Everyone has different views and feelings towards Halloween, most of them instilled in them from childhood. Some never "celebrated," others attended "fall festivals," some dressed up as the grim reaper while others' mothers made them lady bugs or angels on October 31st (I have been the last two). My mom allowed me to go trick-or-treating and fall festival attending in my various creative outfits, usually something like a hippie, cowgirl, or gypsy that I'd pulled together out of my own closet. She usually inspected my candy after to make sure all the packages were sealed and no one had attempted to poison me.
Our home was decorated in a "fall celebration" theme. We once had a fairly cute ghost decoration I remember when I was in kindergarten, but the family consensus was that it bridged over into the darker, less innocent side of Halloween and shouldn't be kept in the house. In college, I was once Catwoman and then someone in a really pretty Victorian looking dress with lace gloves (I dubbed myself Rose from the Titanic. It looked appropriate).
So how should Christians approach Halloween? Is it a demonic holiday? Should our children participate? Can they dress up as ghouls and witches, or only super heroes and princesses? Should we attend "haunted houses" and watch scary movies around Halloween? Are we dabbling in the spiritual world, or is it all fun and games? Where is the line?
Clearly, this is a grey area of Christian liberty. But it's still something I mull over in my brain. What are your Halloween experiences and thoughts?
Reflecting,
Jane
My family and I have always treated Halloween as an innocent family celebration. We always dress up in fun costumes (avoiding devil outfits), visit our grandparents, eat yummy food and get candy. We would decorate the yard with funny-faced handmade ghosts, a tradition that remains to this day. As long as you're looking at it with a pure heart and pure intentions, I see no problem in celebrating :)
ReplyDeleteAs to the "darker" side of Halloween, as you put it, that's definitely a grey area. I won't get into that now, but I have written a blog post on that subject (http://everydayessequamvideri.blogspot.com/2013/05/grey-areas-epiphany.html). I don't have a problem with haunted houses, but that's a weaker-brother/stronger-brother issue. If your faith has brought you to a confidence in God and the fact that He protects you from the spiritual realm, then I say go forth in faith. A person visiting a haunted house generally isn’t trying to conjure up anything from beyond the grave. Usually he’s looking for adventure, for an unusual experience that can’t be explained with science. When I think of "dabbling in the spiritual world," I think of Saul seeking out the Witch of Endor to call up Samuel from the grave. Ouija boards, tarot cards, divination--these are the sorts of things we're forbidden to dabble in. I believe they’re wrong because they’re an attempt to take control over something God has not granted to us. He gave us the earth to be our realm, but the spiritual realm, which holds the power of life, death, and fate, is his realm. None of these are ours to control—hence why murder, necromancy and divination are sins. But looking for a little adventure? I see nothing wrong in that :P
Oh, and scary movies? Well, I think they’re more or less like any other movie. Be aware of the content before you watch, and don’t let yourself be negatively influenced.