CT Classic: Is Halloween a Witches' Brew?
Or have Christians been spooked out of celebrating a part of their rich tradition?
By Harold L. Myra | posted 10/01/2000 12:00AM
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We Christians can celebrate the fact that at death we pass from the land of shadows into the land of light. But this assurance is not for everyone. Halloween is also the time for thoughtful evangelism. In some Halloween settings this has been done with grotesque allusions, making a burlesque of a serious message. But sensitively communicated, All Hallow's Eve can be a ripe time for communicating Christ's power over death and evil.
The Bible is a book full of enigma, mystery, parables and symbols. The Christian has every right to plumb the richness of imagination and creatures of imagination. Let's not disappoint our children with a shallow or negative response to Halloween. Let us instead celebrate one rooted in the great traditions already pioneered for us.
In his book Celebration of Discipline (Harper and Row, 1978) Richard Foster says, "Why allow Halloween to be a pagan holiday in commemoration of the powers of darkness? Fill the house or church with light; sing and celebrate the victory of Christ over darkness."
Indeed!
This article originally appeared in the October 22, 1982 issue of Christianity Today.
Harold Myra is Executive Chairman of Christianity Today International.
Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
Don't miss today's related feature, "Hallowing Halloween."
Today's Christian Woman, another CTI publication, ran an article last year called, "Why I Let My Kids Go Trick-or-Treating."
Harold Myra's staff bio is available at our website.
Myra's books for children, Santa, Are You for Real?,
Easter Bunny, Are You for Real?, and
Halloween, Are You for Real? are available from the
ChristianityToday.com Bookstore.
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