Every year around the end of October children everywhere dress up as ghosts, witches, skeletons, soldiers, and a million other things. They band together and go knocking on the doors of total strangers. What are they seeking? CANDY! Candy of all kinds: Tootsie Rolls and Snickers, Gummi Bears and Suckers, Milky Ways and Airheads, Butterfingers and Reese's.
Around this same time Christian children everywhere don their Apostle Paul or Heavenly Angel costumes and head for the church parking lot! There they will find carnival games and open trunks. What are they seeking? The same CANDY, of course!
I have had the opportunity to celebrate Halloween in several different ways. When I was young, I went trick-or-treating, both in my neighborhood and in others. I distinctly remember one year when I was a soldier, I had a toy grenade that banged loudly if you threw it on the ground. I thought it would be funny to throw it at the feet of the people who opened the their doors to pass out candy. Not so much. While serving at a small church in Houston, I put on a church parking lot carnival. Of course, the games only started after my sermon on the evils of Halloween and subsequent gospel presentation. While in Dallas, my wife and I had the opportunity to take dozens of children to the biggest baddest fall festival I have ever seen. This thing would rival some state fairs. A wealthy church in north Dallas shuttled all of our kids up for the evening. It was a blast!
Because of its history, many Christians feel that celebrating Halloween is tantamount to participation in pagan religion.(Here is a quick look at the history of Halloween.) Others see no problem with it. Still others think it is fine to celebrate, but that it should be done in the safe confines of the church grounds.
Should Christians celebrate Halloween? Or should we celebrate Halloween, but call it something else? Or should we celebrate All Saints Day? Or should we let the end of October pass without acknowledging anything?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
My thought is that celebrate Halloween as fun time for dress up and eating way too much candy. The "where" we celebrate does not matter too much to me. If you are confident that you know your neighbors and your neighborhood is safe, why not have a neighborhood bonding experience? It could also be another way for the church to provide a safe environment for kids and a means of getting to know those parents who might not otherwise go near a church.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that one demonstrates belief in paganism by participating in modern day trick or treating any more than one becomes a born again Christian by exchanging gifts in December.
I'm post-Halloween freak out. But then again, I'm just not much of a holiday celebrating guy. There's SOOOO much pressure to find a good costume, I just can't deal with it year after year. And it's so expensive. I also doubt that its a gateway to paganism...
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has never been a fan of any holiday, Halloween is actually one that makes me smile. As a child, Halloween was a family event which I enjoyed. My sister, cousins and myself would all get together, our parents would dress us up in our costumes and do our "make-up" and take us around the neighborhood with the other neighborhood kids to gather candy. As we got older we were more interested in playing tricks than gathering treats, but looking back, it was a fun time for us kids to spend together. There was one house on our street which handed out the best candy...it was THE house to hit. They also handed out tracts, so maybe they were doing their best to balance out the holiday for us. I've been to fall festivals at churches and schools and have had fun there as well with the games, rides, prizes and candy. In the end, they all accomplish the same things: fun, candy and relationships. At least they did for me
ReplyDeletePraycilla
My grandfather has the best house within a square mile kids love coming to see the talking hand shaking mummy with flying bats and strobe lights but it doesn’t stop there he also gives the best candy this is the testimony every believer should portray. When you live off of mac n cheese with tuna fish, and top ramen and your parents fight and hardly know you exist this is a great way to bring a smile to the face of many. The best thing about holy ween is everyone is equal no costume or un costume goes unnoticed. I hope one day to carry on his tradition and be the one that gives these kids a glimpse of hope and tooth decaying sweetness, I will also say that the grandpa even has helpers and backups to help with set up take down and passing out of the ever so awesome treats. Holy ween is no longer a day of satan it is a day of being a neighbor someone who cares. Legalism and liberalism can be deadly to our message and has made so many ineffective. Sometimes I think Americans have too much time to be Pharisees. I bought the best candy and coolest tracks (I recommend making your own) two years ago and no one came to the door it was the saddest night of the year our neighbors all went out of the hood to the suburbs. If I could do it all over again I would fire of the grill and make mummy dogs and pass out soda too, the good stuff along with candy and tracks for anyone who wanted one home made of course. Bringing Light into darkness that all could comprehend. Using these good opportunities to evangelize is a wise choice Christian bubble events can be done well also but sometimes I feel they lack lasting impact. Thanks friends have a Spirit filled time.
ReplyDeleteMiles - the HW-BBQ sounds like an awesome idea!
ReplyDeleteI agree about the HW BBQ. We could baste everything in orange and black sauce...
ReplyDeleteGrady,
I like the comparison to Christmas presents. Thanks!
"Avoid the very APPEARANCE of evil"
ReplyDeleteIf you do some research and find out how SERIOUS some pagans, wiccans, satanists, and other occultists are about Halloween you would NEVER want to celebrate anything on that day. You'd be on your knees in prayer.
Anonymous Commenter,
ReplyDeleteThree things:
1) This may have just been an oversight, but please if you are going to express your opinion, own it by putting your name on it.
2) Your assumption that if we 'knew the real truth like you do' we would agree with you is at best naive. You seem to think that 'the real truth' demands your proposed response. In fact, a great many believers are perfectly aware of how some view this day, and don't respond as you suggest.
3) I disagree that because a very small minority of people in our society take this holiday as some sort of serious religious time, that Christians should "never celebrate anything." That is one possible response to this sort of thing. Another possible response is to take the opportunity this time affords and use it for the kingdom. Historically, this is what the church has done with pagan holidays. If I have a choice between separatism and mission, I always choose mission.