Whether or not Christians should celebrate Halloween is a controversial debate and one this blog is not about.
However, I do want to share how our perspective changed regarding how we honor God without compromising our beliefs.
Growing up as a kid, I didn’t celebrate Halloween. There was no trick-or-treating, no pumpkin carving, and occasionally we would go to a harvest festival at church.
What was a typical Halloween night for us was lights out. We had to be really quiet when kids in the neighborhood came to our door. So that they wouldn’t think anybody was home.
Once I had a family I did what most of us do, repeat what we did growing up. But as I grew in my faith; I realized that our withdrawal on Halloween did not resonate with my conviction of God’s love for the world. What do I mean by that?
Well, at an early age, my parents taught us the history of Halloween; a celebration of the dead, with a large amount of occult activity. And because we were raised as Christians, we didn’t partake in any of the traditional Halloween activities.
Although I understood the principle; it wasn’t until I had my own kids, and they began to ask why we didn’t celebrate Halloween, that I felt led to study our role as a believer on Halloween.
Like my parents, I too had my kids study up on the history of Halloween. I remember that day so clearly because after reading about the history, my daughter had tears in her eyes, just sobbing and said she was sorry for asking to go trick-or-treating.
But it was those tears that touched my heart for me to do a little more digging into how do we as believers find the balance.
This was in 2012, and it was the same year we changed our perspective about Halloween. Matthew 5:14-16 (NKJV) Says: “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Light shines the brightest when placed in the darkness. Does that mean we participate with the darkness, or in dark activities? No, this means we use this as an opportunity to shine bright among men, so that it brings glory to God.
Remember for God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten son (John 3:16). So out of the love God has for the world what better night to let our light shine bright before men?
How do we do this? We purpose to be the brightest house on the block that displays light, and God’s love to bring glory to Him.
That year was the first year we gave out candy. However, we just didn’t give out candy; we decided that it would be an opportunity to make it a family outreach night!
This included making our house the brightest house on the block instead of the darkest. We played Christian music in the background (Toby Mac, Israel Houghton, Kirk Franklin, Lecrae). And handed out candy bags that included a note that said Jesus Loves You, with a church invite card.
I remember when the doorbell ranged, our daughter opened the door with gladness, and passed out candy bags. One of the parents noticed her and said: “Trinity you’re not trick-or- treating?” She said: no I’m fine handing out candy (which was a mature answer to give other than saying, we don’t celebrate Halloween).
Then the parent said: “wow, that’s impressive.” And moments later, they asked what we were playing in the background because they liked it!
You see, God was glorified that night, a night many Christians hide from the world. Romans 14 tells us to hold fast to our convictions but not to press them upon others.
Although we are Christians, and have our opinions about participating in the darkness of Halloween; that does not mean we condemn others who do. We have the obligation to be the light. We have an opportunity to not just stand in the background but love those around us and show God’s love to the world.
As a believer, have you considered how you can be the light on a dark night?
PS..For ideas on having a light party at your house check out these two blog post: Why We Host A Light Party & How You Can Too! and Can Christians Co-Exists In The World And Be Different?
~ Timberley Gray
Sharon says
October 8 at 2:46 pmLove this and I loves your blog! ??
Continued Blessings to you!
Timberley says
October 8 at 5:34 pmThank you Sharon! We trust that what we share encourages and inspires others to live a life that reflects the priorities of God. God, Spouse, Family, Ministry, Work! ~ Blessings
Jennifer says
October 10 at 6:23 pmLove it! We recently had the same family discussions. We most definitely will be passing out candy, as we have hundreds of children in our neighborhood who will be treak-or-treating, yet I LOVE the idea of the gift bags. My daughter will love putting those together. Thanks for writing about this!!
Timberley says
October 10 at 6:53 pmThank you Jennifer! WE love the gift bags too, it makes it so much easier. Our bags usually include 3 pieces of candy and a church invite card or note that Jesus loves them. We have fun as a family preparing, we pray over the bags and our home, and then have a blast showing the love of God! Enjoy the experience with the family. ~ Blessings
Anonymous says
February 3 at 8:14 pmHi! I enjoyed reading this because this question has come up a lot recently and I’ve wondered if I’m being a bad parent. My parents allowed me to celebrate Halloween as a child, but we were all ignorant of it back then. Now, years later, we know some of the history and are convicted not to be so involved. I was wondering what resource you used for your children to read up on it because I am also looking for some way to explain it to my children. Thanks and God bless!
Jennifer says
February 3 at 8:15 pmSorry! I’m new to the site and forgot my name!
Timberley says
February 4 at 12:17 amHi Jennifer! We used a book at the time that our beloved mentor let us borrow. However she has passed and I can’t remember the name but we have also used an online resource, gotquestions.com they have a wide variety of articles from different theologians. Remember whenever looking up information online be sure to read from a minimum of 3 resources so that you can decipher what resonates with your spirit. The Bible says that the Word will discern the Word so if you read something that doesn’t settle well with your spirit it probably isn’t right. I will see if I can find the name of the book she allowed us to borrow, and I will reply to this post again with the name. ~ Blessings
Lara d'Entremont says
September 20 at 10:28 amGreat thoughts! Definitely some things here I need to consider. Thank you for tackling this difficult and controversial topic! I love how you were a light in your community on such a dark day 🙂
Amanda says
September 20 at 10:29 amI really like that you tackled this issue & shared a wonderful & simple way to not hide on Halloween- a question MANY of us Christian parents face! What an awesome legacy to pass down to your kids!!
Timberley says
September 20 at 12:18 pmThank you Amanda, yes you are so right, we really do hope our kids carry the tradition when they have kids of their own. Each year we try to do it brighter and better hoping to reach more families one bag of candy at a time.
~ Blessings
Eckheart | Mari says
September 20 at 10:36 amAmazing how we can transform life’s when we do it with God in mind. I really believe that we should always step in the dark and shine our light, if not we would not be seeking to make disciples like God wants us to. Great idea and great post!
Timberley says
September 20 at 12:20 pmSteeping into the dark is a challenge for most. And that is why we pray fervently throughout the day for protection over our home and the children who are out on the streets. Thank you for stopping by to read. ~ Blessings
Timberley says
September 20 at 12:20 pmSteeping into the dark is a challenge for most. And that is why we pray fervently throughout the day for protection over our home and the children who are out on the streets. Thank you for stopping by to read. ~ Blessings
Liz says
September 20 at 10:37 amMmm… such a convicting challenge to be the light. I’ve always thought Halloween was just about the best opportunity to get to know our neighbors… Seems to be the one night many come out. Even Halloween can be used by God for His purposes!
Timberley says
September 20 at 12:40 pmLiz, you are so right, what the devil intends for evil God will turn for our good. Thank you for reading. ~ Blessings
Anne | onedeterminedlife says
September 20 at 2:33 pmWe hand out candy every year and even take our kids trick or treating. Halloween is the only day we see some all of our neighbours. In a day were people live indoors, this is one night where people are outside in a mood to meet people and say hi. It’s a amazing opportunity
Timberley says
September 21 at 11:38 amHi Anne that’s another perspective and a good one. When we begin to see things in the Spirit we have the opportunity to shed some light in a dark place. Thank you for reading. ~ Blessings
Kate | A Hundred Affections says
September 20 at 6:09 pmThanks for sharing this! I love this perspective. I was raised the same way – we didn’t answer the door, didn’t trick or treat. But as we got older, my parents started giving out candy and tracts. My boys are still young so it hasn’t come up yet (we don’t buy the cute baby costumes), but I love the idea of overcoming evil with good! Thanks for sharing! Pinning! 🙂
Timberley says
September 21 at 12:07 amThank you Kate for stopping by to read. Overcoming evil with good is always a good idea. ~ Blessings
The Barefoot Warrior says
September 21 at 7:55 amI went through a very similar struggle a few years ago. But, a plea from my then 10 year old daughter completely shattered my heart. She went trick-or-treating for the first time in her life that year. From that experience came this post, Finding Your Peace On Halloween.
https://www.thebarefootwarrior.net/single-post/2016/10/01/Finding-Your-Peace-On-Halloween
I applaud your convictions, and while mine differ slightly, I think we need to stand for what we believe.
Timberley says
September 21 at 11:46 amYou are right about standing for what we believe. I know my mom struggled with my decision when I started to host light parties but after doing it for a while she began to come around. I love your story too, I just checked it out. Isn’t it amazing how God will use our kids to speak to us in the deep places? Thank you for reading. ~ Blessings
Laura Thomas says
September 21 at 8:28 pmI love the way you tackle this somewhat controversial topic, Timberley! I was brought up in the UK as a PK 😉 so we simply didn’t do Halloween. Back then it wasn’t much of a thing, to be honest. But in North America it’s HUGE and so we’ve struggled with it over the years, but I really like your approach. Hiding doesn’t seem right. We are the light of the world! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Timberley says
September 22 at 7:01 amHi Laura, thank you Laura for stopping by. I agree with you, I never liked hiding. I use to be so embarrassed as a kid to go to school the next day. But as I grew in my relationship with God discovering that He is a loving God and the opportunity we to be be the light in a dark place really resonated with my heart. ~ Blessings