{"id":7644,"date":"2015-10-30T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2015-10-30T13:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=7644"},"modified":"2015-10-25T15:24:57","modified_gmt":"2015-10-25T19:24:57","slug":"what-to-do-with-halloween-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/10\/what-to-do-with-halloween-2.html","title":{"rendered":"What To Do With Halloween"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Halloween\"<\/a>As Christians, we have to decide what to do with Halloween. Do we ignore it, participate with our neighbors, do our own thing, go to a church harvest party, or what? Is it better to engage the culture, have a voice in the festivities or retreat?<\/p>\n

To decide, research the roots of Halloween in order to understand what the holiday is about- this is how you inform yourself with facts. I was surprised to learn that Halloween had\u00a0Celtic origins related to\u00a0sacrifices made to summer gods in Druidic tradition.<\/p>\n

Then, pay attention to what you believe\u00a0the Lord is telling you to do, and talk as a family. Pray for wisdom and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, not other people. When you decide what to do,\u00a0\u00a0help your children understand the position you take and why.<\/p>\n

Other people should respect your decision, especially if you have had any personal encounters with the dark side of the spirit world in your family or through the generations. And if your decision is simply based on the idea that you don\u2019t like what Halloween stands for and do not want to participate, you don\u2019t need the approval of others.<\/p>\n

My caution is\u00a0not to judge others. Many\u00a0use this holiday to\u00a0engage their\u00a0neighbors\u00a0and have\u00a0conversations about spiritual things. Others feel, they can dress up and had out candy because as Christians, there is nothing to fear. Still others see this as\u00a0an opportunity to talk about the spiritual world, a chance for cultural engagement.<\/p>\n

One of the best things that comes out of deciding what to do with Halloween is that it\u00a0awakens us to the reality\u00a0that evil exists and isn\u2019t some Hollywood fantasy.<\/p>\n

So no matter what you decide, know this. Jesus overcame all evil so we don\u2019t have to fear. He overcame the darkness (1 John 4:4)\u00a0and\u00a0triumphed over death and evil. And every day His overcoming power works in us when we are one of His.<\/p>\n

Assure \u00a0your children that no matter what they encounter,\u00a0they are covered by the\u00a0precious blood of Christ (not scary, but comforting)\u00a0and\u00a0greater is He that is in us, then he that is in the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Christians, we have to decide what to do with Halloween. Do we ignore it, participate with our neighbors, do our own thing, go to a church harvest party, or what? Is it better to engage the culture, have a voice in the festivities or retreat? To decide, research the roots of Halloween in order…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[914],"tags":[1790,533,536],"class_list":["post-7644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-relationships-2","tag-celebrate-halloween","tag-halloween","tag-trick-or-treat"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat To Do With Halloween<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/10\/what-to-do-with-halloween-2.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What To Do With Halloween\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As Christians, we have to decide what to do with Halloween. 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