancer in 2001. She was fourteen years old. I have learned many things about loss and grief in the eleven years since her death. One of those unexpected lessons is that there is blessing in loss.

The Pickle Jar

(cc) Ken Kennedy (Flickr)

(cc) Ken Kennedy (Flickr)

Making their way into the large classroom, the students began to settle into their seats and prepare for the day’s instruction. They were mostly freshmen, trying to figure out all of the intricacies of college life, the majority of them still somewhat awkward and uncertain of themselves in this new environment. It was only the third week of school.

How Do You Kill 11 Million People?

Hitler 1928 (Wikipedia)

Hitler 1928 (Wikipedia)

Adolph Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933. The Nazis were defeated by the Allied powers in 1945. During that twelve-year period, Hitler slaughtered approximately eleven million people, mostly Jews, as part of his “Final Solution”.

Consider the numbers. How can one corrupt, narcissistic dictator affect the systematic annihilation of over eleven million people, with very little resistance on the part of those being murdered? According to Andy Andrews, by lying to them.