This has been quite a week here on my blog as I have shared how many people have misunderstood the origins of our nation’s Autumn holidays. In this multi-cultural society, Christians have their plates full with trying to relate to their neighbors as well as evangelize the Gospel to people with vast differences. As a Christian myself, I have found it to be an adventure to do so while others are not strong enough in their faith to yet trek out into their neighborhoods. It’s ok if you’re not ready to engage in our culture. I don’t want to nag you to death or belittle you for not jumping right out there. So lets not allow ourselves to feel any pressure about it. It takes time to become educated about our culture, build our own faith up, and even try to have conversations about interacting with people who are so different than what we’re used to. So with all that in mind, lets dig into our Halloween culture.
I know it’s easy to believe all the horror stories about how Halloween came to be what we see today. I’ve been frightened about the origins of a lot of things and it took me a few years to look at it from a faith filled perspective.
All of the creepy and scary things we see during this season are a part of cultural evolution inspired by horror films and stories told throughout the generations. Much like the telephone game, stories get blown out of proportion and maximized to the extreme. While many teens and adults now like to participate in Halloween by dressing in nightmarish costumes, it was not the original intent of the holiday. The Halloween we have in America was simply a time for children to visit their neighbors in cute costumes to ask for candy. It has been a good practice to teach them manners such as staying off the lawn, knocking politely, and saying please and thank you. It’s been a joyful pleasure for the elderly to see small children blessing their doorways with cute princess smiles and fun cowboy ‘yeehaws’.
Children enjoy dressing in costumes at home, but rarely get to wear them outside except for on Halloween. It’s just as much fun for them as it is for adults who attend costume parties for anniversary celebrations.
It’s a great holiday to practice our
- creativity
- hospitality
- generosity
As a Christian, for those strong in their faith, it is a most excellent time to engage the culture for the glory of God. Think about it this way, Jesus didn’t refuse to engage his culture because there were drunks, prostitutes, and profane sailors hanging out in town. He sat with them, walked with them, dined with them and stood up for them when self righteous religious leaders sought to have them stoned to death. Yet like I said, if you’re not ready then don’t do anything you don’t have faith to do. It’s okay. Even the disciples were nervous at first. They even reminded ‘God in the flesh’ that those people were sinners and they weren’t supposed to have dealings with them. My dear Christians, Jesus already took care of all that.
There’s nothing to be afraid of, but if you don’t feel like you’re in a place where you think you are safe then don’t reach out as much as others do. It might be that your place is simply handing out candy and keeping your little ones away from the door so the scary costumes don’t frighten them. If you believe God would have you abstain totally then that’s okay too. In all things grace…. and apply wisdom to your decisions.
For those who are excited about being a participant in our Halloween culture, have fun! Let it be a good time to practice good Christian parenting by teaching children to:
- Respect neighbors and love them as yourselves (Stay off the lawn and knock politely).
- Honor your father and mother by following the teachings they’ve given you (Say please and thank you).
- Yield one to another (Let smaller kids go first).
- Practice wisdom (Don’t go to houses that are not well lit).
- Show generosity (give mommy and daddy some candy as a thank you for taking you out).
- Practice gratitude (when you get home talk about the things they’re thankful for from their night out).
If we teach our children how to wisely engage the culture when they’re young they’re more likely to have solid faith and wisdom to do so when they’re grown. If you haven’t participated in Halloween and your children have developed a fear of it, you might want to prayerfully consider allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you to growing in your faith in God. You can begin making strides in your faith by progressively making changes each year and knowing where to put your boundaries.
You can begin by:
- Simply handing out candy this year and teaching them how to be a Light in our culture.
- The next year you might take your children to a church harvest festival.
- As they grow older you might begin allowing them to visit only neighbors you know and be sure to supervise them.
There certainly are concerns about danger on Halloween night, but there are dangers in church communities too. We know this is true by the amount of clergy who get arrested and put in prison each year due to violating children. There’s danger everywhere, but a Christian who desires to grow in faith will begin making steps toward faith by stepping out where there’s no visible road to step on. Just do so wisely.
{Stay tuned for the next article when I finally reveal how we wisely engage our Halloween culture.}
Related:
How our Family Misundertood Halloween
How We Misundertood All Saints Day
How We Have Misunderstood Protestant Harvest Festivals
