No, Halloween Is Not Satanic

Preamble

If you read the title of this article, you already know the conclusion I’m coming to. Halloween has been celebrated in Western Christianity, particularly in Britain, for hundreds of years. Officially, it is “All Hallows’ Eve” the day before All Hallows’ Day or All Saints’ Day, a major feast of the Western Church. The day after All Saints’ is known as All Souls, celebrating those Christians who have not been canonized by the church. Together, these three days are known as All Hallowtide. Many assert that because of so-called Pagan origins, Christians should not celebrate Halloween, and I will admit that this is fair; Christians should not engage in every practice of the surrounding culture, but is eating candy and watching scary movies that evil? I have my doubts. I will not tell you that you must or must not do something; that is a matter of Christian liberty. I am only here to arm you with facts.

True History

First of all, Halloween, as we know it, is a uniquely Americanized holiday, divorced from it’s traditional European past. When European immigrants came to America, they brought with them cultural artifacts, like trick-or-treating, which blended together in the New World, forming new and unique traditions. Thus we have American Halloween.

In its original context, Halloween is a Catholic cultural holiday. Some Protestant readers might be concerned by this. It comes from the practice of praying for the dead. This is a very old practice, predating the doctrine of purgatory. It comes from a place of care for those we love, which continues on after death. Whether that is a proper practice or not is beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say it happened and continues to happen all over the world. Traditionally, one would enter the cemetery to decorate the graves of departed Christians and to pray for them, or to pray to them. Once again, the doctrinal or philosophical implications are beyond the scope of this article.

Dressing up as ghosts or evil spirits was a way of mocking the Devil, showing him for the fool he was and celebrating Christ’s victory over him. Satan is a very proud being, you see, and cannot bear to be mocked. When we mock him, we take some of his power away.

Samhain: Fact or Myth?

“But what about Samhain? The Celtic Pagan autumns festival?” That is a bit of a pickle, you see. Pope Gregory III moved All Hallows Day from April to November in order to draw attention away from lingering pagan influence. So yes, the connection is there, but just barely.

Samhain was one of the “quarter days” of the Gaelic calendar, when the veil between our world and the world of the spirits grew thin. Sometimes beings like fairies or ghosts would walk among the living. In order to appease these beings, it was customary to leave out offerings of food. One was to give food to beggars that came to the door, as they might be spirits in disguise. This evolved into the practice we now call “trick or treating”.

Even so, Christianity has a history of building things atop Pagan foundations, conquering the strongholds of the fallen old gods and proclaiming Christ’s victory. Why should Halloween be the exception? Furthermore, if dressing up and eating candy is worshipping the devil, I think we’re in a lot of trouble.

Why or Why Not?

Now we come to the question of “why”. Why should a Christian have anything to do with such a macabre celebration? Well, first I would say to spite the devil. The devil does not want us enjoying the freedom that Christ has given us. He doesn’t want us enjoying good food (unless it’s to excess) or having fun or making light of him. He does not want us to enjoy time with our families and friends. He would happily take all of that away if he could. My fear is that we have let fear and paranoia control us. Has Christ not defeated the Devil? If we truly believed in Him and His saving power, then we would not allow Satan to have such control over us.

Secondly, I think it is important to remember that we are going to die. All the macabre imagery, the Jack O’lanterns, the skulls, tombstones, zombies and other images of Halloween remind us that one day, we will all die. It could be today. Live your life accordingly.

But in the end, this is a matter of Christian liberty. As Romans 14:5 says: “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.”

I’m not here to tell you what you should or should not do; that is up to you and the Holy Spirit to decide. Either way, your soul is not in jeopardy. God is master over all days of the year, including Halloween.