Should I Celebrate Halloween; If I'm a Christian?

I have always thought of Halloween as a harmless tradition. It was just a fun day for the kids when they were young. I have not celebrated or taken part in it for some years now.

What does being a christian have to do with having some fun on Halloween

I personally don't see anything wrong with Halloween. It has its roots in not only Celtic religion but in Christianity also. Many of "our" holidays are like that. Easter was once known as Passover. The term "Easter" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, Eostre. It is celebrated during the Spring Equinox. In ancient times, the egg (Easter egg) was used in celebrations to symbolize the rebirth of nature. The tradition of Easter baskets has its root in Catholicism, where the ingredients for Easter dinner were put into a basket and taken to Mass in order to be blessed. The date for us to celebrate Christmas was chosen by the Catholic Church because of its closeness to the winter solstice. It was a traditional time of celebration for many ancient cultures, pagan included. Pagan Scandinavia celebrated a winter festival called Yule, which was held in late December. The Christmas tree is an adaptation of a pagan ritual during the Winter Solstice of tree worship. Now, before you get mad and start bashing me, let me tell you that I am Southern Baptist. I celebrate all of these holidays. My church is just as involved with Halloween as it is for Christmas. What I am trying to say is, celebrating a holiday is a personal choice. All of our holidays have some origins in the ancient pagan holidays. Before someone berates a day because of what they think it represents, they need to get all of the facts about everything.

Read the articles:

"Where did Halloween come from? Can a Christian celebrate it?"
http://tinyurl.com/ol4j5e

and

Should Christians participate in Halloween?
http://tinyurl.com/5am6cm
(This one provides relevant scriptures that address your questions.)

Hope it helps.

Cheers,
Stan

Christianity always put a guilty conscience over my head was my personal experience, God outside of organized religion was more comforting. ("I'm for the seperation of church and hate" was my bumper sticker). This is no personal criticism toward you and I think everyone should be free to practice whatever they so choose. But I think Halloween should be fun. Im going to be a Whoopee Cushion this year while my two daughters--one is a High School Musical cheerleader and the other one her
Ariel costume. Last year I noticed that no parents really dressed up so I thought it would give the kids and parents something to laugh at and this year there will be plenty because our bookstore, the mall AND Main street is having Halloween trick or treating! Im not a big fan of the adult costumes really because it lacks originality for me so I hope to see someone else dressed up as baked potato (my other favorites) a dog walking around as a hot-dog and it will be a hit for me, lol. I have a friend who is a Christian and she says her church is having a costume party at her church.

Hi TazRes
For those that don't see what it has to do with being a Christian, than maybe this explanation will help them to see just that.
Halloween began with the Celtics who lived in England,Scotland,Ireland and/wales. It was also the beginning of the New year, giving thanks to the Sun God for the harvest. The phrase "Trick or Treat" might be explained like this...Pagen belief is that one night of the year souls of the dead return to their original homes to be sheltered and fed. If food and shelter was not provided, these evil spirits would cast spells and cause havoc towards those failing to oblige. Scarifices were offered on this night to the dead spirits because it was believed they visited their earthly dwellings and former friends. Belief among all nations was that the death of good souls were taken by good spirits to paradise but the souls of wicked men were left to wonder the space between the earth and the moon. These wondering spirits were in the habit of haunting the living. But there were means by which ghosts might be exorcised, to exorcise, to free yourself from their evil sway, one would have to set out food and provide shelter for them during the night. If they were satisfied, they would leave in peace, if not they would cast a spell on you.
Today, satanism and witchcraft (both of which is untolerated by the church),covens this is the day Satan hinmself comes to "fellowship" with his followers. Many changes have occured over the centuries, but one thing still remains the same, the practice of giving an offering. Its all done in fun but what is the real meaning? Probably the same as in the old days..Hence, trick or treat..
I know its long but hope it helps. J

Halloween (or Hallowe’en ... but also known as Samhain, Summer’s End, All Hallow’s Eve, Witches Night, Lamswool, and Snap-Apple), is a holiday that's celebrated annually.Halloween (or Hallowe’en ... but also known as Samhain, Summer’s End, All Hallow’s Eve, Witches Night, Lamswool, and Snap-Apple), is a holiday that's celebrated annually. It is really up to you to celebrate but it is been a part of our tradition to celebrate Halloween.

Hi TazRes,No,sorry to say but i am not a catholic and we're not celebrating halloween because it is not written in the bible.Good Luck!

I don't know why Christians won't celebrate Halloween. Is there something like that? Which is the religion related to Halloween. I believe Halloween is a day of fun and entertainment. It is fun to derss up in various costumes. It is a day of for kids.

theres nothing wrong if you are a christian and you celebrate haloween. its for everybody's celebration. its like new year and christmas.

However this holiday started is kind of irrelevant now, because it's origins are not what it is now. And what it is, is you get dressed up and go out trick or treating (which is great fun!) or go to a party (also great fun!). I think we inject negative meaning into something that has become harmless fun by digging out every aspect we don't care for and hanging that tag on it. If we're going to evoke past meanings, why not go with celebration of the harvest or All Saint's Day Eve?

To me, celebrating Halloween is no different than celebrating Easter or Christmas, which also have pagan roots. The early church sought to dilute the meaning of pagan holidays and thereby appease pagans forced into the church by assigning a Christian holiday to those dates, so we end up with some pagan customs such as decorating a tree or hiding decorated eggs. Even bobbing for apples has pagan roots. For me, if I stopped celebrating Halloween based on what it was hundreds of years ago, I would also have to stop celebrating Christmas and Easter, too. I think it's what's in your heart that counts to God. If evil lurks there, He will know it and if it doesn't, He'll know that, too. I seriously doubt if anyone is going to Hell because they went trick or treating as a child or took their own children trick or treating.;)