So this is kind of a hard post for me to write as I know a lot of eye roll will be induced, but considering I’ve always been a bit of a square peg I guess I should be used to being looked at funny. Many of you will think we’re being silly, maybe even ridiculous. I told my six year old the other day, when she mentioned how every cartoon on TV was celebrating Halloween, that sometimes when you’re a Christian you may be called to be different from the rest of the world. And that’s ok.
We have decided in our home this year not to participate in Halloween, but it’s important to me that you know I don’t judge you if you do. I figure God speaks to all of us different things at different times. This just happens to be something He’s been speaking to us. So we’ll be sitting out on Halloween this year, and I just wanted to share with you why.
First off, this is really an unexpected decision for me to come to. I was raised enjoying the holiday immensely. I had the best Halloween parties around when I was a kid, and some of the makeup my mom did was seriously worthy of Hollywood horror films. It was pretty epic, and it coincided with one of the best decorated porches in our town. Like, kids were afraid to trick-or-treat at our house. My mom loved Halloween, and subsequently so did I. For the record, I have good memories of Halloween.
My favorite author in my teens and twenties was Stephen King, and he was followed by Dean Koontz. Scary movies were my jam, and if it was Halloween I was decking the halls with cobwebs and finding the perfect costume.
Since we had children six years ago my husband and I have taken them trick-or-treating, and we’ve had just as much fun as them getting all dressed up. It’s been a tradition for us to celebrate Halloween, but it seems that God is doing something new in our family.
Somewhere along the time that He began to convict us about the movies or television shows we watched, He also began to speak to us about Halloween. The interesting part was God was pricking my heart, but I didn’t talk to my husband about it because I was sure he’d think I was being overboard. He had told me once before that a strict upbringing made him wary of imposing too many restrictions, and I was sure he wasn’t on the same page that I was finding myself. Instead of bringing him my concerns I just prayed about it. Then one day he brought it up to me.
So what brought us to this decision? Well, I think there’s a number of reasons. We did both happen to see separately a former Satanist speak about the holiday, and that had a lot of bearing. The guy spoke of how important Halloween was to Satanists and how much evil they performed specifically on that night. We definitely didn’t want to celebrate a night that was a favorite of devil worshippers. But it was more than that.
Kind of like how the books, music, television, and movies we watch have changed over time, we saw Halloween the same. Sometimes in this world we become blind to evil among us because we’re just so used to it. We see demonic possession as entertainment and don’t blink an eye at blood, gore, and sex all rolled up in one as a popular tv show. Ouija boards are just a game, tarot cards a bit of fun, and before we know it we’re putting stock in things that are not of God. Sometimes something that seems like “just fun and make believe” can actually be an open door for evil to affect you.
Matthew 12:30
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
For us it became a thought that if we were placing value in things not of God then it was like we were opposing Him. The fact is that many decorations, origins, and pagan traditions celebrated on Halloween are not Christian in nature. I have read positions concerning All Saint’s Day held November 1st, or heard people describe it as a celebration of harvest and fall, but for us it was like, why try so hard to make something sound all good when in reality a lot of it is not.
Again, not trying to offend anyone; just sharing my personal thoughts and convictions.
Then there’s the question of what you’re allowing into your life. What’s feeding your thoughts, and how is your entertainment affecting your mood? Does your music make you angry? Does your book of choice cause you to feel hopeless without cause? Are you waking up depressed for no apparent reason? If you feed your body good food you’re energized, but if you feed it junk you’re sluggish. I believe our minds are the same. What we take in is what we put out. So then much like how certain movies may open the door to evil in your life, we felt like a lot of the things celebrated on Halloween were similar in pulling down our spirits.
So why couldn’t we just dress our girls like pretty princesses and go to trunk-or-treats at churches? Well, we could I suppose, but why? For us the verse I stated above came to mind, and I wondered why we would bother trying to etch out a good corner in which to celebrate Halloween. In the end I guess it didn’t matter that much to us. We decided that feeling like we could give up a holiday that might have aspects of it that were against our belief system was more important than going door to door for candy.
What about the girls? We had a discussion with the six year old about it, and she was quick to say she didn’t want to celebrate Halloween either. They agreed they could put on costumes and eat candy any day, but doing it on a night that so many evil doors were open was something they could let go of too.
I’ll be honest, I worried for a moment if they would feel left out from something so many other kids were doing. But then I thought about the state of the world we live in. Sometimes it’s better to be different. Most of the time actually.
I guess in the end it came down to the fact that if we had to ask ourselves “should we be celebrating Halloween,” then maybe it wasn’t worth the worry. I’d rather be overboard any day than risk being complacent. I want to have my eyes wide open to anything that could separate me inadvertently from the Lord.
We decided as a family to sit Halloween out this year, but again we don’t judge anyone who is celebrating the holiday. God puts different convictions on different hearts, for different reasons, at different times. This happens to make us feel good in our spirit, so we’ll most likely have a cookout as a family on the 31st.
Ruthie Young says
Thank you for this very insightful post. As I have said before, you are brave! And I applaud your decision.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.
Georgana says
If it does not feel right in your heart, your decision is justified. Don’t even second guess it and what others think of your decision is not important. You aren’t judging others for participating and that is a true Christian virtue. Tolerance of others choices is important to me. God has also entered our house in a very significant way. He is working miracles. I’m not perfect, and far from being the Christian I want to be, but I am enjoying the lessons I’m learning. I strive everyday to work on habitual sins. Now, back to the topic of Halloween.. I know the meaning behind Halloween..and Christians should not celebrate the holiday. I took Kyndal tonight..and she is going to my Mother’s church tomorrow for trunk or treat. THEN Selmer Monday. Of course, she knows nothing of the history behind ? Halloween. It’s just a fun time to dress up and get lots of candy. I’m torn in my thoughts on it. If I decided to not celebrate it next year, it would be so hard make her understand. I still.support your choice. You have to listen to your heart because I believe that is how God speaks to you. Thank you for sharing this. I enjoy to read things like this because it can trigger me to think about my choices. I love to philosophize and ponder. Bless you, Brie!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you so much! God bless you.
Laura Brose says
I love this. Thank you for writing your convictions. Do you pass out candy from your home?
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.
I’m sure my children would devour any candy we brought through the door. Lol!
Hannah Joy says
I too was unable to “celebrate” / “participate” in Halloween as a child. This in turn, pushed me to now view Halloween as one of my most favorite holidays. Personally, I think it’s all in the HOW it is celebrated. If you keep it fun and light hearted, leave all of the so called ” bad/Satan worshipping” things out of it , it can be an absolutely fun and memory making holiday to share as a family. I trick or treated for the VERY first time at 18 yrs old. And have been doing so ever since. I don’t think that God views a collection of candy and dressing up for fun as a “sin”…..like I said, its all in how you celebrate this holiday…..whether good or bad.
Just my opinion. ?
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you. It’s just a personal conviction I’m aware 90-95% don’t agree with.
Dmitri Dumas says
People do not know what happens in the spiritual realm. I have been there and your decision not to celebrate this is a very wise choice. But hey, what do I know, I am only an ex Satanist. Wise choice Brie. Well done.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you. Your comment means a lot to me.
Linda, RN says
Reading reading your blog is a breath of fresh air. Thank you for articulating many times what I can’t seem to say. God is using you, girl, in a big, big way. God bless you and your sweet family…
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you so much! God bless you.
Candi says
My mom has always told me that if you are strongly convicted about something and you do it, then you are sinning in the eyes of God: your convictions aren’t the same as mine nor mine yours, so stand firm on your belief.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you.
Stephanie S says
I feel like I could have written this post as my own! ❤️ This walk with God is such a process isn’t it?!?! I wasn’t saved until age 21, in college, and grew up in an abusive home. I feel like I had a rough start in life, but God is all about the process of sanctification and redemption!!! Thank God he picked me up out of pit and helped me to see I’m special and loved and chosen…by Him. ❤️ The devil wants to kill and destroy His ppl and divid us too. I think we all need to respect that we are all on our own paths with God and not to compare so much. It’s hard. I’m guilty. Anyways, I’m glad to know I’m not alone in my views, but it’s ok if ppl don’t agree, as its God I answer to-not man. ?
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thanks so much for commenting and sharing. God is so good. ☺️
DD says
I believe the decision that your family had made is a good one. We help give out with our church serving the community and our 4 yr old daughter likes to help serve too. I believe we all have our own personal convictions. Often, I have found when the Lord speaks to us about something, I believe He is testing us to see how faithful we are to Him and testing our trust in Him. What the enemy uses for evil, the Lord can turn it into a positive. We are His hands and feet and we can serve and love because He served and loved us. This is why we participate in the trunk-or-treat at our church. I’m not disagreeing with you. I’m just saying what you may feel convicted about may be different for others. Listening, obeying, and trusting God is the importance.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thank you so much for commenting and sharing.
Curious says
So are you abstaining from Easter and Christmas activities as well or have you yet to be convicted on those pagan holidays as well?
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Tell you what. Use your real name and we can have a conversation.
Dave Parsons says
I have seen more and more christians voice their concern with halloween! I can vouch from my own personal experiences of what I allow into my christian life can potentially give satan an opportunity to lead me down a path that could put my dedication to the Lord on the wrong path! Like you I can’t judge what others do but I see so many traps that seem innocent in nature that can allow bad thoughts to creep into my mind and heart! Satan is the master of deception as we can see in Genesis with Adam and Eve and since then satan has accelerated his schemes it seems! As alcohol is no longer a part of my life due to the fact that one drink leads to another with me and then I know what will happen when my mind is altered by this substance! Again I can’t judge other christians who do partake but as I tell my grandkids, it is better to not even go there! Halloween is another example of something I can give up if there’s the least chance of giving satan a way to wedge into my christian experience!
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
Thanks for commenting.
FJCalvert says
I remember many years ago of becoming aware of Mexican “Day of the Dead.” I thought “eww–kids playing with little skulls.” That’s when the Lord said to me “What about Halloween?” We never celebrated it again. It was hard for all our friends and relatives, but not for us. Then in 2001, it became clear to us that Christmas and Easter were no longer our holidays either. Just read any newspaper on those days–secular news always manages to report the truth on them and their pagan origins. No one but God Himself taught this to us. If you are brave enough, ask Him to show you too.
Stacey Posey says
I am glad you posted this. This year, like the past 3, we will go to our church where my boys are on a puppet team and get to do a show for people that might not ever walk through church doors. They come for the fall festival and het to hear the gospel.
We, too, for most years of our kids’ lives have not celebrated Halloween. Before the fall festival came along we would do something special as a family like have a weenie roast outside or invite friends over for supper.
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
You guys have fun tonight!
Sarah Labiche says
Oh my gosh! Thank you so much for writing this. Your story is mine wrote over. This year will be my third year not celebrating it. I have 5 kids. Three out of school two younger ones. So many Christians and pastors are allowing their kids to celebrate Halloween which tonight I have been searching for someone to help me not feel like I’m doing my kids wrong. Thank you again. I can feel more at peace about me as a mom and Christian standing on this one certain conviction. This is the first year I felt confused about not celebrating it but I know it’s because this year is the first year I saw so many from the church even pastors celebrating it.
Thanks Sarah
brieann.rn@gmail.com says
I know how you feel. Glad you found the blog, and for myself I’m even more glad you commented. Thank you.