Response to Halloween Questions
Dr. Kathy Koch on October 31st, 2008 | Filed under Holidays
Today’s entry is my response to questions about Halloween submitted by Michelle. (Please feel free to submit your question and check back for my thoughts.)
Michelle wrote:
Dear Dr. Koch, I really enjoyed your book “How Am I Smart” and value your educated and godly opinion. While my husband and I decided a long time ago not to celebrate halloween, we are finding it difficult to explain our stance to our 5 year old son. He is in school this year, so he is getting a very different message than we have sent him about this day. We firmly believe we are doing the right thing by not celebrating, but don’t want our kids to feel like they are missing out on something because of our faith. We sent out an email survey to our church leaders and friends who share the same faith as us to gather ideas of others who have been in our position. As someone who is raising kids in a God-honoring way, I am interested in your response to these survey questions.
1) What does your family do to celebrate halloween and why?
2) What is your interpretation on the origins of halloween traditions and their relationship to halloween as our culture views it today?
3) From a scriptural perspective, how do you explain halloween rituals and
traditions to your children
Michelle,
I’m glad you and your husband are thoughtfully raising your son. Although not everyone agrees with you, I understand your decision to not celebrate Halloween. Specifically, I’ll answer your questions this way:
- I avoid all celebrations of Halloween. The “holiday” can’t be avoided, but I don’t have to celebrate it. Some years, I attend a fall festival at a church. This year, to totally avoid it, I’m going to an art museum with friends.
- I haven’t studied Halloween, but from talking with friends and doing a brief Internet search, I understand that many people see its origins in a Celtic Festival. After Christianity influenced the Celtic lands, the church introduced the festival known as “All Saints’ Day” as a time to honor saints and martyrs. Martin Luther used this day to point out the unbiblical position of the church back in 1517. This became known as Reformation Day in some protestant circles. This would be something worth researching and introducing your children to. This sure isn’t what our culture says Halloween is about. Too many think it’s about fun, games, and candy. Others have really perverted it, making it a Wicca holiday. That’s one important reason to stay away from it.
- In one respect, there’s nothing wrong with young children dressing up as their favorite storybook character and collecting candy. But, when appropriate, it might be worth sharing the origins of Halloween with school-age children so they have a broader and more accurate perspective toward it. This will help them want to be obedient to parents’ instruction that it not be celebrated. Children need to be obedient and the extra motivation provided by information can help. A complete biblical answer would need to be longer than these thoughts, but this is what’s on my mind today: God wants us to honor saints and martyrs and to understand the history of the church (e.g., Hebrews 11). He also wants us to flee from evil (e.g., 1 Thessalonians 5:22).
January 10th, 2009 at 1:11 am
Kathy and Jay, Thank you both for you thoughtful and godly responses. We have been gathering info for the past 2 months and greatly appreciate your feedback. Michelle