Celebrating Halloween as a Christian Family

Many Christian families struggle with knowing where to draw the line between having a little bit of Halloween fun and staying true to their Christian beliefs and values. The truth is Halloween was originally a Christian holiday. It literally translates to “All Hallows Eve”, hallows being an old word for holy. However, it’s no secret that over the years the day’s original purpose has been lost in the shuffle, and for many, it now represents evil. So as Christian families, how can we teach our children that it’s ok to have fun without getting caught up in all those evil influences?

Children don’t have to dress up as demons and your television sets don’t have to have scary movies running. There are many fun ways that your family can participate in Halloween festivities without taking part in activities that contradict your religious beliefs. Symbols have as much power as you give them. It’s true that people have abused this day to praise the presence of evil, but as Christian families we need to recognize that those influences do exist. We can’t hide from them. We need to learn to look evil in the face and tell it that we have God on our side. That being said, the holiday means to you what you make it mean to you. You can use it as a tool to teach your little ones about the difference between harmless fun and stuff they shouldn’t be messing with. It’s okay as Christians to take a stand and show that Halloween is not about the devil and witches for you. For you, it’s about doing something with family and community, and celebrating that God is more powerful than any evil influence. Movies starring exorcisms and demons should be left out, but there’s nothing wrong with dressing up as a family and going to the neighbors’ houses for trick-or-treating.
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Protecting your kids from dark influences doesn’t mean they can’t take part in Halloween. In fact, many parishes host Halloween festivals allowing families a safe place to dress up, eat candy, take photos in a pumpkin patch, and more. Remember, the harm is not in the symbols themselves, but what we allow those symbols to represent to us.
Have a safe and blessed All Hallows Eve!
 
Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.