Why I Don't Celebrate Halloween

I don't know about you, but I grew up going trick-or-treating every year as a kid.  Now that I have children of my own, I can't help but notice the incredible amount of controversy among Christians concerning whether or not to celebrate Halloween.  This post is not an attempt to offend any well-meaning Christians who choose to celebrate Halloween.  The purpose of this post is to bring light to some issues that I was never aware of until just a few years ago.

What is the Occult?

It wasn't until about 7 or 8 years ago that I discovered the word "occult".  A definition of the occult is " of or characteristic of magical, mystical, or supernatural arts, phenomena, or influences".  I grew up using Ouija boards, reading astrology books, reading my horoscope, etc.  This all seemed like harmless fun.  After all, no one ever got hurt, and I never saw any negative effects from participating in all of those things.  Then I discovered that these activities are all part of the occult.  There are many other occult activities that I found on this particular website:  The Occult 

What is So Harmful About the Occult?

God specifically forbids us from having any connection to the occult.  For many years, I didn't even know that was in the bible.  The churches I had been a part of never taught this, and I never came across it myself in the bible. Here are some scriptures that I have found since then:

“When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire [an ancient occult practice], or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination [detestable] to the LORD…” ( Deuteronomy 18:9-12).

"Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 19:31)".

"As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritist, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people (Leviticus 20:6)".

How is Halloween Connected To the Occult?

Just search "Halloween pictures" and see if it doesn't seem related to the definition of the occult.  There's a whole other world out there that we can't see with our natural eyes.  It's real. Satan is a deceiver, and he has tricked many people into believing that Halloween is all fun and games.  When a person celebrates Halloween, he or she needs to ask, "What exactly am I celebrating?" 

I understand that many people would feel terrible not letting their children dress up and go trick-or-treating when they have done so in the past.  It's also difficult to go against what friends and family are doing.  Doing what God has commanded us to do (and not do) is more important than your feelings, though.  As Christians, we need to put all of our beliefs and traditions aside sometimes and measure them up to the Word of God.  Ephesians 6:12 says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms". 

What about celebrating Halloween but just avoiding all of the "scary" stuff? 

Personally, I don't think it makes any difference what your (my) children are dressed in, it's still celebrating Halloween.  God has warned us not to become like the world, and we are not to participate in all of the evil that's in it.  We are to "test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22) "and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Ephesians 5:11). 

We Are Ultimately Chosing Our Way or God's Way. 

I also believe that celebrating Halloween is a way that the devil can get a foothold in our children's hearts concerning the occult.  When our children see Halloween as harmless, it can easily lead to other things connected to the occult appearing harmless also.  That's what happened to me, and I know I'm not the only one.  The occult is not harmless! 

These are the reasons why our family does not celebrate Halloween.  This is not an exhaustive list, and the list actually keeps growing and changing as my children get older and as I learn more about the Word of God and the standards that He has set up to protect us.  This applies to all situations of life, not just Halloween.  It's a continual process of laying down what I've always done and measuring it up against God's Word.  

What do you do concerning Halloween?  For those who celebrate it and will continue to celebrate it this year, I challenge you to search the scriptures on it and pray that God gives you a revelation of how He sees Halloween. 

I welcome your comments, knowing that not everyone will agree with what I have written.