Church Alternatives to Halloween - Yay or Nay?
So I have somewhat mixed feelings about having church parties as an alternative to Halloween parties and trick-or-treating for Christians. On the one hand, I get the idea of standing in the face of the rest of the world and continuing to profess salvation... but I can't help but feel as if it's kind of an excuse to celebrate Halloween... without actually celebrating Halloween.
I mean, I get that it's a safe place for kids to go to, and have a good time, and not have them at home looking for ways to get in trouble... Or they could do what they would normally do on the same night of any other week. This year it falls on Friday, so at my church they would be at prayer and choir rehearsal. If there's no church on Friday night, then do whatever it is that they would do, or a family/friend activity that doesn't share any themes with Halloween.
I also understand that it's a chance to show kids that they don't have to conform to the world's standards and that we can still celebrate Jesus despite what everyone around us is doing. I'm just saying, that's something we should be doing year-round, when they are being thrown subtle messages, and not once a year when the message is written in the sky flashing neon. I have no problem with a Hallelujah Night. But why can't we do it in August? Or June? Or monthly? Or quarterly? I'm just saying. Why does it have to correspond with this day in particular?
Here's why I'm kinda sorta, more and more against it:
1 Thessalonians 5:22 tells us to abstain from the very appearance of evil. Halloween, in and of itself, is a day that promotes evil spirits, wickedness, demonic influence, and the occult. When we, in the church, promote somewhat of a "parallel play" to what the world does, it feels like the lines become really blurred.
When I was in school and it was cold outside, I would pretend to "smoke" my pencils until my mom caught me and threw a hissy fit. I would leave sodas in the paper bag while I drank out of them, and stumble around like the winos on the corner, until my mom caught me and threw a hissy fit. When I first discovered pregnant women (to my recollection), I would stuff clothes and pillows underneath my shirt and try to pretend I was pregnant, until my mom caught me and threw a hissy fit. She would tell me not to do it again, and give me these long lectures about why I shouldn't even WANT to pretend those things. It seemed really over the top at the time, but now I get it. She wanted me to know, in no uncertain terms, that these were not things that we condoned. I mean obviously, if a woman is married and pregnant, that's one thing, but she didn't want me to idolize pregnancy, or even think of it until I understood when and how it would be appropriate for me to ever be in that condition.
We had "Hallelujah Nights," and "Harvest Parties," and "Holiness Bashes," and all manner of church parties to offset the exclusion church kids around the world feel from not being able to participate in the activities the other kids did. But, I remember feeling like it was never the same, and although I had fun (when I was younger), I found myself wondering what the difference was. There was tons of candy, sometimes there were costumes (dressing up like your favorite Bible character), bobbing for apples, and music. Okay, I guess there was a Bible trivia game or something else that was super-churchy. And it really did, for the time being, take our minds off the fact that we weren't allowed to participate in the other kids' fun.
But, looking back, I kind of sort of feel like we're undermining what we're teaching our young people about living a saved and holy life. Didn't the Bible say that we would be persecuted for Jesus' sake? (Matthew 5:11). I think sometimes when we read scriptures like that, we expect persecution to come at us like they did in the Bible... you know, throwing us to the lions, stoning us, and burning us on stakes. But we don't think of things like being left out, being teased, not directly for our beliefs, but for our practices (or lack thereof) behind them. A few weeks ago, I told my coworkers that I didn't celebrate Halloween, and they gasped. I mean, seriously. Gasped. And then they asked me if I celebrated Christmas and birthdays. It would have been funny, except they were dead serious. The thing was, I'm finally at a place in God where I truly wasn't bothered by it. So I simply smiled, repeated myself, and it was cool. But if I had been in elementary school? Junior high? Talk about EMBARRASSED! And then having to explain what a Hallelujah Night was and how it was different from the party going on at Raheim's house? Man, I just kept quiet and took the candy.
Fast forward to today. Everyone was dressed in costume, had parties in their classrooms, and played pranks all day. Okay. So I was asked where my costume was, and I simply said, "I don't celebrate Halloween. But have fun!" And I was cool. But it didn't end there. One of the teachers, who I've gotten pretty tight with, sent me a text after work asking me to hang out at a Halloween party at one of the local restaurants. I said, "thanks but I'll pass." She asked again, trying to convince me to come. Again, I said, "I don't go to parties, and I don't celebrate Halloween. I promise it won't be fun. But we can absolutely plan to do something we would both enjoy!" And we're still cool. Going out for lunch next week.
The thing is, I want our youth to have the same kind of assurance, and I want them to have it earlier in life. I know all kids want and need to be accepted by their peers, but I think we should be teaching them that they can stand out and still be loved and respected. Is it going to feel good all the time? No. But they will know what it is to stand firm (1 Corinthians 16:13). No, they don't have to go around preaching messages about witchcraft and demonic spirits, but they need to know that we, in no uncertain terms, celebrate death, demons, or the devil and his shenanigans. We celebrate Christ, and we don't need to do it as a counterattack on worldly traditions.
I promise, y'all, I'm not being super deep. I just think that we have a standard to live up to, and it's important that we hold up the Blood stained banner.
What do you think?
I mean, I get that it's a safe place for kids to go to, and have a good time, and not have them at home looking for ways to get in trouble... Or they could do what they would normally do on the same night of any other week. This year it falls on Friday, so at my church they would be at prayer and choir rehearsal. If there's no church on Friday night, then do whatever it is that they would do, or a family/friend activity that doesn't share any themes with Halloween.
I also understand that it's a chance to show kids that they don't have to conform to the world's standards and that we can still celebrate Jesus despite what everyone around us is doing. I'm just saying, that's something we should be doing year-round, when they are being thrown subtle messages, and not once a year when the message is written in the sky flashing neon. I have no problem with a Hallelujah Night. But why can't we do it in August? Or June? Or monthly? Or quarterly? I'm just saying. Why does it have to correspond with this day in particular?
Here's why I'm kinda sorta, more and more against it:
1 Thessalonians 5:22 tells us to abstain from the very appearance of evil. Halloween, in and of itself, is a day that promotes evil spirits, wickedness, demonic influence, and the occult. When we, in the church, promote somewhat of a "parallel play" to what the world does, it feels like the lines become really blurred.
When I was in school and it was cold outside, I would pretend to "smoke" my pencils until my mom caught me and threw a hissy fit. I would leave sodas in the paper bag while I drank out of them, and stumble around like the winos on the corner, until my mom caught me and threw a hissy fit. When I first discovered pregnant women (to my recollection), I would stuff clothes and pillows underneath my shirt and try to pretend I was pregnant, until my mom caught me and threw a hissy fit. She would tell me not to do it again, and give me these long lectures about why I shouldn't even WANT to pretend those things. It seemed really over the top at the time, but now I get it. She wanted me to know, in no uncertain terms, that these were not things that we condoned. I mean obviously, if a woman is married and pregnant, that's one thing, but she didn't want me to idolize pregnancy, or even think of it until I understood when and how it would be appropriate for me to ever be in that condition.
We had "Hallelujah Nights," and "Harvest Parties," and "Holiness Bashes," and all manner of church parties to offset the exclusion church kids around the world feel from not being able to participate in the activities the other kids did. But, I remember feeling like it was never the same, and although I had fun (when I was younger), I found myself wondering what the difference was. There was tons of candy, sometimes there were costumes (dressing up like your favorite Bible character), bobbing for apples, and music. Okay, I guess there was a Bible trivia game or something else that was super-churchy. And it really did, for the time being, take our minds off the fact that we weren't allowed to participate in the other kids' fun.
But, looking back, I kind of sort of feel like we're undermining what we're teaching our young people about living a saved and holy life. Didn't the Bible say that we would be persecuted for Jesus' sake? (Matthew 5:11). I think sometimes when we read scriptures like that, we expect persecution to come at us like they did in the Bible... you know, throwing us to the lions, stoning us, and burning us on stakes. But we don't think of things like being left out, being teased, not directly for our beliefs, but for our practices (or lack thereof) behind them. A few weeks ago, I told my coworkers that I didn't celebrate Halloween, and they gasped. I mean, seriously. Gasped. And then they asked me if I celebrated Christmas and birthdays. It would have been funny, except they were dead serious. The thing was, I'm finally at a place in God where I truly wasn't bothered by it. So I simply smiled, repeated myself, and it was cool. But if I had been in elementary school? Junior high? Talk about EMBARRASSED! And then having to explain what a Hallelujah Night was and how it was different from the party going on at Raheim's house? Man, I just kept quiet and took the candy.
Fast forward to today. Everyone was dressed in costume, had parties in their classrooms, and played pranks all day. Okay. So I was asked where my costume was, and I simply said, "I don't celebrate Halloween. But have fun!" And I was cool. But it didn't end there. One of the teachers, who I've gotten pretty tight with, sent me a text after work asking me to hang out at a Halloween party at one of the local restaurants. I said, "thanks but I'll pass." She asked again, trying to convince me to come. Again, I said, "I don't go to parties, and I don't celebrate Halloween. I promise it won't be fun. But we can absolutely plan to do something we would both enjoy!" And we're still cool. Going out for lunch next week.
The thing is, I want our youth to have the same kind of assurance, and I want them to have it earlier in life. I know all kids want and need to be accepted by their peers, but I think we should be teaching them that they can stand out and still be loved and respected. Is it going to feel good all the time? No. But they will know what it is to stand firm (1 Corinthians 16:13). No, they don't have to go around preaching messages about witchcraft and demonic spirits, but they need to know that we, in no uncertain terms, celebrate death, demons, or the devil and his shenanigans. We celebrate Christ, and we don't need to do it as a counterattack on worldly traditions.
I promise, y'all, I'm not being super deep. I just think that we have a standard to live up to, and it's important that we hold up the Blood stained banner.
What do you think?
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