{"id":748,"date":"2010-10-28T07:09:54","date_gmt":"2010-10-28T07:09:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/redletters\/2010\/10\/should-christians-celebrate-halloween.html"},"modified":"2010-10-28T07:09:54","modified_gmt":"2010-10-28T07:09:54","slug":"should-christians-celebrate-halloween","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/2010\/10\/should-christians-celebrate-halloween.html","title":{"rendered":"Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?"},"content":{"rendered":"
It’s that time of year again – the second most popular holiday behind Christmas<\/a>. There are many names given for this season: “Halloween,” “All Saints Day,” “The Devils Day,” “Hallelujah Night,” and “Fall Festival.” The origins of this go back to at least the fourth century. It was quite popular in pre-Christian Ireland and Scotland. The Celtic year ended on October 31, the eve of Samhain<\/strong>,
\nand was celebrated with both religious and harvest rites. For the
\nDruids, Samhain was both the “end of summer” and a
\nfestival of the dead. When St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland, he had a way of
\naccommodating certain pagan customs, which the people incorporated into
\nChristian beliefs. It’s interesting that he brought Christianity to<\/i> these beliefs.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

Halloween is also a sort of marker in the calendar, a turning
\npoint in our year, when the fallen leaves and passing of a season are swept away by the pre-winds of winter and we brace
\nourselves for the uncertainties of a dreary dark winter. I’m reminded of this as I listen to Sting’s album, “If On a Winter’s night.”<\/a>  <\/p>\n

\"Thumbnail<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

If Halloween is not for you, lighten your spirit! Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. If this season tells us anything, it speaks to the need we all have for celebrations that brighten the dark times. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

There are many opinions by Christians about this particular holiday. How should Christians celebrate Halloween? Should they celebrate it as is, alternatively, or ignore it all together? <\/p>\n

\nIs it right to hand out candy if your own children are not allowed to
\ngo trick or treating?  Do you allow your child to dress up at school
\nonly or to participate in the “fall festival”?<\/p>\n

Romans 14:5-9<\/a> has something to say on this issue:<\/p>\n

“What’s important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God’s sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you’re a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It’s God we are answerable to–all the way from life to death and everything in between–not each other. That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.”<\/span><\/p>\n

I know I’m throwing a bit of a wrench into this but some things really aren’t black and white as we’d like them to be. What I
\nchoose to do may be completely opposite from what you choose to do. So
\nthe answer to the question about how should Christians handle Halloween
\nis between you and God. You may feel right before God about
\nthe choice you make.  However if there is any doubt then it
\nshould be reconsidered. <\/p>\n

I’m curious, how are you choosing to celebrate Halloween this year? <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s that time of year again – the second most popular holiday behind Christmas. There are many names given for this season: “Halloween,” “All Saints Day,” “The Devils Day,” “Hallelujah Night,” and “Fall Festival.” The origins of this go back to at least the fourth century. It was quite popular in pre-Christian Ireland and Scotland. 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A tireless advocate for fatherless children, Davis has spent most of his adult life calling U.S. believers to become the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to the 143 million orphans living around the world. Through those connections, thousands of orphans now have the bright and hopeful future--one that is filled with opportunities and the love of the one true Father. Davis speaks hundreds of times each year at churches and conferences, mobilizing the church to action on behalf of the poor. He is the author of four books. His most recent novel, SCARED is a fictionalized account of his first-hand experiencing living and working with orphans in Swaziland, Africa. Davis' blog is the premier resource for the latest developments in Christian orphan ministry. Davis also currently teaches courses as adjunct professor at George Fox University in Newberg, OR. When not traveling the globe, Davis resides in the mountains of Colorado in the small community of Palmer Lake. He and his wife Emily have seven children, including two adopted daughters from Russia.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/author\/tdavis"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}