To Halloween or Not to Halloween 🎃

It’s gearing up for that time of year when we as Christians size one another up to see who is the “real deal.” Okay, maybe it’s not that dramatic, or maybe this isn’t something you do, but just play along because the topic of “To Halloween or Not to Halloween” is undoubtedly a hot-button one in the Christian faith.

Here’s my little take for whatever it’s worth if you’re struggling. I would like to preface this with the fact that there is no replacement for what you and your spiritual Father decide is best for you and your family. With that, The Church also embraces the philosophy of balance. I’m not saying I necessarily have it correct, but again, hear me out.

Okay, caveats out of the way. To start, I fully believe in the forces of evil and demonic powers. I think that there is a considerable portion of our country that has indeed turned Halloween into a nasty demonic worship service, and the part of that, that is the most sickening is that the people who put up giant skeletons and creepy statues at their homes next door to churches are probably the type of people who get a rise out of being controversial and irreverent. That is not the spirit of The Church, the spirit of Christ, and is a gross display of devilishness; to seek joy out of another’s discomfort. So, that being said, I can understand the turn-off towards Halloween.

For me, growing up, Halloween was nothing more than putting on my innocent Raggedy Anne outfit that I had sewn myself and going door to door with friends to see who could find the king-sized candy bars first. Meanwhile, my parents trailed behind in their vehicle, where they had a typical parent date night of coffee and donuts whilst watching us kids pretend we were independent. I don’t think there is anything wrong with having your child dress up and go on a supervised trick-or-treating experience, enjoy some pumpkin carving, or drink cider and eat donuts until their pants explode. This was my Halloween, and these are the traditions I will carry on with my family.

If you find yourself caught in the middle, perhaps consider how you can approach Halloween with balance. And if you would prefer to celebrate the beauty of All Saints Day (ASD), all I can encourage is to celebrate it the way it was meant to be celebrated… go to the graves, light candles, and pray for the departed souls of those gone before us. Please don’t try to turn Halloween into All Saint’s Day. They are two VERY different things, and I think it would be doing a disservice to the beauty of the Sacred Feast (ASD) to try and manipulate it in any way.

Lastly, if you’re worried about your child choosing Halloween as their favorite Holiday, take heart. We often don’t give kids enough credit. If you’re doing what you need to be doing by being a good example to your child in the way of the faith, they get it, they see. I can confidently say that all my friends and I growing up loved Pascha best of all! There was no contest, and we knew the difference between the two types of Holidays. It might be hard for a 10-year-old to explain, but as a former 10-year-old, we get it.

Maybe this helped or was garbage, but I’ve been asked this quite a bit, so I thought I’d flesh it out in pen.

Have a safe and hopefully fun weekend, everyone!

Love, The Clods