Christians and Halloween: What is the Real Issue?

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. This is the case with Christians and Halloween. It is the belief of some that it is a night devoted to Satan. What is Halloween actually about and should your kids celebrate it?

Scary does not equal evil. We watch scary movies during the year not just on Halloween. Slice and dice films are gory but that doesn't stop us from watching.

Do they promote evil? Not really. They do however send tingles up our spine and a grimace across our face. It is another form of entertainment that people participate in.

Halloween, like other celebrations, started off as something else entirely. Halloween grew out of Samhain, a Celtic celebration of new life. They believed that to celebrate the occasion would bless their harvest.

On this night, their priests believed that the veil between the living and the dead could part and that spirits were able to walk the earth. The people were of course frightened by this and wore masks on that night so any evil spirits would think they were one of them.

Out of that we get Halloween. Kids dress up in costumes and go house to house in search of good treats. Costumes vary from the traditional ghosts and witches to princesses, Power Rangers, and Super Heroes.

Some use the night as a way to instill terror in their fellow man by holding séances, sacrificing animals, and proclaiming to contact the devil. Anyone who is a Christian knows that to be in contact with the devil doesn't require an animal sacrifice but only the desire to sin.

It is a case of a little truth being stretched into a great lie. The festival celebrated around Halloween was originally pagan, but so were many Christian holidays. It is not what they were, but how they are celebrated by the people who live now.

In the presence of fear, we have forgotten what we believe. That is the real issue. Many Christians act out of fear, preaching that Halloween is a devil worshiping day and we should hide our children inside. It is not and we need not live in fear. God has taken away that fear so we can walk safely.

For Christian parents looking to teach their children the truth behind Halloween, read "Halloween Is It for Real?" by Harold Myra. Christians don't have to stop their kids from participating as long as they know the real story.

Dress up and go trick-or-treating. Fill that basket full of Halloween candy as you troll through the neighborhood in search of friends and a good scare. The only goblins you will encounter are the children behind the masks.