If you’re like many Christians, come Halloween, there is always a weird apprehension in the air.

If you grew up in the Latin culture, you may even be familiar with the phrase, “Halloween is the devil’s birthday,” as you quickly turn off your front porch light and lock all the doors. If someone knocks, you shush everyone inside the house so they can be silent until the coast clears. You can wear a costume any other day of the year, but on that day, it is a “no-no.”

Flash forward to today—you’re a parent and you’re wondering, “Can I actually take my kids out trick-or-treating? Am I dishonoring God by celebrating it?”

A quick Google search on the origins of Halloween will tell you that it comes from a Celtic holiday where people would wear costumes and light bonfires to ward off ghosts. These bonfires would be a place to burn animal and crop sacrifices to the Celtic (lowercase G) gods. This festival was known as Samhain (pronounced "sow" "en"). The Celts believed that on October 31st, the lines blurred between the living and the dead, and ghosts could return to Earth.

After Roman rule and Christianity took over many of the Celtic areas, the holiday has since evolved from its pagan roots, among many other holidays. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory IV designated the day after, November 1st, as All Saints’ Day. The traditions of Samhain and Saints’ Day would eventually blend together, to where we are now, with candy and costumes.

So back to the original question, “Can my family celebrate Halloween?”

First, we would say that the Lord always knows the condition of our hearts. If you’re really into “creepy things” and it brings you joy to see blood, gore, and evil things play out, then the answer to that question would be a resounding “NO.” Remember the verse from Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

But for those who see Halloween as a redemptive day—a day where your neighbors will actually not be afraid to knock on your door and you can engage with them—then we would say, “Yes!”

Apprehensive to share the gospel on a normal day? Well this is a day that you have a BIG opportunity to share the gospel and be the light in your neighborhood, because they’re coming to YOU. No awkward waves as you get in your car. No throwing an invite at them before Easter. They are knocking on your door.

In our house, we do not do scary decorations. We’re not edifying blood, gore, and the occult. My kids will not dress as scary things, or like little devils.

However, just like in everything else we try to instill in our lives, we’re going to honor God in it. So we’re going to pass out candy, but with a church invite. We’re going to wear cute princess or Lightning Mcqueen costumes. We will help our church’s Trunk or Treat events to help spread the word that there is a church in people’s neighborhoods that loves and cares for them. And we will pass out little candy cards that have a verse on it, reminding people that they are loved and can hope in Jesus.

But if you feel the conviction in your heart still that it’s still a “no” for you, that’s OK too! At the end of the day, we want to hold everything we do up to God’s Word and make sure we’re always honoring Him.

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Looking for family-friendly fall fun? Join us for Trunk or Treat!

Across all our campuses, we’ll have food trucks, free candy, games and more. This is an awesome opportunity to invite your friends and neighbors as we reach beyond our church to share the gospel with our community. Click below to find a campus near you!