let’s talk about Halloween
I must say that this has been a topic which I have wrestled with. How do you talk about a beloved (strangely so) ‘holiday’ without getting on everyone’s sensitive side? ‘Halloween is harmless’ and ‘Christians are just buzz kill.’ Well, let’s have a moment to be mature and see what God would want to say about the situation.
At the end of the day, this is not about speaking out against and destroying Halloween. It’s about opening your eyes and growing your perspective and not just letting social constructs and media lead you along a path because it’s trendy and widely accepted. So, without further rambling, let’s get into it!
Halloween is fascinating. It is not the only celebration of its kind. It is a blend of Western media (movies and folk stories) and ‘ancient’ traditions still practised and celebrated today by different cultures around the world. Essentially Halloween is not much different from celebration days such as Dia De Los Mourtes (the Mexican celebration meaning, The Day of the Dead) and other pagan traditions which celebrate the dead. On these days death and horror are the main themes. Trick or Treating and house parties may be some of the more Western activities and maybe we don’t all fixate on the dead, but this is what these days are actually about.
Now, for most cultures that have these celebrations it is done with a level of good intention and to honour those who are no longer with us. I understand the intentions but to focus on those, repeatedly, who are no longer around is pointless. We throw lavish celebrations and spend money on days which desensitise us to the reality and seriousness of death and violence. We dedicate whole months to being ‘Spooktober’ in the lead up to a day which, historically, is actually a pretty messed up and evil day.
I’m all for having fun. One of my dreams is to have a full-on Storm Trooper outfit (Star Wars nerd alert). But when are we being THIS intentional in celebrating life and creation? Sure we have our birthdays but even then we like keeping it low key because no one these days likes being celebrated (maybe except a few people who tell you it’s their birthday on their IG story). If we had to put aside a day where we marvelled at life on Earth, protected one another, spoke life into everything and declared God’s goodness over everyone we saw and hung up Suns and ‘good vibes’ all over our houses, people would think that was weird. We feel far more comfortable hopping on the bandwagon and dressing up like serial killers, playboy bunnies and horror film characters than representing life on Earth and bringing the LIFE of GOD into everyday life.
This is not about making anyone feel condemned, this is about challenging the status quo. What are you getting too comfortable with? Are we just going to accept death, sickness and violence as a reality and something we celebrate? Or are we going to CHOOSE LIFE? Look at what God says in the Word:
Deuteronomy 30:19 (NLT)
19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!
Hint, hint. Nudge, nudge. God wants us to enjoy the fruitfulness and life that His presence, Word and Spirit bring! God does not want us to be desensitised to death and accept it. He wants us to be OBSESSED with the Life that Jesus brings.
Halloween may come once a year but it represents something in our modern culture that we keep accepting and letting fear creep its way into our lives.
At the end of the day, you need to follow the Peace of God. If you feel the greenlight to celebrate Halloween and join the festivity, you do you. If you feel the red light in your spirit and think something aint right, stop. Be awake and ask God what He would want you to do. His opinion and guidance is the only one that matters at the end of the day!
Be Blessed yall.
Pator Matt