Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them Ephesians 5:11 (NASB)
Today is the day most Americans celebrate Halloween. A survey was just released that said that Americans are spending more money on Halloween than ever before. I have noticed the trend over the past 10-15 years that people are really decorating their houses for Halloween like they do for Christmas! Orange lights, and inflatable yard decorations that look like pumpkins and ghosts precede the colored lights and snow globes to come; and hideous witches and screaming skeletons adorn the porches where a smiling Santa will soon be standing with his bag of goodies.
We have developed an unhealthy pre-occupation with the dark side of the supernatural. It is amazing to me that people who deny the existence of God and scoff at the resurrection of Jesus Christ completely buy in to paranormal activity, scary movies, and supposed demonic interaction detected with "ghost buster" devices.
For the record, I despise Halloween. You won't find any decorations at my house, and when little kiddos come to call for their Trick or Treat our lights will be out. Am I some relative of the Grinch perhaps? Hardly, as I love holidays and decorating as much as the next gal does. I simply hate Halloween and everything it stands for and here is why:
Depending on your sources, Halloween was the November 1 celebration of the Feast of Samhain. Samhain was the Druid (pagan) lord of death who was depicted as what we know as the Grim Reaper. As with other gods sacrifices of appeasement were to be made to him.
The Celtic Druids believed that November 1 was the day of death and that Samhain was overpowering the sun god who brought the warmer temperatures. This was because the days were getting shorter, the leaves were falling and the crops were done bearing fruit.
They believed that Samhain gathered together the spirits of those who died during the year and those spirits had been confined to the bodies of animals as punishment for their evil deeds in life. On October 31 these spirits were released to visit the living.
To protect themselves the Druids taught that animals and people were to be sacrificed They captured horses, sheep, oxen, and most grisly of all, babies that were put into cages and set on fire to appease these spirits and prevent harm from coming to the living.
Costumes were animal skins and heads, Trick or Treat began as another way to ward off the harm of evil spirits. Depending on the source, you will find that the carved pumpkin began as a symbol of a damned soul doomed to wander the earth, or as a symbol of sympathy for the witches and Satanists who would require a sacrifice from the farmer to prevent being harmed.
The celebration of Halloween was brought to America in the mid 1800's. It is a safe bet that you have never encountered anything that I have detailed above, and unless you are acquainted with Satanists you are unaware of the things that go on in our present day in "celebration" of Halloween. I was once a part of that lifestyle and I know the seamy underbelly of this "holiday."
My point is this: There is nothing God-honoring or biblical about the celebration of this "holiday." As I look around and see what does take place in "celebration" of Halloween these days I am convinced my decision is the right one.
It is the one day of the year the evil of the human heart can be on display and no one will care. Costumes that glorify death and gore are the norm. You can "be" an ax murderer, a demon, a witch, and even dress as a whore putting all your wares on display in a public venue and no one will bat an eye because after all, it is Halloween! It is all "just for fun!" Violence and death, murder and mayhem, terror and torment don't sound like fun.
It is shocking to me how parents find it acceptable for their kids to act out their sickest and most sinful fantasies at this time of the year. Not only do they condone it, but they are willing to pay big dollars to make it happen. When a school makes the decision not to allow the costumes and parties during the school day in favor of actually educating the kids parents have an unholy fit!
I do not understand Christians who say that they participate in Halloween so their kids are not deprived of the age old customs of costumes and Trick or Treating. I am of course criticized as an extremest, and invariably told I am a hypocrite because I put up a Christmas tree. You would have to agree that there is a vast difference between the celebration of death and darkness and the celebration of the birth of the Savior who is the Light of the World.
You don't have to agree with me, and you may not like my position on Halloween. That's fine by me. I find nothing in Halloween that brings glory to God (do you?!) and I wish to live my life in a manner that does.