Halloween and the Christian Church

 

Halloween symbols are often offensive to some Christians that equate witches, vampires, ghosts, black cats and similar Halloween staples with the diabolical. Some Christians reject Harry Potter books and movies on similar grounds. Christians that accept demonology, for example, view Halloween as just another manifestation of paganism and occult practices. It didn’t help matters when a 1999 television excerpt disclosed conservative Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell admitting that she “dabbled in witchcraft” and had a date on a “Satanic altar” with blood marks on it.

 

The Complex Issue of Halloween and Evil for Christians

 

Evangelical Christians, for the most part, believe that ghosts are actually demons. Although this was not the connection made in the pre-Christian Mediterranean and Near East cultures where “unclean spirits” were not viewed as demons, second and third century Christians began the process of categorizing a specific and very defined cosmology that divided the cosmos into the sacred and the profane.

 

At the height of the Middle Ages, paganism had so infused peasant Christianity, that pre-Christian practices and superstitions became a part of ecclesiastical calendars and pagan symbols were incorporated into Christian beliefs and practices.

 

This included Halloween bonfires, the early jack-o-lanterns, going door to door begging (trick or treating), and dangerous spirits that the church identified with demons. Witches, however, had always been there, even in the ancient world.

 

The Reformation and Halloween Celebrations

 

Although the Reformation rejected much of Medieval Catholic belief, including peasant superstitions, it could not extinguish those beliefs, as several studies have shown such as Gerald Strauss’ evaluation of Lutheran “visitation reports” in his book Luther’s House of Learning.

 

Reformers, however, held to a strong belief in a literal devil and his domain. Thus Puritans, for example, rejected any celebration of Old Hallows Eve. Since most early American settlers identified with Calvinism, Halloween practices, as they are known today, were not celebrated. European peasant superstitions, however, persisted as they pertained to harvest time.

 

The Double Standard of Rejecting Halloween and not Christmas

 

Christians that reject Halloween on the basis of paganism fully accept the symbols, traditions, and practices of Christmas. Yet the origins of Christmas as celebrated in contemporary America are also rooted in pagan traditions. Additionally, Christmas, like Halloween, is a commercial holiday for most Americans.

 

Is Halloween an Open Door to Anti-Christian Beliefs and Practices?

 

The debate over the merits of celebrating Halloween has caused public schools to reevaluate how they treat the holiday. Some churches sell pumpkins to raise funds, knowing that many of them will be carved into spooky images conforming to Halloween. But does this open the door to evil or occultism?

 

In many ways, Christians rejecting Halloween outright are caught in a trap, much like the Catholic Church was when confronted by Galileo’s conclusions of a helio-centric solar system. Contemporary Halloween symbols may not be dangerous, but by accepting them an entire world-view is challenged.

 

Some symbols of Halloween have been accepted as mere superstition. Others more blatantly point toward the profane. Some symbols highlight the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil.

 

Primitive Irish jack-o-lanterns carved out of gourds and containing candles were meant to remind people to pray for the souls in purgatory. Bonfires drove away evil spirits. Masks served similar purposes. The symbols of Halloween do not invite evil but drive it away. Practically every religious belief in the world uses similar symbols to banish evil.

 

Celebrating Halloween as a Secular Holiday

 

Halloween can serve as a good object lesson for children whose parents might object to the origins or symbols. It presents and opportunity to discuss matters of faith in terms of what good and evil really consists of. Further, the secularization of Halloween should allow children to participate without the fear of demon possession simply by wearing a mask or painting a face.

 

Additionally, contemporary Halloween is an American holiday and custom. With over $5.8 billion in generated revenue (MSNBC, September 24, 2010), the haunted holiday will do much toward economic recovery. Instead of banning Halloween on dubious theological grounds, parents should discuss the day’s origins and symbols if they have concerns.

 

Sources:

 

Nicholas Rogers, Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night (Oxford University, 2002)

Jeffrey B. Russell, A History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics, and Pagans (Thames and Hudson, 1980)

Gerald Strauss, Luther’s House of Learning: Indoctrination of the Young in the German Reformation (The Johns Hopkins Press, 1978)

Published 9/24/2010 by M.Streich in Suite101 and still under copyright