Halloween was different when
I was a child. Many things were different in the 60s. Life was simpler and
wasn't as ugly as it is today. It was far from perfect, however. Divorces were
common. Sexual immorality was gaining ground. Things were definitely going
south morality wise back then but society is getting a lot darker
and uglier.
Take
this picture, for instance. This was taken in one of my friend's neighborhoods. In fact, I
raised my children in this neighborhood. My children enjoyed being raised there
and have many fond memories. There weren't things like this in the neighborhoods
back then. There may have been some tombstones and the likes but nothing like
this that would have scared little ones.
Do
you know how offensive this would be to anyone who has lost a loved one through
suicide or through demonic influences? Halloween is becoming a holiday to
celebrate demonic forces instead of pumpkins, princesses and cowboys. I do
believe you can still celebrate this holiday and make it a positive event
instead of a negative and evil event. This is what we, as believers, are called
to do; bring light into the darkness.
I, personally, don't like anything about Halloween but I
love what Kara Tippets wrote last year shortly before she died. She was a precious
mother of four young children and had a strong, happy marriage. "I
pray tonight you have the opportunity to love and meet your neighborhood. I
pray you get to smile in the young faces that come to your door and radiate the
beauty you know in Jesus. I pray as you meet your neighbors and love them with
your brand of beautiful Big LOVE. I hope to meet and warm a few new faces by my
fire tonight. Some of you darken your doors on this day. The freedom we are
given in Jesus is to do that or to open wide our doors and meet the faces that
come tromping to our door. There is liberty for us all. I do not wish to start
a debate on this issue. Simply tell you tonight, the fire pit is moving from
the back yard to the front yard, and the Holy Spirit in my soul will be meeting
the faces that enter the warmth of my fire with the known grace I enjoy
today."
I shared this on my Facebook page and here are some comments
from some of my readers ~
Debbie said, "I love giving out candy to the little
ones. If you look into the history of several of our holidays, you may be
surprised at what your find. I have good friends who are Messianic Jews and
they don't do Easter eggs because of the history of it. I just celebrate the
good in all holidays. They are fun and the kids have a great time."
Alisha responded, "We do not celebrate Halloween since I was into witchcraft as a teen; I've seen so much evil and unfortunately that day can be very wicked. We do teach our children that every day is a day that the Lord has made and we can praise God. As a family, we watch a movie and I buy them their favorite candy. I've always wished the church would have a prayer and praise and worship on that day. But all the churches I've seen cater to the flesh instead of the spirit. If only people could see what happens on that day they would pray but I'm sure that's too scary for most Christians to realize."
Alisha responded, "We do not celebrate Halloween since I was into witchcraft as a teen; I've seen so much evil and unfortunately that day can be very wicked. We do teach our children that every day is a day that the Lord has made and we can praise God. As a family, we watch a movie and I buy them their favorite candy. I've always wished the church would have a prayer and praise and worship on that day. But all the churches I've seen cater to the flesh instead of the spirit. If only people could see what happens on that day they would pray but I'm sure that's too scary for most Christians to realize."
Carmine added, "We celebrate as a family, including clean
family costumes. Two years ago, we went as Cat in the Hat with our children as
Thing 1, 2, 3, and 4; last year we went as the Frozen crew; this year with the
kids as bees, me the queen bee and my husband as the beekeeper. Costumes are a
much homemade as possible. We always have a blast together! We want Halloween
to be fun, not scary."
Lindsay said on last year's post, "I think celebrating a holiday is about what's in your heart.
I know people who don't celebrate holidays because of their 'pagan
origins.' But the pagans don't have a right to steal a day that God made
and make it off limits to worshipers of the one true God. We
certainly shouldn't borrow pagan traditions in order to be like the world.
But celebrating the birth or resurrection of Christ or being thankful to God
for what He has given us are good things and no pagan tradition can take that
away, even if they happen to do things on the same day of the year. If
anything, we ought to celebrate the one true God and His blessings all the more
if the pagans are trying to do something bad on that day so that God has more
to be happy about."
Whether you celebrate Halloween or not is up to you. It is our liberty we all have in Christ to decide. This is NOT something that should cause division in the family of God. Some don't celebrate Christmas with Christmas trees and others don't celebrate Easter with Easter baskets because of their pagan origins. In my older age, I have decided not to make this an issue. My children have fond memories of these holidays growing up. We must be careful in choosing our battles with our children. If you feel deeply convicted about some of these, please don't celebrate them, but give others the freedom to chose for themselves. We should be known for having peace among the brethren!
He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.
Romans 14:6-8
Logging you in...
FREEINDEED! · 494 weeks ago
The scripture has nothing to do with holding onto pagan traditions.
Please understand, I'm not judging you or someone else who chooses to celebrate Halloween. But I don't believe you can justify it with the scripture you are using here, or, for that matter, simply because Kirk Cameron says it's okay,
FREEINDEED! · 494 weeks ago
I guess I'm not sure what your message is. Halloween has gotten very ugly is actually not accurate. Halloween has ALWAYS been very ugly. As children, if we grew up in environments where our communities kept the ugliness to a minimum, that's different than saying Halloween wasn't ugly then. It has always been a celebration of evil. To celebrate as a family because you and your husband decided to is one thing. To promote it on a blog as okay for Christian families, to me is an entirely different thing.
Maybe, if you are beginning to perceive Halloween to be very ugly, then you are becoming more sensitive to the evil that has always been there? I will be supporting you in prayer today. Much love to you and I'm glad you are feeling better!
Shiloh · 494 weeks ago
The other holidays which were created by Constantine (who wasn't a believer) were created with Pagan rituals. Easter for example is the literal name of a demon (a very real demon who is filled with pride on that day as people say to everyone "Happy Easter'....ick).
I think if more people understood these truths they would not entertain any celebrating on halloween. There is a great book called Pagan Christianity that explains how all of the Pagan rituals were originally inserted into our weekly fellowship meetings at a church building and many other things. What would be great is just repenting for being a part of those rituals (which we may not have realized were satanic), removing those parts from our services and praying for what the Lord would desire to replace it with but that's a whole other subject entirely.
Shiloh · 494 weeks ago
Andrea · 494 weeks ago
When I was convicted, I walked into one of the "Spirit Halloween" stores, for a costume accessory, where I was confronted with all things evil. Being celebrated. Nothing of the Light. Skimpy sexualized costumes, and disgusting looking things from the grave. My heart said that had to be the last time I gave money to an industry that despises God, and celebrates wickedness, hell, and the demonic realm.
It WAS different when we were children, Lori. I am only nearing 40, and it was much more mild, and innocent. Costumes were mostly handmade, and nearly everyone who participated was LITTLE kid, and it certainly was a fun thing, but relatively small. Now it is clear it is as important to others (or more so) than Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc., all of which have a basis in the celebration and thankfulness to God Almighty.
I don't really care what others do, but no one can pretend it is something that glorifies God. There is nothing about God, of God or for God in it. We can debate pagan roots of other holidays, but the truth is, the heart of those celebrations is to be in praise of our Creator.
Rebecca · 494 weeks ago
Things seem to be getting scarier because today's television shows and video games are desensitizing the nation. Some of today's children are allowed to watch gruesome shows like The Walking Dead as well as raunchy prime-time dramas.
On a happy note, some of the college kids up here do "reverse trick-or-treating". They carry a big door around for people to knock on. Then they open the door and hand out the candy. This works especially well in apartment complexes, retirement homes, and college dorms, where an occupant opens their door to find another door, with posted instructions to knock and say "trick or treat". :)
lauraashley · 494 weeks ago
Natasha · 494 weeks ago
Shiloh · 494 weeks ago
Jamie · 494 weeks ago
2happy4 66p · 494 weeks ago
" In this matter may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter.” 19 He said to him, “Go in peace.” So he departed from him some distance.
2happy4 66p · 494 weeks ago
Ken · 494 weeks ago
It may be important to some here to study where Halloween actually came from, and to this you will find some disagreement. Here is what Wikipedia says about it, and notice three is some scholars who believe the holiday is of ALL Christian origin... All Saints Day Hallowed Eve.
"Halloween or Hallowe'en (/ˌhæləˈwiːn, -oʊˈiːn, ˌhɑːl-/; a contraction of "All Hallows' Evening"),[6] also known as Allhalloween,[7] All Hallows' Eve,[8] or All Saints' Eve,[9] is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows' Day. It initiates the three-day religious observance of Allhallowtide,[10] the time in the liturgical year dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints (hallows), martyrs, and all the faithful departed believers.[11] Within Allhallowtide, the traditional focus of All Hallows' Eve revolves around the theme of using "humor and ridicule to confront the power of death."[12]
According to many scholars, All Hallows' Eve is a Christianized feast initially influenced by Celtic harvest festivals,[2][13] with possible pagan roots, particularly the Gaelic Samhain.[8][14][15] Other scholars maintain that it originated independently of Samhain and has solely Christian roots.[2][16]
So before jumping to conclusions... do your own research and you may discover that Halloween is indeed a Christian holiday that needs to be rediscovered by Christians so as to not let the Pagans railroad it. Many churches will be winning kids to the Lord by holding their own festivals which are glorifying to the Lord and individual Christian families can do the same. We don't have to fear Halloween, but we do need to treat it with respect in the costumes our kids wear and the entertainment we allow them to be around. Everything can and will be perverted and our call is to be lights in a dark world.
We can get out and celebrate the pure things of Halloween without accepting the evils of it. We want the world to see we are different so they will ask why, and we will have a good response. We want to teach our kids to live in the world, but not be part of the world. Halloween is the perfect holiday to be able to teach therm how to do this, and why some costumes and some parties are acceptable and others are not.
Most importantly, the issue of celebrating or not celebrating Halloween is an issue of conscience and not something you will find in the Bible. I do believe that Jesus would have no problem dressing up as an angel and participating in the normal celebrations. He understood that being around sinners did not make him a sinner, just as turning water into wine did not make him and alcoholic, or approving of getting drunk. If anyone would test the bounds of liberty it would be Jesus, precisely because worship and service to God is NOT about do's and don'ts and commands but a clear hear and conscience before God.
If your conscience forbids you from celebrating Halloween, then don't. But don't expect all other Christians will see it the same way, and maybe inform your conscience as to why other believers are not afraid of the holiday, but make it into something glorifying to the Lord. Instead of having your kids pine out the window wanting to go get candy, hold your own neighborhood party and request that the costumes be sane and not scary, then head off as a group trick or treating when it gets dark. Be creative, but we have nothing to fear from an old Christian holiday. That is what it was for many years and it is too bad it is so messed up now... but let's be the light that helps to redeem it.
Shiloh · 494 weeks ago
I've actually done years of research in this area and have travelled to the areas where the article I pasted describes the rituals that have been covered up as "Christian". There unfortunately is no purity within Halloween festivities itself. When researched for hours, weeks and years I can confidently say it is evil and we are told in the bible not to participate in evil practices or pagan celebrations. Yes the US as well as the Catholic church has watered it down to make it more innocent and exciting but the roots are still the same.
http://www.born-again-christian.info/halloween-is...
FREEINDEED! · 494 weeks ago
Lady Virtue · 494 weeks ago
I certainly have seen Halloween's popularity explode in my lifetime, as well. I actually went to a Christian elementary school that made it mandatory for the students to dress up in a costume! That was before I was a Christian myself, but something seemed inconsistent about a school affiliated with a Baptist church doing such a thing.
FREEINDEED! · 494 weeks ago
Katie · 494 weeks ago
Glad you are feeling better, Lori! I've been keeping you in my prayers.
Jo · 494 weeks ago
Lori Alexander 122p · 494 weeks ago
We must allow others their opinions and leave it at that instead of join forces to oppose others on matters of conscience. This has led to many churches being torn apart. I used to be vehement in my disdain over this holiday, also, but I have since grown to see that holding this disdain over others who celebrate it is wrong. We are called to love each other deeply, not get offended easily and allow others to have the Lord convict them instead of forcing our views upon them. Thank you for taking the time to read this. May the Lord bless you all in any of your convictions as you glorify Him and pursue peace with each other!
Ken · 494 weeks ago
I think it is interesting that many want to believe that Halloween was a time of conjuring up spirits, but the reality is that its early origins may trace back to a time where costumes were used to ward off evil spirits. They wanted to avoid them, not participate with them.
Regardless of its origins, who no one knows for sure, but some who post here think they do, Halloween itself is a tradition carried on since the 6th century church established it. It is not unusual for Christians in the spread of the gospel to take what what was practiced by other cultures and create a Christian approach to it. It is happening even today, Read the book Peace Child and listen to the stories of missionaries who did not want to destroy the culture, but to find ways that Christ could become a part of the lives of those who lived within the culture by redefining many things. Things that focused upon Jesus instead of pagan things.
blessedmama · 494 weeks ago
As a child, I always celebrated halloween (trick or treating). There was one Christian family that lived on my street (that I was friends with their children) and they did not celebrate Halloween. They were the only real, born again Jesus loving family I can remember knowing from my childhood (and we went to church too). When I became a Christian at 18, suddenly I realized right away why they didn't celebrate Halloween and knew there was no way I would ever celebrate it again. Evil, death, witchcraft is glorified and celebrated, not Jesus or God. If the Christian family I knew would have let their children wear non-scary costumes and participate in Halloween, they would not have let their light shine. They would have just been like everyone else.
However, with that being said, I think Christians can celebrate fall/harvest and have fun celebrations of the fall. I do not agree with Halloween alternatives, but at a different time of fall there are a lot of fun things a church or people can do to celebrate fall/harvest time. Our homeschool group has a fall party that is completely not related to Halloween.
blessedmama · 494 weeks ago
http://www.examiner.com/article/the-truth-behind-...
Halloween, also known as "All Hallow's Eve", was a celebration dedicated to remembering the dead. Halloween is the highest satanic holy day there is; also known as the devil's birthday. This day marked the Celtics new year. The Celtics (Celts) were a group of people that lived 300 years before Christ. The Celtics had priests called druids. On October 31, the druids went from house to house demanding certain foods, and all those who refused were cursed. The people were tormented by means of magic. As they went, the druids carried large turnips which they had hollowed out and on which they had carved demon faces as charms. Each one was believed to contain the demon spirit that personally led or guided that priest.
Those who practiced fortune telling and divination found that this was the night that they had the most success. They called upon Satan to bless their efforts. One form of divination was to put apples in a tub and bob for them. The one who first successfully came up with one without putting them in his/her teeth was to have good luck throughout the year. They would then peel the apples and throw the peeling over their shoulders and then quickly look around. They expected to see a vision or an apparition of the one they were to marry.
"Trick or Treat" originated when they would go from house to house demanding all sorts of foods to offer to Samhain (god of death). If the village people would not give them the foods, they would speak a curse over the home. History claims then that someone in the family would die within a year.
In the 8th century, the Pope, in an effort to get the people to quit the festival of Samhain (god of death), invented All Saints Day (Nov. 1). This was an attempt to get the people to turn away from the horrible observance of Samhain. All Saints Day was intended to honor the martyrs of the Roman persecutions. It did not work! It never works to Christianize a pagan holiday. Samhain was a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the "darker half" of the year. This festival was celebrated from sunset on October 31 to sunset on November 1. Lighting bonfires on Halloween night was a ritualistic practice making it more easy for spirits or fairies to come into our world; also to guide the spirits to their own town and to ward off evil spirits. A fairy is a form of spirit, also known as a demon. There was much superstition associated with the belief in fairies, and that the spirits of the dead wandered around looking for bodies to inhabit. Since the living did not want to be possessed by spirits, they dressed up in costumes and paraded around the streets making loud noises to confuse and frighten the spirits away.
In the Middle Ages, there was a great revival of satanic practices and witchcraft and magic like there is today. During this time the belief developed that witches traveled on broomsticks to the black Sabbaths to worship Satan on October 31. They were guided by spirits in the form of black cats. The Druids worshiped cats believing them to be reincarnated evil people.
Halloween celebrated today whole theme is one of darkness, death, fear, threats, destruction and evil. There are witches, broomsticks, bats, owls, ghosts, skeletons, death, and monsters. You dress up your children as demons and witches and ghouls and monsters and werewolves and send them out into the street in the darkness to reenact the Druids' practice of demanding food from people under threat of tricks (or curses) if they don't comply. You take, not a turnip, but a pumpkin and carve demon faces in it and decorate with it.
Deut. 18:10-12, "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his 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 spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD." Jeremiah 10:2-3 tells us to not learn the ways of the heathen (unbeliever). We are warned not to be ignorant of Satan's devices in 2 Corinthians 2:11.
The origin of Halloween was centered on conjuring up demons and spirits. This is a pagan custom that should never be practiced by Christians. It goes against the Word of God. 2 Corinthians 6:17 told us to come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you." Deut. 18:9, "When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations."
Paul posed a question in 2 Corinthians 6:14, "what communion hath light with darkness?" How can we honestly say that Halloween (darkness) is okay with God (light).
Ken · 494 weeks ago
We don't have to go back to the Druids to find Halloween a bit disconcerting on the evil side of things, and we must not fail to see that the Catholic tradition of Halloween was not a celebration of evil. Too many want to find the origins of the holiday back with the Celts, but there is so very little basis for this. I think this article gets it right:
http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_artic...
Certainly this is an important topic for each set of Christian parents to study and think through to good conclusions for their family and raising their children. But as for our family, we have concluded that although we do not like the evil aspects that will arise at Halloween, there is a place to celebrate with fanciful costumes and a traditional holiday, which most of us did with no negative results, joining with or friends to run the neighborhood for candy.
If your convictions lead you to believe it to be wrong, then it is wrong fort you. This history has various sides to it, and the most important thing to remember is that whatever we do it should be honoring the Lord. My little ones running around the neighborhood with their friends in pumpkin or angel's costumes was a very God honoring thing, but we did also teach each of them the evils that some may be practicing that day and to avoid it.
Maybe this is one the Alexanders have gotten wrong, but I get offended when a Christian walks into an office that is celebrating Halloween by dressing up as super heroes and giving out candy and cookies, and the Christian says something like, "I don't know if I can come back here because you celebrate Halloween." Come on folks ... life is too short to do anything more than hold your own convictions, and not be the party spoiler for those who do not hold the same views. They may get to where you are some day, but in the meantime, unless they are doing something sinful, dressing up and trick or treating is not unChristian.
And that is the moral of the post... each one may hold their own convictions before the Lord on such subjects... and some of the comments have us thinking about any good in Halloween, not because of the origins which cannot be proven, but because of what the title says, "Halloween Has Gotten Very Ugly!" The origin of the meat sacrifice to idols was not the issue. The issue was whether the Believer knew or did not know it was sacrificed. IF he did not know for sure... he was free to eat of it with a clear conscience.
Andrea · 494 weeks ago