Tis the season to be soggy! Alaska had an amazing summer this year (2019); warmer-than-normal temperatures and very little rain. This didn’t help with the fires that devoured millions of acreage, but it did help many Alaska residents who were suffering from a vitamin D deficiency. We typically see kiddos bundled in winter coats as they go door to door for Halloween (they may just be in snow gear and completely bypass the costume), but this year they might be in need of rain gear and umbrellas.
As far as Halloween goes, I’m not interested in getting into a debate or argument. It’s unfortunate that many Christians who are against any participation in Halloween will turn downright nasty. How can we call ourselves Christians if we are having any participation in such a demonic holiday? I turn that around and ask how you can call yourself a Christian and be so ugly towards people, Christian and non-Christian. Aren’t we supposed to be showing God’s love? Most of the holidays on our calendar that are widely observed have pagan origins, and not just Halloween.
Halloween has its origins dating back more than 2,000 years. It was originally a Celtic harvest festival called Samhain. They believed that the barrier between the spirit world and our world became very thin at that time of year. They would welcome in the spirits of their ancestors, celebrate the harvest, and ward of the evil spirits. This pagan holiday was Christianized and was recognized as All Saints Day Eve in which we prepared to celebrate and pray for all the saints, known and unknown. All Saints Day is observed on November 1st.
Christmas was even worse! Roman pagans (non-Christians) had a week designated for pure lawlessness; the week was called Saturnalia. This was a time of over-intoxication, over-indulging, sexual immorality, and ended with a human sacrifice! The Romans would select a person and designate them as the “enemy of the people.” They would commit atrocities against this person – forcing them to over-indulge, heinous sexual acts, and at the end of that week, on December 25th, they would brutally murder this person, thereby destroying the forces of darkness they had deemed resided in that person. A typical special food eaten during this time were human shaped biscuits (kind of like our gingerbread man cookies). Because there was absolutely nothing in common with Saturnalia and Christian practices, the church designated December 25th as the day of Christ’s birth.
Even Easter has a similar history. Priests to the goddess would rape virgins on her altar and then on Easter the babies that resulted from the raping would be sacrificed to the same goddess. The priests would then take eggs and paint them with the blood of the sacrificed babies. Christians adopted the same time of year to celebrate Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection with the parallels of new life (fertility), the sacrifice (Jesus), and the new birth (being born again). The similarities (without the horribleness) made conversions to Christianity easier.
Trick-or-treating is not something that can typically be used to bring others into relationship with God, but what about shining a light to those who knock on your door? What about all of the alternatives that churches offer? Many of our local churches hold Harvest Festivals and make it free to the community. One such church in our area goes all out with tables piled high with baked goods for numerous rounds of cake walks, the sanctuary is opened with fun games for the kids, a huge bounce house is an annual staple, and even a concession area with seating. Costumes are allowed as long as they’re not scary, but costumes are not required. Regardless of what the volunteers are dressed up as (and they all dress up), they fail to mask how much they love God and want others to experience the same in their lives.
Halloween, Christmas, and Easter all have historical ways in which they can be tainted. They’ve been drastically commercialized – Halloween makes us think of costumes and candy, Christmas is Santa and what we’re hoping to get, and Easter is decorating eggs and what will the Easter bunny bring? This is, in a nutshell, one of the reasons why my favorite observed holiday is Thanksgiving, and even Thanksgiving is now about turkey, pie, and what is in the Black Friday ads for which store.
The first Thanksgiving, though, was celebrated in the US in 1621. What you may not know is that it was originally a time of fasting, not feasting. The first settlers were spending time in prayer, thanking God for their safe passage to the New World. It was only when the Wampanoag Indians joined them that they decided to have a feast instead of fast… but they didn’t have enough food to feed everyone. The Indian chief, understanding the shortage of food, sent out hunters, they brought back five deer and presented them as gifts to the settlers. After this feast, the Wampanoags helped the settlers cultivate and tend the land. Because the settlers were flexible (feasting instead of fasting), they were able to cultivate relationship with those of different beliefs.
The early settlers were Christians, fasting and giving thanks to God for the many blessings He had provided. The Wampanoag Indians were not, but spoke to them in a way that was uniform: food. They broke bread together. Each group had their own set of beliefs, but they were able to come together, work together, and they were able to do so in harmony for many years. Perhaps this was God further providing for His children, and their hearts were softened to being able to hear God’s direction; it really was okay that they feasted instead of fasting.
We’ve now perused a bit of history, and I’m sure most have come across the faith shaming in Facebook groups. Now I get to my favorite part: what does the Bible have to say and how are we convicted by it? Leading up to the first scripture I’ll use, in Romans, Paul is talking about how we were all once disobedient, which means we all are in need of His mercy. Then he goes on to say in Romans 12:1-2 (NIV), “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
One of the main scriptures that comes up in the great Halloween debate, is I John 2:15 (NIV) “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Pretty straight forward… if you enjoy the world, you obviously don’t love God. Am I right? That’s typically how this verse is used. What if we read on a little… “For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” I John 2:16-17 (NIV) Do we know what the will of God is? Keep reading…
We see in the history books some of our most sacred holiday observances have pagan roots. I celebrate Christ’s birth on Christmas, not lawlessness like the non-Christian Romans (Psst! There are other pagan roots that date even further back in history, but are even worse!). I celebrate Christ’s sacrificial death – a death He died in my place – and His resurrection, not the goddess of fertility and the sacrificing of babies, and I do not celebrate Halloween. But…
Our kids dress up for Halloween and we go to our church. There are so many from the community that don’t have a relationship with God that also come to enjoy the festivities. And while they’re inside the church building, the volunteers and other Christians who are there with their own families are able to share the love of God. It is God’s desire (and will) that all be saved (I Timothy 2:3-4; II Peter 3:9) and I want nothing more than to be part of God’s will instead of standing by when an opportunity presents itself. Early Christians adopted this idea and decided that it didn’t matter when they celebrated Christmas or Easter (or All Saints Day) but what mattered were the souls that were saved because they met the unsaved where they were. This doesn’t mean they participated in human sacrifice, drunkenness, or sexual immorality, but they did what Jesus would have done.
Jesus healed the sick because he was around them. Jesus fed the hungry because he was around them. Jesus ate with tax collectors and Pharisees even though they were an unsavory group of people. Jesus spoke to the lowest of society (adulterous women) and forgave them! How can we be a light if we shut our curtains, close our blinds, and hole up in our home on a night when we can offer an alternative to the lost? “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15) and serving means getting out there, shining a light in the darkness, and doing the will of God. As for the cakes and candy… that’s just a bonus.