Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

Ernest Lau
Sep 29
5 min read

Halloween is a festival that is celebrated every 31 October. Nowadays, it is known to be a fun celebration involving costumes, candy, spooky decorations, pumpkin-carvings and trick-or-treating. It is a major celebration in countries like the US, and it is also becoming increasingly popular in this part of the world. Although many in the world may enjoy Halloween, should Christians take part in such festivities? Let us consider some important questions to ponder upon and reflect on.

3 PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS:

1. Why is Halloween celebrated?

Historically, Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts believed that, on the night of 31 October, the ghosts of the dead would return to earth. Hence, they would light bonfires and wear costumes in order to ward off the ghosts. Later on, around the 7^th-9^th century, the Catholic Church apparently tried to “Christianize” the celebration by setting up All Saints’ Day (1 November) and All Souls’ Day (2 November). The night before (31 October) became All Hallows’ Eve. This name was eventually shortened to Halloween.

Probably only a very small group still celebrate Halloween in its original form. The Catholics and some Christians continue to hold religious services on 31 October as a vigil before All Saints Day. Aside from these groups, Halloween is largely celebrated in a secular manner, with most people today celebrating it culturally rather than religiously.

2. Can Christians celebrate holidays with pagan origins?

First and foremost, we need to be wary of holidays that are celebrated religiously by the pagans. The apostle Paul warns: “Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils” (1 Corinthians 10:21). We cannot have fellowship with God and pagans at the same time: doing so will provoke the Lord to jealousy (1 Corinthians 10:22). Hence, we ought to stay away from pagan celebrations.

Under the Old Testament, God instituted a number of festivals (e.g. Passover, Pentecost etc.). These were celebrations with religious significance. However, we know that with the arrival of the New Testament, Christians are no longer required to celebrate such religious festivals. Paul warns us not to be entangled again with the practices of the Old Law, since justification is only in Christ (Galatians 5:1-4). Nevertheless, in the early church, some Jewish Christians (including Paul himself) evidently still observed Jewish feasts (Acts 20:16; 21:26). They continued to do so, not for religious reasons, but as part of their Jewish culture.

There are holidays that we may celebrate, not religiously, but as a matter of culture. For example, the Chinese folk in Singapore continue to celebrate Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year may have pagan roots, and some today may continue to perform religious rituals during the Chinese New Year. However, majority of Chinese today view Chinese New Year as a cultural celebration rather than a religious one. Hence, Chinese Christians may celebrate Chinese New Year culturally, while avoiding the pagan aspect of it.

Today, Halloween is largely celebrated culturally and secularly. Hence, it could be argued that it is not sinful for Christians to celebrate it culturally. That being said, there are some further principles that need to be considered, which will be discussed below. Also, here is something to consider: it may be part of our culture, in Singapore, to celebrate Chinese New Year; however, do we have any cultural reason to celebrate Halloween?

3. Can Christians enjoy imaginary and fictional characters?

There are many types of fictional characters that men have come up with, some based on storybooks, and others can be found in movies. Children, in particular, may enjoy superheroes like Superman and Batman. Christians can surely enjoy such characters for entertainment purposes, as long as we understand that they are not real, but fictional. At the end of the day, although Superman may possess superstrength, we understand that God alone possess supernatural power (Jeremiah 32:17; Matthew 19:26).

In typical fiction, good wins the day, and the wicked are ultimately destroyed. From a scriptural viewpoint, that is indeed desirable. However, some fictional stories and movies have protagonists that display sinful conduct. For example, James Bond has a “license to kill” and he womanizes. Disney is starting to include homosexuals among the “good guys.” We need to be careful about fictional movies and stories that glorify sin. Here is something to consider: although Halloween may contain fictional characters, does it glorify sin and darkness?

3 REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS:

1. Will the celebration affect my Christian light?

As Christians, we are called to be the “light of the world” (Matthew 5:14-16). We can shine our Christian light by propagating the gospel of Christ and by our good works (Matthew 5:16; 2 Corinthians 4:4). In contrast, Halloween contains the theme of darkness e.g. haunted houses, horror, monsters etc. Although we may understand such to be fictional, is it wise for Christians to dabble with elements of darkness? Will we taint our Christian light by celebrating darkness? Can light have fellowship with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)

2. Will the celebration desensitize me to sin?

The Bible speaks of those who are “speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2). They have grown accustomed to sin, to the point where their conscience has grown numb to it. When we repeatedly imbibe sinful content (or practice sinful behavior), we may become desensitized to sin. Hollywood has successfully desensitized many young people to sexual immorality by repeatedly portraying pre-marital sex as “normal.” Now, they are doing the same with homosexuality. While the Bible condemns witchcraft and darkness, Halloween promotes both (Galatians 5:20; Ephesians 5:11). If we repeatedly indulge in the celebration of Halloween, do we risk desensitizing ourselves to sin and darkness?

3. Will the celebration send a wrong message to others?

The apostle Paul warns us that our actions, though done in good conscience, could send the wrong message to a brother, and cause him to stumble (1 Corinthians 8:9-13). What if I influence a young Christian to celebrate Halloween, but he celebrates it with a doubtful conscience, thinking that ghosts are real? I cause a brother to stumble through my actions! What if my children celebrate Halloween, thinking that darkness is more enjoyable than the light? Hence, such a celebration would turn out to be self-indulging but not edifying towards others (1 Corinthians 8:1; 14:12).

Concluding remarks

While the world celebrates Halloween, it is evident that Christians need to be more wary about it. On one hand, we may understand that it is largely a secular celebration, and the characters are purely fictional. On the other hand, we need to be aware of the impact that our celebrating may have, not just on others, but on ourselves. Above all, let us not forget our calling as the light of the world. May we take every opportunity to shine God’s light to our loved ones and to everyone in the world.