let lemons be angry

To all Christians: Halloween is not for us!

This is something I feel convicted about enough to talk about here. My first year in university, there was a halloween party in ADM and of course everyone was talking about it before, during and after--for years to come, I would still hear about how they dressed up and went around spooking people trying to sleep in hall.

I was the only oddball in my clique to opt out. Not easy to do at all. There was no way to wriggle out of it, so I decided to tell them the truth: that I don't celebrate Halloween. And here is why you shouldn't too.

1. Halloween had a spiritual purpose.

Halloween began as a Celtic superstition that the dead return to the earth every October 31st. The ancient Celts would wear costumes and light bonfires to ward off these returning ghosts. Something like a glamorized Hungry Ghost Festival? But we don't see ourselves taking part in HGF?

2. It's all very real.

Evil spirits, demons, whatever form they take during Halloween, are not just the product of our overactive imaginations. They are real. Your grandmother cannot come back from the dead to haunt you, but evil spirits can take on different apparitions. How real are they? We're reminded that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12)

So when people dress as something devillish, or like a corpse, or a ghost, all I see is the glorification of everything we are to "have nothing to do" with.

3. Why invite trouble?

So you might be thinking, but it's just for fun. And it's just an excuse for us to dress as Spongebob/ Edward Cullen/ a giant tortilla. We don't even touch the spooky stuff. Don't be a prude!

Sure, the Celtic superstitions have been watered down to a kid-friendly candy fest and yet another reason to party. How happy do you think that makes the devil? People are protecting a festival they don't even know the origins of, throwing in various vague spooky elements of a definitely evil nature, and who's among the happy partygoers? Christians! Good Christians, who on non-halloween days, will have nothing to do with any dark forces! Score!

And nevermind that you're not taking part in blood rituals or seances during your parties. Evil spirits roam the world like hungry lions anyway. But if you throw a party in their honour, you can be sure they'll show up.

Yes, God is the king of kings, and He protects His children. But it is not right for His children to be found having anything to do with His enemy.

I'm not suggesting that we should probably not attend Halloween parties, or even that we should avoid organizing Halloween parties ourselves. I'm saying that Christians must boycott Halloween. Costume parties can be held any other time of the year. We are to be set apart, and not be deceived. There is no such thing as "non-harmful darkness" or "fun darkness". There is only darkness. We have to be in the light.