Is it alright for Christians to celebrate Halloween?--a challenge to other Christians.

Is it alright for Christians to celebrate Halloween?

I remember when I was child celebrating Christmas.  Like many families, we would open our presents, which had been under the Christmas tree, go to Grandma’s for the annual family dinner, and simply enjoy the company of family and loved ones.  However, Christmas could be a somewhat difficult time of the year for me, especially when I was a child. As much as I looked forward to opening presents and seeing family members, there was always this one point of contention that I had to struggle with every year.

Unlike all other families that I knew of at the time, my mother and father did not teach me to believe in Santa Claus. There were no reindeer and no fat, jolly Saint Nick visiting my house.  My parents simply could not bring themselves to lie to me about it. They also felt that the story of Santa Claus veiled the true meaning of Christmas, which is the birth of Christ. So, I knew my gifts were from my parents and, if they said “from Santa” on the label, an extended family member.  

This knowledge did not always sit well with some of my family. Some of them seemed to get annoyed and they would protest because I did not believe. On occasion, some of them tried to argue with my parents’ decision on the matter. Sometimes, they would attempt to challenge my belief that Santa was not real, when my parents were not around.  Strangely, although they knew I didn’t believe in Santa Claus, they would continue talking to me about him as though he was real.

As a child, I was very confused as to why a group of adults, whom I was supposed to trust, would have so much conviction about lying to kids about Santa. Even Christmastime television programs would often portray young boys, who did not believe in Saint Nick, as unappreciative and angry. If miracles did not come their way, it was due to their failure to believe in something good, like Santa Claus.  This felt uncomfortable, especially in school, where I was always instructed to keep my opinions about the matter to myself, and not to “argue” with the other kids. I never even started it, but I was always accused of being the one “arguing” and not the other boy.

So what does this have to do with celebrating Halloween?

Well…Christians who do not celebrate Halloween, but adorn their homes with Christmas trees and teach their children about Santa Claus, perplex me. They will not celebrate Halloween because of its pagan roots in Celtic mythology, but do not hesitate to adorn their homes with ancient pagan symbols and lie to their children about Santa, who practices magic (sorcery?). Furthermore, Christmas has just as many roots in ancient, non-Christian religions as Halloween.

October 31st was celebrated in Ireland and Scotland, around the time of Christ, as the end of summer.  This festival was called “Samhain,” pronounced “sow-ane,” and means the “end of summer.” It was the time of harvest and the time herders would gather up their animals and prepare for winter.  Samhain was seen as a day of “chaos.” The new year began on November 1st , so the day of October 31st was seen as the day in between the old year and the new year—a day of superstition,  fairies, practical jokes, and of disembodies spirits looking for hosts. The people would put on costumes, parading around, making loud noises to frighten away the spirits.

Halloween developed later, around the 5th century AD, by the Catholic Church in order to replace the older festival, Samhain.  Halloween, or “All Hallows Eve,” was the eve of “All Hallows Day,” or “All Saints Day,” when all the saints of the Catholic Church were remembered and honored. The custom of trick or treating may have developed later due to beliefs that the dead were walking in limbo. People would go to each other’s homes in order to exchange cakes for prayers for the salvation of dead family members.

The jack-o-lantern evidently comes from an old Irish story about a man named Jack, who tricked the devil into climbing a tree. When the devil was in the tree, Jack carved a cross on the trunk, and the devil could not get down.  Jack made a deal with the devil that if he’d allow the devil to come down, then the he would not take Jack to hell.  When Jack died, he could not go to heaven, but he could not go to hell either. So he was stuck in between, wandering in limbo with only a single candle for light, which was placed in a turnip to keep it burning. In the 1800’s, when the Irish were coming into America, the turnip was replaced with a pumpkin.

Winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and pagan celebrations for the decline of winter predate the time of Christ.  These winter solstice celebrations occurred around the time of December 21st and symbolized the lengthening of the days through various pagan religious imageries. This would make sense if one considers the dependency they had on agriculture and how their religions were inextricably tied with that way of life. For a few examples of these, December 25th actually coincided with the birth of the ancient Balkan sun-god, Phyrgia. Likewise, in ancient Roman belief, the winter solstice corresponded to the release of Saturn, the god of agriculture. During mid-summer, Jupiter would force Saturn out of the heavenly realm. During this time, the Romans would bind the statue of Saturn’s feet with chains in his temple to symbolize the shortening of the days. They would come off again to celebrate the approach of the warmer season and the lengthening of days, the release of Saturn.

By the time of Christ, the holiday was called Saturnalia. Even though Christ’s birth probably took place some time during the spring (April), the Catholic Church replaced this holiday in the 4th century with “The Feast of the Nativity,” or what we call “Christmas.”

The Christmas tree was an ancient symbol of life and renewal for the Roman religion. It was also an ancient fertility symbol of various ancient pagan cultures. It was decorated as a form of worship in some cultures. Then there is mistletoe, a parasitic plant which grows on trees, which was believed to have contained the soul of the host tree; interestingly, this belief was held by the Celts—the same group that celebrated Samhain. Also, druids would place the mistletoe above doorways to protect themselves from evil spirits.

As one can see, the origins of Christmas are not that much different than the origins of Halloween.  There is no biblical imperative to celebrate the birth of Christ and no records which indicate that the early church celebrated it. We do it as a matter of tradition; hopefully, with the intention of honoring Christ. However, these traditions, including Christmas, seem to stem directly from ancient pagan festivities which included idolatry, magic or sorcery, and such practices. What does Scripture say about these things?

“There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer  or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord” (Deut. 18:10-12).

This seems pretty clear to me. However, to make matters worse, what is Santa Claus about? We present our children with a mythical being, who seems to possess attributes such as omniscience—He knows when we are sleeping and awake. He knows when we’ve bad or good. He uses magic (sorcery?) and little elves (Celtic fairies?) to make toys for the good girls and boys. He has a bag that seems to have a bottomless pit, flying reindeer pulling a sleigh, and he is able get through any chimney no matter the size discrepancy. We attribute divine characteristics to a mythological demigod of toys, and teach our children to believe in him and revere him.  And if this wasn’t ironic enough, Santa knows another similar being called “Old Man Winter,” who has powers over seasons, like Jupiter and Saturn.

I do not lie to my children about Santa Claus. Actually, I find the real story of Saint Nick much more inspiring anyway. It is a story of profound charity toward orphans and I see no purpose in mythologizing it with pointless—or even potentially damaging—superstitions or beliefs about magic. Besides, the real St. Nick’s generosity was for the poor; the mythical one seems partial to the wealthy, since he gives them more expensive gifts.

Nonetheless, I celebrate not only Christmas, but also Halloween. I understand that it has very deep, cultic origins, but this is not why my family and I celebrate it. When we get together to carve pumpkins—which is a very odd tradition—it isn’t to commemorate the day Jack tricked the devil. (Indeed, the story doesn’t even make sense from a biblical world view). We carve jack-o-lanterns for precisely the same reasons we put up the Christmas tree (another odd tradition): Because it is fun, part of our heritage, helps us get through each season, and allows us to bond with each other. It is nice to have a festival, to have something to look forward, to eagerly anticipate. I can think of nothing cuter than a bunch of children dressed up in funny costumes going door to door for some treat.

To me, Halloween is a celebration of neighbors. We get together with friends, relatives, and neighbors and we treat each other kind and neighborly, once a year. It is really the only holiday we have left where we still do this. I very much cherish, and look forward to, mingling with different people who approach my home with their children, wanting some candy.  One day a year, many of our neighbors actually stop pretending that no one of importance lives around them, and this seems to result in a sense of belonging, friendship, and trust.

So what about the pagan origins of Halloween—or of Christmas for that matter?  Does it matter? It doesn’t to me because I partake in these things for the glory of God. It is the freedom given to me in Christ. Interestingly, the apostle Paul talks about these exact sorts of things in his first letter to the Corinthians:

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”  If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.  But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience?  If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?” (10:23-30).

He is referring to foods which are the meat of animals that have been sacrificed on altars. Notice how the issue is not with the food or even where it came from, but the conscience of another person. Eating meats sacrificed on altars does not corrupt me, confusing the good conscience of a weaker brother or sister, however, does. My actions, for example, could tempt them into committing idolatry, or some other sin against the living God:

“Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.” (7:4-9)


If a fellow brother or sister was previously engaged in cultic practices, and if either Halloween or some Christmas festivity tempted them into some former association, I would refrain for the sake of their conscience. However, this has rarely been the case in my experience. Rather, it is far more typical that other Christians, who do not struggle with such things, misunderstand that there is a difference between what something was in the past versus its significance today. And for me, I find that they are not consistent in their own applications…they won’t pass out the candy, but they’ll put up the Christmas tree and the mistletoe.  Then, to make matters even worse, lie to their kids about Santa Claus.

So here’s my question: Why is it okay to lie to children about an omniscient, magical figure or to use ancient pagan festivities and symbols on December 25th, but not on October 31st? I am not asking out of maliciousness, or to persecute anyone, but the Bible does instruct me to rebuke my brothers and sisters when they are in error….And the same Scriptures also tell us to accept such corrections and/or to provide a rational answer for our reasons to anyone who would ask.  I do not get offended when other Christians hold me accountable, nor should you.