Halloween is full of fun costumes and yummy candy, but underneath all the fun activities it’s not a God positive holiday. Halloween stems from pretty satanic roots and that’s why we choose not to celebrate it Keep reading to find out why my family chooses not to celebrate Halloween.
Related: Why Tithe
Focus On God
While Halloween isn’t mentioned directly in the Bible, God says a lot about many themes around this holiday. The word Halloween means the day before All Hallows Day- (or All Souls Day) a Catholic holiday that celebrates every person who followed God but has now passed. God tells us through Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, that we need to focus on him:
“You cannot drink of the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons”
1 Corinthians 10:21
He tells us that we cannot take part in anything related to demons and things that are God’s. We have to wholeheartedly jump in with God and turn away from other things. He tells us to have nothing to do with evil things but instead reveal them:
“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness but rather expose them.”
Ephesians 5:11
He goes even further than to again say:
“Abstain from every form of evil”
1 Thessalonians 5:22
God wants us to stay pure, to be his people set apart for him. To do this, we must stay away from all kinds of evil. For my family, while Halloween isn’t “evil” per say, it is still not following another verse from Paul’s letter to the Phillippians:
“Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.”
Philippians 4:8
God doesn’t want us to dwell on things like death, ghosts, demons, witches, or other things that aren’t right, pure, or lovely. Instead choose to put your thoughts and focus on positive things. For my family, Halloween doesn’t fit into this. Halloween’s focus on death and other ungodly things makes it something that isn’t pure, noble, lovely or right for us.
Detestable Things
God has some harsh punishment for witches and those who practice sorcery:
“A man or woman who is a medium or spiritual among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads”
Leviticus 20:27
While most people who celebrate Halloween aren’t practicing sorcery, having our children exposed to witches and sorcery desensitizes them to it. God goes on to tell us that we are not to be like those around us:
“When you enter the Land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritualist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God.”
Deuteronomy 18:9-13
God wants us to be blameless and not to imitate what is around us. For my family this means that we will not be participating in Halloween activities as a way to be set apart and to remain blameless before God. God asks us to be set apart from other people:
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12:2
God asks us to not conform to the world so that we can know what is God’s will. If we allow ourselves to become too immersed in this world, it may become more difficult to know what God want’s us to do.
Related: Hospitality In Our Modern World
While I don’t think there’s anything wrong with dressing up or getting candy, and I would love to put my kids in cute costumes and get free candy, I don’t think that celebrating the holiday of Halloween in this way is what God wants us to do. So that’s why my family chooses not to cerebrate Halloween. It’s hard when even Christian based programs or churches have fall parties or celebrations that allow children to dress up and practice some other activities that stem from things that are not from God.
