Let’s Talk About Halloween, Christians

I’m entering a conversation that I think we as Christians have sometimes brought more hate into than the actual thing we’re arguing about: Halloween. Now, before you hit unfollow or block, give me a second. I want to talk about this with honesty, Biblical truth, and, most importantly, love.

If you know me, you know Autumn is my FAVORITE season. I love the changing leaves, pumpkin patches, cute spooky Disney movies, cozy outfits, and all the little things that make this time of year feel special.

To me, Fall represents change, growth, the old fading away, and something new beginning. It reminds me to slow down and appreciate the beauty God has placed around us. And then comes Halloween. I know that sentence alone may make some Christians uncomfortable, so hear me out.

Halloween can involve things that absolutely do not glorify God. There are things associated with Halloween that I would never participate in, and I think Christians should be discerning about what we allow into our lives. I also believe we have to be careful not to make our personal convictions the universal standard for everyone else.

Halloween has always been special to me because my mom made holidays special. When I was little, she hosted parties at our house for practically every holiday. One year she even threw a St. Patrick’s Day party. Halloween was no different.

For me, Halloween was the beginning of what I thought of as the “magic” of the holiday season. No, not actual magic, but a feeling of excitement, joy, family, friends, and being a kid. October through December was filled with parties, decorations, movies, costumes, food, and memories. When I look back, I don’t remember my childhood Halloween experiences as a glorification of evil. I remember my mom making childhood beautiful.

We knew the movies were make-believe. We knew there were things we shouldn’t participate in. I absolutely cannot watch horror movies or paranormal movies. I don’t seek out darkness, and I don’t want anything to have a foothold in my life that doesn’t belong there. But I can watch Halloweentown. I can go to a pumpkin patch. I can dress up. I can decorate. I can take a child trick-or-treating. None of those things automatically tell you how much or how little someone loves Jesus.

Romans 14 addresses something very similar. Paul was writing to Christians who disagreed over things like what foods they could eat and which days they considered sacred. Some believers felt convicted about certain practices, while others felt free to participate. Paul’s response wasn’t, “Everyone needs to do exactly what I do.” He tells them to stop despising and judging one another and to remember that each person ultimately answers to the Lord.

Romans 14:13 says:

“Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.”

Paul wasn’t saying, “Nothing matters”; rather, don’t turn a disagreement over a Christian conviction into an opportunity to condemn another believer. I think that applies here.

If God has convicted YOU not to celebrate Halloween, honor that conviction. If you don’t want your children trick-or-treating, don’t. If you don’t want Halloween decorations in your house, don’t put them up. If you don’t feel comfortable watching Halloween movies, don’t watch them. Your personal conviction doesn’t automatically become God’s command for every other Christian.

The fact that someone chooses differently than you doesn’t give you permission to assume you know their heart.You don’t. You don’t know someone’s relationship with Jesus because you saw their Halloween decorations on Instagram. You don’t know their prayer life because you saw their child dressed up in a costume. You don’t know their convictions because they took their kids trick-or-treating. You certainly don’t know their heart well enough to decide that they aren’t “real Christians” because they made a different choice than you would.

If my mom posted those Halloween parties today, she might get torn apart in a Christian comment section. That makes me sad. Those parties didn’t make me love darkness. They made me love my childhood. They gave me memories with my family. They gave me happiness. More importantly, they didn't keep me from knowing Jesus.

We have to stop confusing Christian discernment with Christian condemnation. There is a difference between saying, “This isn’t something I feel convicted to participate in,” and saying, “Because you participate in this, I know something is wrong with your relationship with God.”

One is personal conviction. The other is judging a heart that you don’t have the authority to see.

This Halloween, our biggest concern shouldn’t be whether someone else decorated their house, took their kids trick-or-treating, or watched Hocus Pocus. Our biggest concern should be whether we are representing Jesus well.

Satan doesn’t need Halloween to divide Christians if we’ll do the dividing for him.

We can spend so much time fighting each other over costumes, decorations, candy, and movies that we forget the command Jesus gave us: to love one another.

You don’t have to celebrate Halloween. You don’t have to agree with me. You don’t even have to feel comfortable with it, but you also don’t have to condemn a believer whose conviction looks different from yours.

Jesus didn’t call us to win every argument. He called us to love people, pursue holiness, use discernment, and keep our eyes on Him.

If you’re celebrating Halloween innocently this year, don’t let someone else’s judgment convince you that you’re a bad Christian. If you don’t celebrate it, don’t let someone else’s beliefs convince you that you’re compromising yours. Know your conviction. Honor God. Give other believers room to follow Him too.

At the end of the day, we are all going to answer to Jesus for our own hearts, not someone else’s.