Christians and Halloween

In a couple hours the sun will go down and the streets will be filled with children of all ages going from house to house trick-or-treating. When I was a kid, Halloween was one of my favorite days of the year. The neighborhood we lived in was just the perfect size to fill up a pillow case, and there were kids everywhere. Every house had their porch light on and enjoyed the night.

18 months ago my wife and I moved to a new home and a new neighborhood. I was very excited for our first Halloween; I went to the local grocery store and bought a ton of full size candy bars to give out. I’ll never forget the joy seeing a full size candy bar drop into my pillow case when I was a kid… and I’ll never forget the disappointment of seeing an Almond Joy.

One year ago tonight I was ready to meet my neighbors and fill up some pillow cases or plastic pumpkins. I turned on my porch light and waited… and waited… and waited. In the first hour we only saw a handful of kids. I walked outside and it was like any other night, there were no kids on the sidewalk and very few houses had their porch light on.

I learned that most churches in the area have special events on Halloween night, such as trunk-or-treat. Many people either go to their church or just sit inside their home and ignore the holiday. I was very disappointed, but it reflected a greater reality about our culture.

America is more and more becoming a back-porch society. Most new houses have huge decks and patios and very small front porches. So we hang out in our backyard instead of our front. We don’t know our neighbors very well, and if we do, it’s just the ones right next door. I don’t know the first name of my neighbor two houses down in either direction.

I have heard Christians say that Halloween is an evil holiday because it romanticizes the occult… Like our kids will think that it’s cool to practice witchcraft if they dress up like a witch or skeleton once a year. I think that’s just hogwash.

I think Halloween is the best day of the year to get to know our neighbors, to be community. I think Christians could be a greater witness to the world by staying home and passing out candy.  Maybe put a sticker on the candy that says “Jesus Loves You.” You can even make big stickers, but you’ll have to get a candy bar big enough for it to fit on.

I’m pretty sure Jesus said something about loving our neighbors… Getting to know them is a good start.