Halloween: A Sacrilegious Tradition or Harmless Celebration?
When one thinks of free candy, kiddie costumes, and a certain date at the end of the month, what jumps out of the corridors of one’s mind is Halloween. For many across the world, it is the time of the year to go around their communities dressed up as their favorite fictional characters and go trick-or-treating from door to door. However, in the Christian world, this holiday is often a very controversial one.
Halloween traces its origins from two very different traditions: All Hallows’ (Saints’) Eve, which was celebrated by the church as the evening before All Saints’ Day, and “Samhain,” a Celtic festival that celebrated the end of the harvest season. The Celts believed that Samhain was the time when the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped, allowing ghosts and spirits to enter our world to make divinations about the future easier. Thus, as part of their traditions, Celtic priests, known as “druids,” lit bonfires where they threw the bones of livestock. Meanwhile, people dressed up in animal skin as they attempted to tell their futures. Since both were celebrated on the same day, the two festivals eventually merged and morphed into Halloween as we know it today.
In the Christian community, many often argue over whether or not it is right to participate in the celebrations, given how it was strongly influenced by pagan beliefs. Some claim that it has satanic connotations, while others argue that it is simply a time to gather and celebrate the lives of those who have died, the same way some Catholics celebrate Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead or All Souls’ Day). This debate also popped up in social media last year when Filipina actress Rica Peralejo faced criticism for celebrating Halloween with her family, prompting her to respond by saying that those who judged her were “playing God.” For Peralejo, celebrating Halloween was simply a way for them to have fun.
Reverend Harg Ang, MGC New Life Christian Academy’s (MGCNLCA) school chaplain and Board of Trustees member, believes that “Christians should not be celebrating Halloween, as it’s not biblical, nor healthy, to dwell on spiritual matters in such a way.” In line with this, Danny Ching, a former MGCNLCA teacher with experience tackling this topic, remarked that Halloween does contradict Christian beliefs in the sense that it is no longer celebrated for the same purpose (All Saints’ Eve). “While it is possible to sanitize Halloween into a more ‘neutral’ celebration, why do that when we can celebrate other more godly days instead of trying to change Halloween into something that Christians can do?” Rev. Harg added.
Now, knowing about Halloween’s origins and its potential implications, it is evident why a lot of Christians choose not to celebrate the occasion. While it may simply be a lighthearted celebration to many, its Celtic roots and ungodly connotations clash with biblical values. In the end, choosing to not celebrate the holiday might be the better approach. After all, deciding not to participate in Halloween is not simply foregoing a tradition; it is also standing firm in one’s faith. Free candy, trick-or-treating, and dress-ups may seem harmless, but for us Christians, choosing not to celebrate Halloween shows an uncompromising commitment to the beliefs that matter most.
