As a young first time mom, my husband and I made a decision while Joshua was still an infant that we would not celebrate Halloween. As a child, I certainly enjoyed the "holiday." My brother, sister and I did what all the other children did on the eve of November. We dressed up in costumes, some silly, some scary, and hit the streets with our friends in pursuit of treats. It was Halloween, and this is what children did. I certainly never questioned why we did this, who made this night a "holiday," or what it all meant. I'm sure my parents never questioned it either. We participated because everyone else did, and it was fun!
When Joshua was 2 1/2, although we chose not to dress him up and enter the dark night to Trick or Treat, I was not confident enough in my convictions yet to turn the porch light off and fully remove myself from the evening activity of the neighbor children roaming the streets. I had my bowl of candy ready. The first knock on the door was our neighbor's girl, probably 5 years old, dressed as a witch, faced painted green. Joshua had walked up behind me unknowingly, and all of a sudden I heard terrified shreaks escaping my toddler's throat. A scream like I'd never heard before from my sweet boy. My attempts to comfort him and to tell him who it was at our door were fruitless. My child was utterly terrified. That was it for me. I was right. There is no value in fear, and I was sorry that I had only partially followed my convictions. I was done.
I was so angry with myself as I held my trembling little boy. I knew the truth. I knew the "why." I knew the origins of that day and I had invited it into my home. This was not okay.
I want to be clear - my stand is not against occultists, non-Christians, or even those Christians that are not convicted as I am, or Christians that just don't know the facts, or anyone that chooses to participate. Rather, I take a stand "against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).
The world would like us to believe that we are keeping our children from a fun activity and causing them to feel embarrassed by their non-participation. Ridiculous! There are so many fun activities you can share with your children instead. When we were in a school district that had Halloween parties in school, I took my children out and we had a special day together! It was a great opportunity to remind them that they are different and that is ok. They learned from it to stand for what they believe. I remember Devin, probably in 3rd grade, telling his teacher that he would not color a witch, and he asked for another picture to color. I was so proud of his convictions and his confidence to speak up!
Kids will get it if you tell them why you believe what you believe:
- Trick or Treat started because the Celtics thought that on this night the dead would rise and roam the streets and try to enter their homes. They would leave "treats" for the spirits so that they would not enter their homes. Humans would dress up as demonic creatures and roam the streets hoping to masquerade as a demon, so as not to be recognized by the "real" demons. It was a night of mischief where people could play pranks on others and not get into any trouble.
- The Jack-O-Lantern is the ancient symbol of a damned soul. The Irish used to use turnips to carve faces into to represent the souls of the dead. When they came to the United States in the 1800s, they couldn't find enough turnips to use for this purpose, but there was an abundance of pumpkins, which started the tradition we know today. The Jack-O-Lanterns were meant to scare away the spirits of the dead that would roam around on Halloween. Not so cute anymore, right?
- Bats are a symbol of Halloween because people believed that these nocturnal animals could communicate with the dead.
- Black cats were believed to be reincarnated beings. Witches could turn themselves into black cats, and they were feared.
- Witches and witchcraft are dominant themes of this "holiday." To real-life witches this is a a festival of the dead. The beginning and the end of their year. This is a real religious holiday for those that are part of the Wicca religion.
This is not innocent fun. Oh it may seem fun on the surface and many may think it harmless, but the spiritual warfare on this night is real. I remain steadfast...there is no value in fear. There is no value in the appearance of evil. There is no value in this "holiday." There is no way I can reconcile the facts with the "fun." And my children did not miss out on anything...you just ask them!
"Test everything. Hold onto the good. Avoid every kind of evil." I Thes 5:21-22
"Do not imitate what is evil." 3 John 1:11
"Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good." Romans 12:9
"Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness. Live as children of the light. Eph 5:11-12
"Train a child in the way they should go." Prov 22:6
"What fellowship can light have with darkness?" 2 Cor 6: 14-17
I hope that if you are reading this and you've never considered these things, that this will encourage you to pause and pray about what you are going to do on 10.31.10, and on the eve of November for every year to come.
I promise you, these little faces will not feel left out. They are learning already that they are set apart and it is ok to be different!
