Several countries in the world, including the United States, have many secular holidays that are universally celebrated. A particular secular holiday, Halloween, convicts many Christians because of its disturbing origin. Some Christians perceive the holiday as a fun excuse to dress up in costumes and celebrate in a community together while others oppose the dark nature of the holiday.
THE ORIGIN OF HALLOWEEN
Today, Halloween is unrecognizable compared to how it originally began. An account from History says, “The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts.” These ancient festivities included pagan sacrifices and a belief in monsters.
The influence of Christianity in the 9th century sparked the creation of a new holiday called All Saint’s Day, or All-hallows. This holiday was celebrated the day after the Celtic festival to recognize the deaths of Christian martyrs. It was originally an attempt to stop the pagan practices.
Yet over time and through immigration, the celebrations bled together and evolved into the Halloween of the 21st century. No longer does the holiday revolve around ancient pagan traditions: it now consists of trick-or-treating, parties and watching scary movies with friends.
DISAPPROVAL FROM CHRISTIANS
Halloween today consists of the annual tradition of children dressing up in costumes and receiving candy from houses around their neighborhood. It allows children to express their creativity and interests with costumes, and come into community with friends, family, and neighbors. In opposition to the family-friendly atmosphere, spooky decorations and frightening media interpretations add to Halloween’s evil connotation.
Romans 13:12 says, “The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Many Christians find Scripture to oppose the celebration of the holiday because of its dark past. Others refuse the social aspect of the tradition because Scripture calls for Christians to be set apart from the world. 2 Corinthians 6:17 says, “Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you.”
The question of celebrating certain secular holidays could also be asked about Christmas. Although Christmas is recognized as a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Christ, it has similarly evolved into a national celebration of secular traditions. These include the belief of Santa Claus, magical elves and flying reindeer. Should Christians reject the secular traditions of Christmas as well?
CONFLICTING PERSPECTIVES
The origin of Halloween conflicts with Christian values due to the evil connotations of ancient pagan traditions. However, some Christians ignore the origin of the celebration in order to participate in the social aspect of the evolved holiday. Likewise, some Christians participate in the secular aspects of Christmas because of the holiday’s Biblical association and the joyful festivities that go along with it.
“I agree that there are conflicting perspectives in the Christian community,” senior cinema and media arts major Trever Motes said. “There are those who see it as an evil thing, and there are those who see it just as a fun holiday to celebrate. It’s optional to celebrate Halloween, and not everyone is obligated to participate. I think Christians who choose not to celebrate it shouldn’t judge others who do.”
Christians should take comfort in their freedom to celebrate certain holidays according to their viewpoint. Whether or not Christians choose to celebrate certain holidays, the constructive response is to stick to personal convictions and allow others to form their own perspective.
