Blog Bio October is all about the spooky.

During this October season, stores are filled with skeletons, monsters, demonic characters, witches, and more. These items displayed in stores and catalogs are available for decorating home or yard. Costumes follow the same pattern.

We are encouraged to participate in this holiday which grows in importance every year. It is also the one holiday we celebrate that does not lift up. This holiday actually celebrates all that is dark, pagan, demonic, and evil.

The title Halloween comes from an attempt hundreds of years ago to redeem this celebration of all things evil. The church tried to turn attention away from paganism to Christian saints calling it All Hallows Eve—which has become Halloween. Such a move was only partially successful.

When I was a child, this holiday was not a big economic boon for markets. It was more of a fun night to dress up in homemade costumes, I was usually a hobo. My friends and I went house to house and gathered a bucket load of candy. You could only find a few Halloween items in the stores that were more focused on fall harvest than Halloween.

There were always pumpkins—usually from someone’s garden. No expensive costumes. As years passed, this holiday became more pronounced—and more dangerous. Part of the blame is from a culture turning away from the light of Christ, part from horror books and movies available.

The question for Christ-followers is—how do we deal with this celebration of darkness? Do we participate along with everyone else, or do we use the holiday to celebrate light? In the past, I’ve handed out candy, pencils, colorful bookmarks, and tracts about Jesus. Some hold parties with fun costumes that do not hark back to darkness and monsters. Churches have done something similar. Jesus calls us to be lights in the darkness. How will we be His light this Halloween?

© 2022 Carolyn R Scheidies

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