Halloween

The holiday Halloween gets its name from “All Hallow’s Eve,” signifying that it comes directly before the Catholic holiday called All Hallow’s Day, or All Saints’ Day. All Saints’ Day commemorates the lives of Christians whom Catholics and other Christians believe, contrary to the Bible (and in line with pagan beliefs about the supposed immortality of the soul), have gone to heaven as spiritual beings after their death. The Bible states that death is a place without knowledge (Eccles. 9:5-6) or consciousness, and death is repeatedly compared to sleep (John 11:11-15; 1 Cor. 15:20; 1 Thess. 4:13). God will resurrect the saved at the Second Coming (1 Thess. 4:14-18), waking them from their unconscious state.

Today Halloween is celebrated in many different ways around the world, from simply dressing up and eating candy, to focusing on the supernatural and occult. Over the centuries Halloween has become associated with numerous symbols, from pumpkins and hayrides to ghosts and monsters. In North America, Halloween is most commonly associated with a community practice known as “Trick or Treating,” in which children dress up in costumes and go door to door collecting treats to eat.

Many Christians choose to either ignore Halloween entirely or simply focus on activities connected to the autumn season, with no supernatural connection included or implied. Those who have had experiences with the occult may be especially careful to avoid any connection with anything that may be seen as honoring or trivializing the devil’s work.

With its focus on death and the unknown, Halloween explores the tension people feel relating to the seeming inevitability of death, and the dread and uncertainty it brings. In addition to its promise that “The last enemy that will be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:26), the Bible tells us that Jesus came to take such fear away from us. The Bible says that Jesus became human like us “so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb. 2:14-15). Halloween is, indeed, best avoided by those awaiting the soon return of Jesus.