It’s certainly not a “holiday,” and it’s definitely not rooted in wholesome faith. Halloween is essentially a pagan festival with some very dark roots, and the modernized version of this celebration of evil is still a cause for concern by many who have placed their trust in the Messiah. Some say celebrating it in any form opens your family up to evil influences. Read more about that here from an ex-Satanist.
The Christian church launched “All Hallow’s Eve” to co-opt the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which means “end of summer.” According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day, which is what connects the pagan festival to ghosts, witches, goblins, fairies, and demons.
According to Live Science, the tradition of dressing in costumes and trick-or-treating may go back to the practice of “mumming” and “guising” in which people would disguise themselves and go door-to-door asking for food. But others would wear costumes to try and scare off or trick evil spirits into leaving them alone on Samhain.
That holiday took a turn when Christians arrived in the Celtic nations and created “All Saints’ Day” and “All Souls’ Day” to be celebrated on November 1st and 2nd to try to counter the pagan holiday.
In modern times, Halloween has become the second largest commercial holiday in America. It grosses $8 billion, coming in second place behind Christmas when it comes to sales. Christmas totals more than $700 billion.
Many followers of Jesus see Halloween as an opportunity to share the gospel, holding outreaches of various kinds, “Harvest Festivals” on church property, or simply encouraging Bible believerss to use the opportunity to show the love of God with those who come to their doors. Since Halloween is a neighborhood event it’s also an excellent opportunity time to be salt and light to your neighbors.
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” – Romans 12:21
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