I grew up in a family where we had confusing messages from changing beliefs. My memories begin with school celebrations of Halloween, but not being allowed to go out and trick or treat. Then there was a time when we could. Then we couldn't. Then my mom became so strict in her beliefs that she thought it was wrong for the church to offer a "Hallelujah party" on Halloween where the kids dressed up and received candy but didn't go out. With so many conflicting choices what is a Christian to do? Should they let their kids participate, should they seek out alternative activities, or should they skip the whole affair altogether?

While there are some who fear Halloween as a day of evil intent few actually know what the big deal is all about. While the history of Halloween is a bit complex and in depth. The basic understanding is that it began over 2000 years ago in areas where Celtic peoples lived (current day Ireland and parts of France). The Celts would celebrate the New Year on November first. Samhain, October 31 was believed to be the day when the boundary between the living and the dead became blurred. This brought about some rituals in protecting ones self from the dead that might be roaming about, but also huge ceremonies where sacrifices were made to the gods in hopes of a good winter and where the Celtic Druids (priests) would try and make predictions about the coming year. The celebrations often included huge bonfires, sacrifices of the harvest (both plant and animal) and complex costumes.  

The Romans later conquered the territory and changed the holiday a bit by adding their own celebrations to the mix and blended the Celtic holiday of Samhain and their celebration of the dead and of the goddess of fruit and harvest, Pomona.

As was fairly common, the Catholic church later tried to influence the holiday. To do this Pope Boniface IV declared November 1 to be "All Saints Day" which was a church sanctioned celebration of the dead saints and martyrs. The day was called All-hallows or All-hallowsmas meaning All Saints Day. It didn't take long for the celebrations of Samhain to continue under the new name All-hallows Eve and over time this turned into simply Halloween. Interestingly enough the Catholic church would later make November 2 All Souls day which was often celebrated with costumes, parades, and giant bonfires. The three days together would be known as Hallowmas.

Many traditions of Halloween that we celebrate today have their history tied to these or other pagan celebrations of the Old World. When Christians question the celebration of this holiday they are actually questioning whether or not they should celebrate a holiday with heavy pagan influences.

Many of the traditions have ties to paganism and to witchcraft. This can make it difficult to understand what is good and what is bad. For example, dressing in costumes comes from a variety of pagan ceremonies. Some say that it has to do with the Celts dressing in animal costumes so that they could honor their gods. Others say it comes from traditions of dressing like evil spirits to blend in with those evil and wicked spirits and ghouls that came into the world for this one night. On the other hand, jack-o-lanterns were carved as symbols of the harvest god Shamin and bobbing for applies came from the celebrations of the goddess of fruit Pomona. Leaving treats out started as a way to appease the dead who had once lived in your house. You left out the best so that they wouldn't come to haunt you for the coming year.

Each ritual that most of us do in fun stems from a pagan ritual or one stemmed in witchcraft. Is it then okay to participate?  

While I will admit to having a very limited knowledge of the subject, there remains a large group of people who celebrate Halloween in a much more traditional way then trick or treating and cute little kiddie costumes. Often this group of people will celebrate Halloween as a day of communicating with the dead, performing various rituals and divination, and guiding the dead back to a peaceful slumber. For some it is easy to say, that's them and this is me. Others find it more difficult to associate themselves with a holiday that still has evil intentions and witchcraft associated with it.  

While it is easy to choose Halloween as a pagan holiday that is clearly still celebrated today, few realize that this isn't the only pagan holiday that is widely celebrated complete with pagan rituals.

Christmas-Christmas is supposedly a celebration of Christ's birth 2000 years ago. Most of us are very familiar with the story. Mary, while very pregnant, and Joseph her husband-to-be (a complicated thing to understand consider the differences in marriage rituals) went to be registered in Bethlehem. While there she gave birth to her first son in a manger and named him Jesus. What we fail to realize is this probably happened sometime during the late summer or early fall. If that's the case then how did Christmas come about?

December 25th was the birthday celebration of the son-god Mithra. This day as well as the worship of Mithra became wide spread. As Rome conquered they began to celebrate Saturn on this day and the rebirth of the sun god so that they could replace Mithra with their own gods. The celebrations were characterized with feasting, singing, gift giving, and even evergreen wreaths. Other locations cut down evergreen trees to celebrate the rebirth of the sun god and still others decorated with holly to symbolize the menstrual of the queen Diana (a goddess) and mistletoe the semen of the gods. Both symbols of the continuation of life. Emperor Constantine converted this pagan celebration to a celebration of Christ's birth in 336 AD though many continued to celebrate the pagan gods and many of the celebrations looked the same.

Easter-Easter is a time where Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus the Christ. However, Easter celebrations began long before Jesus was even born. Nimrod, Noah's grandson turned from God. He became a tyrannical ruler and created many evil cities including Babel and Nineveh. When he died his wife, Semiramis declared him the sun god or giver of life. Later he became known as Baal (that name should sound familiar). Anyway, Semiramis gave birth to an illegitimate son, Tammuz. She declared that he was Nimrod reincarnated and led the people to believe that he was the savior of mankind and supernaturally conceived. After Semiramis had Tammuz she was declared and worshipped as the goddess of fertility and spring. She was called Ishtar, Ashtur, and even Easter. 

Tammuz was later killed (legend has it by a wild boar). Semiramis started a springtime celebration. It was believed that Tammuz was brought back to earth in the form of new vegetation each spring by his mother's tears. Celebrations of Easter continued on long after Tammuz and Semiramis died (and even today when most have no idea where traditions come from). The Easter bunny for instance was used to symbolize fertility and was a way to worship the goddess Easter. The Easter egg came to be used because legends grew that Semiramis herself had not been born, but rather had been dropped as an egg into the Euphrates where she hatched.

As the celebration of the Resurrection spread through non-Jewish nations (Jewish nations celebrated passover) it was blended with the pagan holiday Easter. This can be seen with Easter bunnies, eggs, and baskets in many homes.  

While both holidays also have deeper Christian meanings then Halloween, the question comes back to how much is too much. Pagan influences are everywhere, does that mean we should ban everything?

Many Christians choose to celebrate Halloween in various ways. Here are some that are probably available in your community should you wish for alternatives to a traditional celebration.

• Harvest parties. While Halloween is specifically on October 31, harvest is here too. This can offer a lot of fun and many churches celebrate harvest in different ways. You can probably find one that does it on October 31, but you may find other fun things to do as well. We went to a church that had a wild game dinner. It was a lot of fun and offered you a great chance to try foods you probably wouldn't try elsewhere (I have tried deer (fairly common), rabbit (fairly common, but loosing in tradition), squirrel, bear, moose, buffalo, and even donkey (okay, this wasn't wild game, but we had some people at the church who used to be Amish and they brought donkey which most people haven't tried. It was pretty good!).  
• Hallelujah parties. While sometimes under different names these are often special parties on the 31st that offer a lot of fun options for kids including games, fellowship with other kids, candy, and often costumes. Some churches have regulations on what types of costumes so call ahead for details. I have seen Bible characters, animals, and "positive" costumes as types of limitations.  
• Trunk-or-treat. This is a fun option, though it often lacks the excitement of knocking on doors. Here members of the church will park their cars, open the trunks, and pass out candy. It is a good way to get a lot of candy fast, most people dress up, some churches also pass out other treats, offer games, and a wide variety of options. If you have a few churches in your area do this then you can go from one church to another.  

It all boils down to making a decision for your family. Halloween, for most people, is a time of fun. Everything from carving pumpkins, dressing up, collecting candies, going to haunted houses, and parties is meant for fun. Kids and adults alike enjoy the activities and celebrations. It is true that they have deep roots in witchcraft and pagan celebrations, but it is equally true that your kids don't know that and probably don't care. They just want to have fun. However, on the other hand, some feel that by participating in the festivities you are celebrating the devil, his work here on earth, and a long history of evil intent. The choice must be yours, but know that you make the decision with all the facts in mind.  

It would be a lot easier if the Bible had some easy to identify verse that said, "Thou shall not participate in Halloween or related activities" or "Thou shall participate only in church organized Halloween or related activities" or even "God is too busy to care about whether or not your child dresses as a black hatted witch for Halloween". But unfortunately, we find that the Bible isn't as clear as we would like. Most scripture quoted as scriptures related to Halloween are used to say we shouldn't participate, but as with many subjects it is more complicated then that. None-the-less, here are a few to keep in mind.

• 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 "Test everything. Hold onto the good. Avoid the evil."  
• James 1:27 "Keep oneself from being polluted from the world".  
• 3 John 1:11 "do not imitate what is evil".  

Many others talk about avoiding evil, clinging to light, and not straying. However, the real question then comes down to whether or not you and your family participating in Halloween or related activities is evil. Does this holiday, which clearly has evil roots and is often used for evil intent by people today actually evil? Are the celebrations evil or just the intent behind them? After all, you probably aren't carving the pumpkin to worship the god of the dead or dressing up to worship any gods. If you should bob for apples at a party, it probably is in all fun and not to worship the goddess of fruit. This is the hard part.  

Some don't even think about the question. After all, they grew up one way or another and it is that simple for them. Others have a lot to consider. I think that overall this is an important decision and it can be a difficult one. While I wouldn't want my decision to be a reason someone would say yes or no to the Halloween festivities, I thought I would share them with those interested. We have decided that we will participate in church related fun activities associated with the holiday. Last year we took out my husband's brothers and sisters to a few trunk-or-treat activities and brought along our (then) one year old son. The children all dressed up. That was all we did, however we did have a good time and even I got involved in trading candy. This year we don't have plans, but may end up doing the same thing. On the other hand, pumpkin carving is a great deal of fun and may be an activity in our future. I have never been big on a lot of decorations, but do enjoy hay rides, haunted houses, and other "fall" activities often associated with Halloween. My two year old loves being scared, maybe this year a haunted house is in order.

My stance comes from knowing history and understanding it. It was common practice for the Church (primarily Catholic in origin) to blend holidays in a hopes of getting pagan peoples to celebrate it in a church ordained way. Many of our holidays and symbols have a history of evil intent. However, if we realize that and make our choices with that knowledge then we have something to stand on. I think it is important to teach our children the history of the holidays and why we continue to celebrate them (once they are old enough). For Halloween the celebrations continue as ones of fun and excitement, a once a year time to dress up, gather candy, and just act silly.