Can Halloween be holy?
Dear Arisers,
I never know what to do at Halloween. Some of my friends see it as a celebration of evil that they avoid at all costs, but others seem to really embrace it as a fun way to connect with the community. As Christians, what do you think is the best way to respond?
Hoping you can help,
Sarah
Dear Sarah,
What a great question! It can be tricky to know how to engage with culture as Christians, because the New Testament tends to offer principles rather than prescriptions. For example, we’re told to feed the hungry but not how meals should be made. We are encouraged to ‘work as if working for the Lord’ but there isn’t specific guidance on what jobs to do. We’re called to ‘serve with all the strength God provides’ but not what such service should involve.
I think it might be helpful to look at responses to similar situations that came up for the early church. When the Apostle Paul discusses whether the new Christians in Corinth should eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols: he doesn’t give a simple yes-or-no answer. The Holy Spirit can lead us through uncertainty and nuance, if we can trust Him to do so.
Whatever your feelings about Halloween, a good starting point is to consecrate your involvement in the festival by consciously choosing to make your response an act of worship. In short – choose to respond to Halloween for the ‘glory of God’.
“Whether you eat or drink, do all for the glory of God.”
-1 CORINTHIANS 10:31
From this attitude of heart you can trust the Holy Spirit to direct you, and you can discern this direction alongside your church community and through prayerful interaction with Scripture.
Here are some ways I’ve seen Christians in Sheffield respond to Halloween, and what they’ve said to me when I’ve asked them about their choice. Perhaps you recognise some of the below in yourself or your community?
Purity from secular culture – “I don’t like Halloween”
The ‘purity from’ approach views Halloween as something to be avoided. The ghoulish decorations and costumes, the encouragement for children to ‘threaten’ neighbours with a desire to trick-or-treat all help to affirm the idea that the festival itself is evil.
People who see Halloween this way would simply rather it didn’t take place. Responses vary from ignoring knocks on the door and taking the battery out of the doorbell, or refusing to attend any Halloween-related activities.
People who avoid Halloween have told me, “I don’t feel safe during Halloween and don’t want anything to do with it,” and “I’m not comfortable with taking part in a celebration of things that are evil.”
They quoted Philippians 4: “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.”
If this is your approach, could you save the date on Halloween to pray for those people who are celebrating?
Perhaps you could meet with others in your church community as well, and pray for the city. Or, if you’re able, this would be a great night to go out on a prayer-walk and pray for the people and houses that you pass, particularly if they are decorated for Halloween.
Harness the power of the event: “Halloween as an opportunity for evangelism”
Some see Halloween as an evangelistic opportunity, viewing the majority of people who take part as ‘just looking for something to do’. These people want to harness the energy of the festival to connect, love and share their faith with others in the context of Halloween.
Here’s what some Sheffielders who take this approach told me:
“During Halloween I dress up as a monk, play Gregorian chanting in the background and invite trick-or-treaters into my home. I offer them a free blessing (prayer) and give them sweets and Gospels. I also have a huge ‘Jesus is the light of the world’ sign I put up.”
“One Halloween we dressed up as angels and went to the ‘Fright Night’ in Sheffield city centre. We had signs that said ‘free blessing’ and as people came up we explained we were followers of Jesus and we would pray for Him to bless them.
We were praying and prophesying for over three hours and had a large queue of people waiting. A number of people we prayed with said they experienced a ‘powerful peace’, were shocked at the accuracy of prophetic words and wanted to know more about following Jesus.”
“I buy biscuit decorating kits and we invite families who knock on the door to have some time in the warm together. My children dress up in angel outfits and we make party bags to give out which have sweets and a message about the hope we have in Jesus.”
Want to try this out? You can do it yourself or get your small group at church involved.
Here’s how:
Agree to meet at the house of the person in your small group who gets lots of door knocks on Halloween night (young ‘trick-or-treaters’ can start arriving as early as 5pm).
Shopping list
Sweets
Party Bags
Some ‘Why Jesus’ hand outs or similar tracts (you can get these from www.Eden.co.uk).
Transform Halloween: “I want to invite others into a different story”
Others are moved by their faith to invite others into a transformed version of the celebration. They want to tell a different story. In the midst of a festival full of skulls and ‘horror’ they want to highlight all things that are good and avoid the bad.
They seek to create an ’alternative Halloween celebration’ based around more positive values. A fantastic example of this is ‘Streets of Light’. A church near you may be holding a ‘light party’ for children as an alternative to a Halloween party.
One person who prefers this approach told me, “On a night when so many seem to be celebrating horror, I want to stand for all that is good, so I decorate my window with positive messages, to shine God’s light into Halloween’.
We live in a fallen world and we will frequently come across cultural and social events that challenge us. We have a freedom in Christ to respond to these events with faith, and our conscience may lead us to a different approach to other believers in the city.
Rather than seek out a definitive right or wrong, let’s unite in our core mission to bring glory to God as we seek to walk more closely with Jesus and make him known to our city.
Now take a moment to think about Halloween and your response to it – is this something you have consciously considered before? As you have read about the ways others respond, what has God been saying to you?
If you’ve got a question about living out your faith in your everyday life, we’d love to hear from you: email us at Hello@arisesheffield.org for a chance to have it answered in the next edition!