A Holy Holiday

If there really is one....

Let me start this blog by saying a few things about myself. There was once a time (not that long ago) that I didn't want my family to celebrate Halloween, in any way shape or form. I didn't want my kids to believe in Santa Clause or the tooth fairy or the Easter bunny. None of it. It's all pagan, right?? Can we actually redeem these pagan holidays and make them Christian? I don't know. What I do know is that over the past two years I have had a major heart shift in all of it {we are all having a lot more fun}.

One thing I have come to realize is that I was raising my kids in a very sheltered sub-culture of Christianity. The very last thing I want to do is raise kids to become teenagers and adults that cannot influence anyone for Christ because no one from outside their sub-culture can relate to them {I digress. That's a blog for another day}.

Let's talk Christmas and Halloween for a moment. Jesus was not born in December-fact. Saint Nicolas was a real person-fact. Christmas is basically a made up holiday deemed a time to celebrate the birth of Christ and take the place of the pagan holidays (Saturnalia, Yule, etc.)- fact. So, it seems we Christians have found a way to "redeem" this former pagan holiday. {Although I'm not sure how Santa and Elf on the Shelf have anything to do with the birth of Christ, but we have fun with both in our house anyway.}

Halloween has some serious dark roots-fact. Halloween actually means All Hallows' Eve and is the day before All Saints Day (Catholic origins)-fact. October 31st is also the day Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the doors of the Catholic Church changing not only the church but the world-fact. Reformation Day is {in my lowly opinion} worthy of celebration. However dressing up and trick or treating isn't really celebrating Reformation Day anymore than pretending a fat guy came down your chimney and dropped off presents and saying it's a way to celebrate the birth of Christ.

Here is a snippet I read from Relevant (Christian Magazine).

"Halloween clearly came from some pretty not Christian stuff. And we should all take seriously the world of spirits and the dangers of real witchcraft and messing with the occult. The Bible explicitly talks about a world we can’t see, and a world that very often influences and affects our own. Which begs the question: How should Christians think about Halloween?Well ... probably the same way we think about Christmas. What does Christmas mean to you? When you see a Christmas tree or wear red and green for a cheesy photo, are you thinking about how you can best honor the Roman god Sol Invictus? And when you eat your Christmas dinner, are you super pumped about gathering to observe the ancient German pagan holiday of Yule?Because that’s where those traditions started.If you are, then you should probably stop celebrating Christmas (you also might want to talk to someone about your theology). But if you aren’t, then Christmas is likely the time you remember Christ’s birth and how His birth provides the opportunity for salvation and ushered in a Kingdom that is changing the world."

-Is Halloween Good or Evil  By: Ryan Hamm

Just as Christmas has been deemed a time to celebrate the birth of Christ maybe Halloween can be deemed a time to celebrate the freedom we have in Christ and the work of the saints who have gone before us paving the way. All I know is that I will let the light of Christ shine {hide my light under a bushel-NO!} and I will not let the enemy have any day not even October 31st. Every day belongs to my Redeemer.

Happy Halloween. Happy All Hallows' Eve. Happy Reformation Day. Happy October 31st, the day that the Lord has made {I will rejoice and be glad in it}!