Hallowe'en Excuse

The argument of hallowe’en being a bit of innocent fun for children, or an evil, satanic, devilish adult festival goes on in the Christian mind, and always will. There are good reasons for both protecting childish innocence, and exposing the work of satan in our society.

Let me broaden the thought to include a part right in the centre of these two extremes. As a user of social media I have seen many images which would verge on the immoral and immodest, and if you use these platform you will have seen them too. This is an occasion used and abused usually by teenage girls to dress in such a way to appear a bit of hallowe’en fun, but also a way to dress provocatively for their own selfies.

Necklines are way down, hemlines way up to the point you wonder if the aim is for them to meet in the middle. Am I exaggerating? I don’t think so. As a Christian parent and grandparent, I confess to being particularly worried at this time of year. While young girls are literally ‘dressing down’, there is an element of equally aged boys who will see these girls and (right or wrong) take them to be promiscuous and easy prey. Oh I know the arguments from both sides. Girls have a right to dress how they like, and boys have a right to behave how they like too. In a few years time these same young people will grow up, and have a family of their own. My prayer is that there will be no regrets carried into that new life, and that applies to the boys as well as the girls.

For these reasons I cannot wish you a Happy Hallowe’en, but that common sense and God will protect vulnerable girls during this hunting season. It may sound boring right now, but these words are truth at any age:

Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety. 1 Timothy 2:8-10

These Things

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Hallowe’en goes under another couple of names. The harmless ‘trick or treat’ being the most used by kids, and then there is the ‘saint or sinner’ theme which is by far the most prevalent in the party scene. These two phrases are very telling, and show us both sides of the festival.

The bright and light side is the sight of happy and innocent kids, running from door to door to tell a joke or sing a song, or if they are young and cute, just to hold out a plastic carrier bag asking on their behalf to add some sweets to the already laden booty. The kids are pleased and happily go away to ‘trick’ their next neighbour into giving them a ‘treat’. Yes, I believe harmless and innocent at their tender age.

However, the ‘saint or sinner’ party theme gets a lot more sinister or suspicious in my mind. Take a look at the party goers. See many saints? Nope. Saints don’t fit with the image of the night of sin. Oh, that’s a bit harsh I can hear you whisper under your breath? Really? Hallowe’en is marked by creatures like, werewolves, ghosts, witches, vampires, zombies, the undead, and the list could go on. We are done with the pirate costume, because it isn’t scary enough. Isn’t that what it’s about, being scary? I don’t think so. I believe it is to give many the excuse to be as sinful as they want, under the ‘guise’ of makeup and a costume.

We have come to celebrate, yes celebrate, the darker, satanic side of the unseen world, and we think it is not only acceptable, but to be relished. How slow we are to see the truth, even when it stares us in the face. For those older kids, who have put the innocence of a good time collecting sweets behind them, we have adults who know better. Yes, I do believe they know better. They know that under the make up and ghoulish costume is an excuse for sin waiting to be exercised. Or maybe that should read ‘exorcised’. So take a second glance at the verse at the top of this piece. How many of those attributes do you see in the adult celebration of the devil’s night? So, for me, roll on the 1st of November which is aptly named ‘All Saints Day’. We don’t do much celebrating of that day, do we? I wonder why? Just asking.

Hallowe'en

You will have your own thoughts. Call it Hallowe’en or Trick or Treat, you might love the night or loathe it. Christian adults can get all hot and bothered, or even in extreme cases, theological, when the topic comes up, and especially as the dreaded night approaches.

At the child’s level, this is a great opportunity to dress up, act silly, and get a reward for telling a terrible joke, or singing an off key song. They are too young to see anything else behind the pirate costume, and the chance to fill their treat box in the house when they get home.

At the secular adult level, parents are concerned about their child’s safety, so will probably be following just out of sight of their charges, as they (with a big grin) ‘fleece’ neighbours of their chocolate stash.

The theologically minded Christian is a different matter altogether. If they have young children, and they push their displeasure of hallowe’en by discouraging participation, they risk two things. In the first place, they are at risk of alienating their own children from their friends. In fact they will effectively sacrifice their children for their own belief. Secondly, they will become known in the neighbourhood as a ‘strange’ or ‘odd’ person, who would not let their kids dress up, and not as a Christian. The witness has been compromised. Unfortunately, I see that as a lose-lose situation.

The Bible does talk about witchcraft, and the heinous sin that it is. It is an abomination before God, and violates the first commandment. Of that there is no dispute. However, let me leave a few thoughts with you. Do you personally know any witches or covens? Have you heard of any in your area? Do you personally know of any wrong doing, or law breaking by anyone who just might be a witch? No, neither do I. However, and it is a big however, there are elements of the day I do not like, and see as evil. How about those open witches and covens we see on TV and read about in the juicy tabloids? These people do exist, and they are anti-God in every way, and to be avoided. There are also the yearly menu of films on the children’s channels like Disney and Nickelodeon which are nothing short of horrifying and blood and gore offerings which do nothing to celebrate the fun side of the day. The innocence of their young lives are short changed by film and program makers who want to serve up as much horror as possible, and the more graphic the better.

So, where do I stand? I see nothing wrong in letting young children do a bit of harmless ‘guising’ with their pals (never alone) under the supervision of a loving parent, Christian or not, but making sure they know full well the reason for the next day in the calendar. All Saints Day on 1 November comes round every year, but it is not ‘cool’ to celebrate it, or even talk about it. This is the day that Christians should really be celebrating, and for all the right reasons. Did you recognise and celebrate THAT day?