What is Halloween? 

Pop culture will tell us that it is a night when friends and families go around their neighbourhood, knocking on doors, and asking for lollies, whilst dressed in ridiculous costumes.  

But is there something deeper? An underlying, multi-layered meaning behind the night and festivities? 

Halloween is secular (meaning non-religious), and dates back to the 4th Century. Originally, Halloween was not called ‘Halloween,’ but was seen as a night when evil spirits were believed to have come back to haunt the world. However, after the Druids had declared this night, the Christian Church made November 1st (the day after Halloween) All Hallows Day, which is how Halloween got its name: Hallows/Even = Halloween.  

Recently, I had a meeting with Mr. Noble to talk about his views on Halloween. 

We started by talking about witches. We spoke of the witch in the Bible (1 Samuel 28; https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Samuel+28:3-25) and some mentions of witchcraft throughout the Bible (Deut. 18:10, 2 Chron. 33:6, Micah 5:12, Nahum 3:4, Galatians 5:19-20). The fair conclusion to draw is that witchcraft is really not spoken about much in the Bible. 

Next, I asked Mr. Noble what his views on vampires and werewolves were and his response was, “There are evil forces in this world, Satan will use whatever means possible to bring evil into this world. But these evil forces do not measure up to Jesus.” He stated that vampires are not pure or good beings (none of us want our blood to be sucked) but demons. We do not celebrate the devil, so why would we celebrate vampires and werewolves? Are they not acting as the devil on earth? Either way, Mr Noble said that we do not need to be afraid of this evil in the world because we have Jesus. So even if we think that they are real creatures, if you put your trust in Jesus, you don’t need to fear them, right? 

But then maybe they are real. What about the scenarios where people claim to have seen a vampire or they are ‘caught on camera? Well, Mr. Noble stated that incidents like that are “Satan working in people’s mind.” These sightings are not to be dismissed, but the belief of seeing such evil beings is Satan preventing God from being known, and thus, Christians should not encourage such thoughts.  

I asked Mr. Noble if there was a slight chance that these mythical creatures could exist, but he simply stated that I answered my own question. ‘Mythical’ is defined as fictitious. So, what do we actually mean when we talk about creatures as being mythical, and why do we worry about them anyway? 

I then asked Mr. Noble what the issue was with us celebrating Halloween with no religious beliefs at all, with no mind of Satan or glorifying these mystical creatures but just participating in a communal activity and dressing up. What he has to say about this is wise and extremely true. As some can guess, he answered my question with the question, “Why would you do it?” I do not know about you, but personally, I do not Trick-or-Treat for myself, rather, I take my brothers around the neighbourhood so that they can enjoy the night. Mr. Noble asked why they want to participate. I replied saying “probably because they want candy” (isn’t that what most people do it for, and what is so wrong with that?).  

However, Mr. Noble enlightened me to a disappointing truth. By taking these kids around to ask for candy expecting to receive it, we are teaching them that it is okay to be greedy (as they want more than what they have received and compare their ‘loot’ with their siblings or friends as well). Is this something we really want to encourage? I personally do not. The Bible is against greed also, as seen in Colossians 3:5 (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+3:5).  

Mr. Noble states that he “do[es] not see the benefit in Halloween” and that Halloween is hollow. He says that “Even if you think that ghouls or goblins, werewolves, and vampires are real, thinking that they are somehow less free on nights other than October 31st doesn’t make a lot of sense. Either fear them all the time or not at all.” Mr. Noble says if we are “worried by fears of these or any other evil, remember that Jesus is stronger than any of them.” 

Halloween is a commercial exploitation exercise by producers of Halloween gear and costumes, and consumers are lured into that. Halloween is completely purposeless and meaningless.  

It is November 1st, which is the important date when we celebrate All Saints Day.