What is Halloween Really About???

In some circles Halloween is the forbidden holiday and to be honest I used to be in it. Whether you find yourself in or out of the "forbidden circle" please continue on. As Christ followers we have to decide what we are going to celebrate and why and there is freedom to come to our own conclusions and to be okay with whatever we decide. If we are wrong then the Holy Spirit can convict us and until that happens plesae relax and be confidant that you are capable of making the right decision for your family.

So here is my brief and so not perfect explanation of the day (obviously this is history and every source changes the details but I think this will give you a decent idea with very few details because that can get too confusing)... Way back when there was a pagan festival on November 1st called Samhein. It was from the Celtic culture and it stood for the lord of the dead. It was believed that on that day a veil between this realm and the spiritual realm was lifted. People feared the roaming spirits and dressed up in evil costumes to scare them away. As you can see Halloween has a lot of ties with that old pagan festival and I do not believe if it were still Sanhein any of us would participate.

BUT... the good news is that the church, who celebrated All Hallows or All Saints day in May, thought the pagan festival was not a good thing and like they had done with many other pagan festivals they tried to put a holy day on the same day to redeem it (it worked a lot better with Valentines Day and Christmas) So All Hallows, a day to honor people who gave their lives for the gospel/Christ, was moved to November 1 as well and October 31 became "All Hallows Eve" which is where we get the term Halloween.

So with that information I hope you can choose to celebrate the redeemed day in a way that honors Christ and consider avoiding things that closely resemble Sanhein and instead focus on people who are in heaven that set a great example to us and deserve to be honored.

Here is an AWESOME book, from Focus on the Family, with way more details and TONS of FUN ideas!

Chapters like...

Underground CHurch Party

Movies, Memories and Monsters

Doors of Opportunity

Fear-Not Party

Harvest Boxes

All Saints' Day

Luther's Legacy

and more... it is a HONOR HIM ALWAYS MUST HAVE!