“Once upon a time, there was a quiet little village in the French countryside, whose people believed in tranquilité—tranquility. If you lived in this village, you understood what was expected of you. You knew your place in the scheme of things. And if you happened to forget, someone would help remind you…. So through good times and bad, famine and feast, the villagers held fast to their traditions. Until, one winter day, a sly wind blew in from the North…”
–The Storyteller, Chocolat
The sly wind, in this case, is Halloween. It blows in the faces of Christians, stirring up words like pagan, occult, and chocolate. And where some prefer the tranquil village life, as a matter of tradition or conscience, others stand with open arms, welcoming the gust with gusto.
Why is there not a consensus on the tricky topic of Halloween? Philosopher/theologian Ken Samples suggests that Halloween may be a “gray area” for Christians. While some see no harm in giving out (and better yet, receiving) candy on October 31, others hold steadfast to the conviction that celebrating Halloween trivializes the holiday’s historic connections to pagan practices. For these individuals, donning costumes in hopes of getting sweeties does not sit well with their conscience.
Samples adds that “while the Bible expressly forbids a believer’s involvement in certain pagan and/or occult practices (Deut. 18:9–13), for the vast majority of American families Halloween has nothing to do with the practice of, or belief in, occultism.” Therefore, condemning the holiday because of its origins comes “perilously close to committing the genetic fallacy,” which is to evaluate something in terms of its origin and fail to acknowledge how it has changed.
Just within the last few decades the church’s stance on Halloween has gone through several shifts, inspiring everything from hell houses to harvest festivals and trunk-or-treats. Today many churches see Halloween as an opportunity to reach out to people within their community—a way to engage culture not by stepping back but by stepping up.
Lisa Blackwell, special events coordinator at Water of Life Community Church, says “Trunk or Treat has grown to become our largest local outreach event. This year we are expecting over 10,000 people to attend and enjoy the food, fellowship, and candy.”
Children’s Ministry volunteer and mother of two, Juanita S. says she and her family enjoy dressing up and trick-or-treating because “it’s all about shining God’s light on Halloween.” And Bryan Walter, drummer at Mosaic’s Inland campus, sees Halloween as a way to “promote community by getting to know the neighbors and having a spirit of giving.” (His favorite part: free candy!)
Speaking of free candy, the unwritten code is that the good stuff, the stuff kids want (and the stuff parents happily “tax”) is chocolate. Something equally delicious is this little nugget of wisdom, once again from the film Chocolat:
We can’t go around…measuring our goodness by what we don’t do. By what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude. I think we’ve got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create…and who we include.
Ultimately whether one participates in Halloween celebrations is a personal choice based on the heart’s conviction. So rather than throwing judgment, let’s respect others’ decisions and instead offer some understanding (and maybe some candy, too). nom
October 29, 2010 at 7:46 am
I love how you encourage people to do what’s right for them and not to judge others. That is wisdom to live by.
October 29, 2010 at 7:59 am
I love people with intelligent reasoning such as yourself Sandra. Thanks for being a critical thinker
October 29, 2010 at 12:24 pm
I agree with Mr. Samples we can not judge solely on a holiday’s tradition otherwise we will have to get rid of other holidays like Christmas that have pagan roots.
We do need to evaluate what the current holiday practice consists of. Halloween is a “high holiday” for religions that are not Christian. I don’t participate in those traditions. I will do something else.
Also, considered from a secular position Halloween has to much violence and crime with a emphasis on the macabre. The holiday is also teaching our children to be sexual deviates and harlots. This is bad without considering the spiritual significance.
Peace
November 5, 2010 at 8:57 am
We don’t have any major traditions for Halloween, though we do “celebrate” it. And by celebrate I mean, dress up and go begging for candy. I’ve never really been upset by pagan origins any more than I’ve been upset by the pagan origins of Easter or Christmas. It’s just a fun chance to dress up and get candy.
I can certainly understand why people react negatively to the holiday, but it’s not something that really raises my ire.
November 12, 2010 at 11:15 am
Our church has a Harvest Party that is an outreach to the larger community. There are games, snacks, tons of candy and we get to hand out free groceries – the kids that go to our church get to dress up, parents, being present, know that their kids are having fun but are safe at the same time and we get to show God’s love to those who aren’t Christians.
We never ask them to leave because of a scary costume nor do we talk to them about it as these are often folks who aren’t Christians that are coming from the larger community and we don’t expect them to hold necessarily to our values. Our goal is to be hospitable and welcoming to those outside of the faith. Interestingly it works and a lot of people come back to our church because of the Harvest Party.
It’s a great outreach to the non-Christian community. This season is actually an opportunity to reach out to people and show them God’s love.