Thoughts on Hallowe’en
Updated from October 2022
As parents decide about participation in Hallowe’en, CViE would urge our supporters to consider the harm and danger associated with it.
The CViE publication on Hallowe’en is available here, and was written to highlight these dangers and provide a background to Hallowe’en while setting out what the Bible says on the “works of darkness”.
Since publishing this pamphlet, it has been difficult not to notice the growth in the commercialisation of Hallowe’en. Hallowe’en is now the third biggest event in the UK retail sector after Christmas and Easter. In 2001 consumers spent £12 million on Halloween – that figure reached a high in 2023 of over £1 billion, and is expected to exceed £750 million in 2025.
At Hallowe’en many of the goods available depict the devil and other characters such as witches in a comical way, thereby creating an impression that these things are harmless and something to laugh at and enjoy. Let none of us be fooled, the devil is real; Peter warned the early Christian church: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
As Christians, our guide should be the precepts of the Word of God with the desire to do all to the honour and glory of the Lord. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians those watchwords that apply to our walk and conduct, including Hallowe’en:
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:8)
Christians need to be careful not to over-respond to Hallowe’en, as we can fail to model the need to be sober and vigilant every day, and not just on 31 October. Allied to this is the need for Christians to exercise caution as wise stewards of their possessions and protectors of their family every day of the year. We also need to be kept from a pharisaical spirit and remember, but for the Lord’s sovereign grace, where would we be today? Do we have a prayerful concern that the Lord might work and bring those in nature’s darkness into the glorious light of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ?
In writing this short piece, we are aware that, in the end, participating in ‘festivals’, such as Hallowe’en, are a matter of individual conscience before God. Since as adults, we are conscious of the pressure children may come under at school from classmates, it is important, as with any issue from which we separate, to be clear why we do so. Perhaps the Scripture quote on the front of the CViE pamphlet on Hallowe’en is the best summary: Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather reprove them. (Ephesians 5:11).
CViE would be pleased to hear from parents, young people, teachers and those involved in education of the challenges faced at Hallowe’en, whether inside or outside of school, that these might be shared anonymously for the encouragement of others. Please feel free to contact us by emailing: enquiries@cvie.org.uk
Sources that may be of help:
CViE Halloween pamphlet
Bibleinfo What is Halloween and should Christians celebrate it?
Grace to You Christians and Halloween
Focus on the Family Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?
Finder Halloween statistics UK 2022
[NOTE: Although we make every effort to ensure these links mentioned are accurate, up-to-date and relevant, CViE cannot take responsibility for content, images and pages maintained by external providers, nor do we endorse all information, religious views or opinions posted on these third-party websites.]
