Is Halloween a pagan holiday?

Its roots are. It grew out of Samhain, an old Celtic festival about the end of the harvest and the spirits of the dead, mixed with the church's All Hallows' Eve. Historians debate the details, but spirits, the dead and fortune-telling have been part of the night from the start.

Should Christian kids dress up for Halloween?

Many Christian families, and most Apostolic families, say no. Halloween costumes began as disguises for a night about spirits, and many still show witches, devils and the dead. Dressing up as a shepherd for the Christmas play is different, because it tells a Bible story.

How do I explain to my kids why we don't celebrate Halloween?

Keep it simple and positive. God is light, Jesus beat death, and we don't play with things God calls evil. Plan something fun together at home that night, and teach your children to be kind to friends who celebrate.

What Does the Bible Say About Halloween? A Guide for Parents

Q: What does the Bible say about Halloween?

The Bible never mentions Halloween by name; it began centuries after the Bible was written. But it warns against witchcraft, spirits and trying to talk with the dead (Deuteronomy 18:10–12), and it says to "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness" (Ephesians 5:11).

What is Halloween?

Halloween is October 31. The name is short for All Hallows' Eve, the evening before All Hallows' Day (also called All Saints' Day) on November 1. "Hallow" is an old English word for a holy person, a saint. Today the night is known for costumes, trick-or-treating, carved pumpkins, haunted houses, and decorations of skeletons, ghosts, witches and graves.

Churches don't all agree about it. Some hold harvest parties or trunk-or-treat nights. Many Bible-believing churches, and most Apostolic churches, choose not to take part at all. Here is where the holiday came from, and why.

Where Halloween came from

Samhain, an old Celtic festival. Long before Halloween, people in Ireland, Scotland and other Celtic lands kept Samhain (say "SOW-in") around November 1. It marked the end of the harvest and the start of the dark half of the year. People believed that on that night the spirits of the dead, and other spirits, came close to the world of the living. They lit bonfires, and much of the night was about spirits, the dead and telling the future.
A church holiday on the same days. In the 700s and 800s, the church in Rome moved its feast for all the saints, All Hallows' Day, to November 1, and November 2 later became All Souls' Day, a day to pray for the dead. In Celtic lands the old customs and the church days ran together, and the night before became All Hallows' Eve: Halloween.
Customs that stayed. In Britain and Ireland, people went door to door at this time of year. In England the poor went "souling," receiving small soul cakes in return for promising to pray for the dead. In Scotland and Ireland young people went "guising," dressed in disguises. People carved scary faces into turnips for lanterns, and played fortune-telling games to find out who they would marry.
On to America. Irish and Scottish immigrants brought Halloween to America in the 1800s. The turnip lantern became the pumpkin jack-o'-lantern, and trick-or-treating spread across the country between the 1930s and the 1950s.

Historians still argue about how much of today's Halloween comes straight from Samhain. But from the start, the night has been about the dead, spirits, fear and fortune-telling, and much of it still is.

What the Bible says

The Bible doesn't name Halloween, but it speaks plainly about the things the night is built on.

Witchcraft, spirits and the dead. God told His people: "There shall not be found among you any one … that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD" (Deuteronomy 18:10–12, KJV). A necromancer is someone who tries to talk with the dead. "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God" (Leviticus 19:31, KJV).

Light, not darkness. "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Ephesians 5:11, KJV). "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5, KJV). "…what communion hath light with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14, KJV)

Not even the look of it. "Abstain from all appearance of evil" (1 Thessalonians 5:22, KJV). "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2, KJV).

The first believers left it behind. When people in Ephesus believed, they didn't keep a little magic for fun: "Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men" (Acts 19:19, KJV).

Not fear. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7, KJV).

Why most Apostolic children don't dress up

It's about what the costume celebrates. Dressing up isn't wrong by itself: our children dress as shepherds and angels for the Christmas program. Halloween costumes began as disguises on a night about spirits, and the most common ones are still witches, ghosts, devils, zombies and skeletons.
God doesn't treat witchcraft as pretend. He calls it "an abomination unto the LORD" (Deuteronomy 18:12, KJV). Playing a witch or a devil for fun treats lightly what God takes seriously, and Ephesians 5:11 says to have no fellowship with darkness at all.
Even a harmless costume joins the night. A princess or an animal costume isn't evil, but wearing it trick-or-treating still keeps the holiday. Many families would rather abstain from all appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22) and make the whole night different.
Children learn from what we celebrate. If death, fear and spirits are a game one night a year, it's harder to teach that Jesus beat death and that we don't need to be afraid of it. Jesus came to "deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:15, KJV).

What families do instead

Plan a family night. Leave the porch light off and do something your children look forward to: a favorite meal, games, a Bible story, and prayer together.
Go to church if your church has a service that night.
Talk about it ahead of time, so your children aren't caught off guard by parties and costume days at school, and can answer kindly when friends ask.
Be kind. "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21, KJV). We don't make fun of neighbors or classmates who celebrate. We love them, pray for them, and let our light shine (Matthew 5:16).

How to explain Halloween to your children

Put it in your own words, but keep it simple, true and hopeful. For example:

"Halloween is a night when lots of people dress up as scary things like witches, ghosts and monsters. A long time ago, people believed spirits and the dead came out on that night. But the Bible says God is light. Jesus died for us and rose again, so He has beaten death, and we don't need to be afraid. God tells us not to play with witchcraft or darkness, so our family doesn't celebrate Halloween. We do something fun together instead, and we're always kind to our friends who do celebrate."

Then read John 8:12 together: "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (KJV).

Jesus is stronger than the dark

Halloween makes a game of death and fear. The Bible tells a better story: Jesus died, was buried and rose again, and He says, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death" (Revelation 1:18, KJV). That's the story to tell your children this month. The resurrection story, Psalm 23 ("I will fear no evil") and the armor of God are good places to start, and November brings Thanksgiving, a holiday about thanking God.