A Halloween Manifesto

I have a confession to make.  

I'm nervous about Halloween.

Not tonight, or even October 31 next year.

I'm nervous about having to answer my son's questions about Halloween a few years from now. 

Right now he's tiny and cute and innocent and literally knows nothing about the world. But as he grows up, he's going to be faced with a lot of things - good and bad. And it will be my responsibility, as his mom, to help shape his worldview and form his faith. To teach him which category this day fits into, or if it is maybe not as black and white as that.

Which is why I'm writing this post.

I have no idea where I'm going with it but I decided to start it anyways, mostly for my own good. Like a good piece of Jazz music, it will likely be left unresolved, but I decided it's the process that counts.

I have friends and family all over the spectrum - those who, every year on October 31st, carve pumpkins, dress up their kids and go door to door asking for candy; others who dim the lights, lock their doors, and remain silent; and still others who choose 'alternative celebrations.'

But this post isn't for them.

Nor is it for you. Well, perhaps you can get something out of it or contribute to the discussion...but this time it's for me. I have titled this ''A Halloween Manifesto'', which basically means a declaration, a formulation, of my own thoughts and beliefs. I'm writing as a Christian, a believer, a Jesus-follower. I can't say what other people should or should not do, nor can I judge unbelieving friends and neighbors (like I once heard, why should I expect people who do not know God to act like those who do?). I do, though, welcome your input and would love to hear your experiences and perspectives.

Okay, here it goes...

Here in Germany, Halloween isn't quite as big of a deal as it is in North America, but it's becoming more of a 'thing.' In our small village we don't get trick or treaters, but I met a girl today from our neighborhood who is planning on going to a Halloween party tonight and is dressing up as a zombie.

Personally, I have different Halloween memories from my childhood. There are pictures of me dressed up as a nurse, preparing to go trick or treating with other neighborhood kids. Another time I remember going to a church-hosted party with costumes, candy and games. (Actually it isn't so much the party that I remember, but the fact that on the way there, we ran out of gas and my dad had to hitch hike back to town to fill up a container while my brother and I waited in the car with my mom. Must have left more of an impression on me than the church event!)

And tonight, what will I be doing? Either going to bed early after I put my baby down to sleep, or maybe watching a movie with my hubby (and arguing over whether the popcorn should be sweet or salty =D)

Trying to find out the origins of Halloween is nearly impossible. There are those who claim that it is a pagan, dark celebration, other sources that say in olden times it was celebrated as the transition from summer/harvest to winter, and still others who assert that the roots are actually Christian, having something to do with ''All Saints Day'' on November 1st.

Personally, the origins aren't what make or break it for me, since the same questions and debates could and do surround Christmas and Easter. What matters to me isn't how it started, but how I respond to it NOW. 

I must admit, there are aspects of Halloween that are an obvious ''no-no'' for me since I cannot reconcile them with what I know of Jesus and His word:

• Black and darkness - when Jesus said that He, and we as well, are the LIGHT of the world
• Death and tombstones - when Jesus once and for all defeated death by His own sacrifice and offers abundant LIFE instead
• Scariness and evil - when Jesus offers His Shalom PEACE and God is intrinsically GOOD
• Witches and ghost - when the Bible clearly says to not have anything to do with witchcraft, and the only Ghost we should be filled with is the HOLY Ghost
• Pranks and ''trick or treat'' - when the Bible teaches HONESTY and condemns fools
   

Now, I have nothing against dressing up. I myself dressed up as princess on my wedding day (that's at least how I felt =D )

And I don't think it's a problem to knock on your neighbor's door. (Maybe we should do that more often.)

Candy and chocolates tastes yummy.

Pumpkins are fun and cute.

So what's the big deal?

There's a passage in Ephesians 5 that has helped form my perspective on Halloween. It says:

⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

 
Certain facets of Halloween are, I believe, ''fruitless'' (or even destructive) and dark. I don't think they are worth celebrating, and I want to live as a child of light.

But in this same chapter, a couple verses later, it states:

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

Understanding what the Lord's will is - that's what it comes down to, doesn't it? But I have to admit that's not so simple. 

Does ''making the most of every opportunity'' also mean making the most of Halloween? Of course! 

But the question is - HOW?

Should I decorate my porch and give out sweets wrapped in Bible verses to eager children as a way to share my faith?

Or should I intentionally avoid the whole thing, using the opportunity to explain to neighbors why I don't participate in such activities?

Or maybe a few years from now I will invite my son's friends to an alternative event - fun without the dark side, if you want to think of it that way.

I don't know.

Maybe this is one issue that, as the Apostle Paul wrote, is ''possible but not beneficial'' (1 Corinthians 10:23). 

Maybe there is no right or wrong.

But either way, it requires a decision. If I say yes, it shouldn't be because I simply go with the flow and do what everybody else is doing. And if I say no, it shouldn't be because I'm afraid of the ''dark'' side of it affecting me (greater is He who is in me!).

Today, many people are wishing one another a ''Happy Halloween.'' Do you find it a day worth  celebrating? Why or why not?