There are a couple of the comments Christians hear during October. 1. Halloween is a pagan holiday that involves evil and witchcraft….totally ignore, set up a prayer army to guard against all the evil of that night.

2. Halloween is nothing but a time on the calendar that gives us an excuse to eat way too much candy and dress in costume, play games…So it is completely fine to engage in all secular activities, not a big deal

There are many things about celebrating Halloween with which Christians take issue with including rumors of satanic rituals involving anti-Christian activities. Most of us also have fond memories of childhood trick-or-treating and dressing up as a princess or super hero. Still, many traditions, myths, and unfounded rumors have developed about Halloween that it is a complex issue Christians should consider carefully.

Origin-”Halloween” is a contracted form of “Holy Evening” and refers to the evening of All Saints Day (November 1), when Christians traditionally remember believers of other times who are especially good role models of faith; many of whom were persecuted, tortured, and/or died rather than renounce Christ. As northern Europe and the British Isles became Christianized, the Church saw that the pagan festivals still lured Christians to compromise their faith. That was when the early church designated this time as All Saints Day. One of the biblical inspirations for honoring believers of past times and thanking God for their service in His Name comes from Hebrews 11:1-40. The writer of Hebrews encourages us that our faith is completely trustworthy because it is faith in God, who has proven His character and power so many times in the past in the lives of others that we can be confident that He will accomplish whatever He has promised for the future. From this grew the idea of picking a special day during the church year on which to honor believers who were good role models of faith. This became known as “All Saints Day.”

Marked a special day to honor believers of the past, no date was set for All Saints Day until Christianity began to flourish in northern Europe and the British Isles. There Christians found much celebrated harvest/fall festivals of the pagan nature. They determined that All Saints Day should be celebrated at the same time to directly challenge the sentiments of pagan festivals of the season. At that same period of history it was a common pagan tradition was to placate the spirits of those who had died to send them off on a one-way trip to the nether world by “treating” them. If a spirit was not “treated” well, it would “trick,” those who had not prepared for their departure. Some said the spirits could be warded off by carving a grotesque face into a gourd or root vegetable (the Scottish used turnips) and setting a candle inside it.

Halloween didn’t become an American holiday until the immigration of the working classes from the British Isles in the late nineteenth century. Many American young people borrowed or adapted many customs without reference to their pagan origins. Now Halloween is almost exclusively an American holiday. Most people who celebrate Halloween have no conception origins. Most perceive Halloween as a fun time to dress up in costumes, and eat too much sugar. Small children enjoy the costumed role playing (an important part of learning, as any preschool or kindergarten teacher can testify), games, and refreshments. Regardless of the position you take regarding your family’s response to Halloween, all Christians can rejoice that “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4); that we can “resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7); and that through the cross Christ has “disarmed principalities and powers,” and “made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them” (Col. 2:15). Be at peace knowing that your Lord Jesus Christ has everything you need, focus your activities to him and for him, and rumors of the world will be just that…of the world.

Nettie Covalt, lay pastor, First Presbyterian Church