Halloween: Oppression
or Opportunity? (excerpts)
by Hank Hanegraaff
A myriad of questions have been raised about Halloween.
Should Christians participate in Halloween? What should our attitude be towards
Halloween? Should we simply ignore it? Should we vigorously attack it? Or
should we, as Christians, find ways in which to accommodate it?
Before offering some suggestions on how we as Christians
might best relate to Halloween, I think it would be appropriate to first
consider the pagan origin of Halloween.
The celebration of Halloween, also known as the witches' new
year, is rooted in the ancient pagan calendar, which divided the year into
Summer and Winter, by two fire festivals. Before the birth of Christ, the day
we know as Halloween was part of the Celtic Feast of Samhain (sah-ween). This
feast was a celebration of Druid priests from Britain and France and
commemorated the beginning of Winter.
It was a night on which the veil between the present world
and the world beyond was pierced. The festivals were marked by animal
sacrifices, offerings to the dead, and bonfires in recognition of departed
souls. It was believed that on this night demons, witches, hobgoblins, and
elves were released en masse to harass and to oppress the living. For
self-preservation many Druids would dress up as witches, devils, and ghouls,
and would even involve themselves in demonic activities and thus make
themselves immune from attack.
In direct response to this pagan tradition, the early
Christian church moved a festive celebration called All Saints' Day from May to
November 1 and renamed it All Hallows' Eve, from which we get the word
Halloween. This was an overt attempt on the part of believers to infiltrate
pagan tradition with the truth of the gospel.
It was a bold evangelistic move designed to demonstrate that
only the power of the resurrected Christ could protect men and women from the
destructive ploys of Satan and his minions. This was a time in which they
boldly proclaimed the marvelous fact of the resurrection and the lordship of
Jesus Christ.
Believers in post-Christian America today should do no less.
Halloween can be for us, like the early Christian church, an open door for
evangelism. The deception of Halloween, with its witches, demons, skeletons,
and allusions to death, can become a powerful springboard to demonstrate the
dramatic power of Christ to redeem us from death, to fill us with His Spirit,
and to give our lives meaning, purpose, and direction.
There are three specific things which I would suggest that
you and your family plan for Halloween: First of all, I would use Halloween as
an opportunity to communicate to your children, your family members, and your
friends that although death and the grave are very real, we are more than
conquerors over the powers of darkness through Jesus Christ.
Second, this is an appropriate time to consider the saints
who have gone on before us — those loved ones who make the thought of heaven
sweet. This is also a great opportunity to share with my children the life of a
saintly grandmother who prayed earnestly for me night after night while I was
engulfed in a life of sin. Although she is no longer with us, the answers to
her prayers live on.
Finally, let me suggest that this would be a time to share
some of the great classics of the Christian faith with your children. Perhaps
you could curl up on the floor with them before a roaring fire and read to them
from Pilgrim's Progress, or from C. S. Lewis's masterful work The Lion, The
Witch, and The Wardrobe.
Yes, this is not a time to curse the darkness, but a time to
light a candle. If we are indeed serious about making an impact on a lost and
dying world, Halloween represents not just satanic oppression but a strategic
opportunity.
