Two Common Lies Christians Tell Themselves About Halloween

We don’t participate in any of the “bad stuff” about Halloween, just the fun aspects. Sure, you don’t let your kids dress up as witches or ghosts, but what do you tell them when they ask why their friends are in costumes that are mimicking the underworld? Or how do you answer their questions about the house across the street that is decorated like a graveyard? Do you tell them that’s okay for them, just not us? If you do, you are telling your kids that it is okay to emulate evil. I’m not taking this to an extreme folks. Kids are literal. How is a young child pretending to be a scary monster with a hatchet stuck in his head acceptable for Halloween? Or maybe you tell them it’s not okay, but we should just ignore it. Now you are teaching them to not care about the lost. It is a slippery slope, parents, very slippery.
We only participate in our church’s Fall Festival (which, ahem, just happens to fall on October 31st, and we just happen to dress up for it, and we just happen to pass out candy to kids there). Seriously? Honestly, this practice gets me more upset than any other part of a Christian participating in this holiday. What about 1 John 2:15 or Romans 12:2? I see no reason to conform ourselves to this world just so our children don’t feel “left out” on October 31st. Guess what? God calls us specifically to be left out, to be set apart (holy) for Him, every day of the year. I’m pretty sure Jesus and His disciples were the odd ducks in the neighborhood. I can not justify celebrating a pagan holiday with my pagan neighbors as being set apart, and I certainly can not justify a pretend, watered-down, Christian-ified (yes, I made that word up) version. Come on, Christians, be different and feel honored that you are! Use this night to teach your children why we are different, why we are not participating in Halloween, and how freeing that can be.