For the newer Christian family whose children have already experienced Halloween in the past
this is a tough question and for children who have never experienced Halloween but who are
watching other kids getting really excited as Halloween season approaches, this is a tough question.    

    How do you tell your children who have already experienced the whole hyped up hoopla of 
Halloween that they are not going out this year or any year again for that matter? After them having
experienced the excitement in years gone past of getting to choose what character they will dress up
as, hearing the timeless ghost stories people tell, or after having attended Halloween parties? But most
of all after having experienced getting pillow cases full of candy? Good questions but ones that need
to be addressed. 

    For that Christian parent who is struggling with that question "what to do about Halloween", I hope
to encourage you and to give you some advice on this.  

    One of the hardest things for some parents to do is to say "no" to their child without being plagued
with extreme bouts of guilt.  But there are some things we as a parent and we as a Christian need to
do to establish rules and set healthy boundaries for our children in that their life will be more blessed
than cursed and Halloween is one that needs to be set.

    A newer Christian may not see the harm in Halloween which can add to this problem, (which is why
I would suggest that Christian parent's read the history of halloween to get a good understanding
of what Halloween is all about) but believe me halloween holds alot of pagan practices and spiritual
darkness.  Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, was originally a festival of fire for the dead and the powers
of darkness. 

    Did you know that October 31st is the most important day in the satanic year for it is known as the
devil's birthday. It marks the Celtic new year. It was the end of their growing season and became a 
festival of death. On this day, the god of the Celtics would call up the spirits of the wicked dead who 
had died during the past year. At the same time, other evil spirits arose and went about the countryside
harassing the people. On October 31, the Celtics expected to be harassed by ghosts, evil spirits and
demons; and it was no fun and games to them. They would light bonfires to guide the spirits to their 
own town and to ward off evil spirits.

      * The history of Halloween can be seen by clicking on that link on the bottom of this page.*

    But my child is not celebrating the dead they are just going out for candy!  This is an arguement I 
have heard many times and one I have had with myself but to participate in Halloween is a form of 
agreement to it and agreement holds consequence.  As one grows in the knowledge for the things of
God they begin to realize those consequences and that the things we do either validates God in this
world, or validates satan. What we come in agreement with or even appear to be either opens doors
for satan to work in our life, or God.

    No our children will not become possessed of the devil by going out for Halloween but by letting 
them participate we are validating what Halloween represented to the pagans who created it and 
validating this day to satanist and occult members around the world.  Halloween is a sanctified day of 
darkness to many people and by participating we not only lend agreement to their cause but spiritual 
empowerment.  God gave us power over the devil through Jesus Christ to refute the ways of the devil
but by celebrating Halloween we lose a portion of that God given power and release it to satan.

    As a Christian we should be looking for ways to eliminate this day, not endorse it.  We are to be
about the work of subduing the devil and preparing the world for Christ's return and we are not going
to subdue the devil when we keep validating him and giving away our power to him.  

    I have said it before and will say it again, God is real and so is satan.  God has an agenda to benefit 
our lives and satan has an agenda to destroy it and if we want to be called a Christian we need to be
about God's business not the devils.

    What to do about Halloween regarding our children?  Here is a couple of suggestions. One thing
I agree with and see the importance of is the need to be tactful in how we take Halloween away from our 
children.  We don't want to strongarm our children into giving up Halloween but rather we want to
include them in the process.  You would be surprised how quickly a child will give up Halloween if you
give them some choice in the matter.  

    Here is what I would suggest.  1- Sit the kids down and just explain to them how mommy and daddy
have just realized how yucky Halloween is and that we don't like what it represents and don't want to
participate in it any more.  2- Share a bit about the history of Halloween so as to inform them and also to
include them in the process. What you would tell them would depend on how old they are. You would
want to gear the information by what they are ready to understand.  3- Then I would offer them an 
alternative.  We don't want to compromise our selves nor compete with Halloween but for the sake of 
the kids in that we don't make them bitter and to help eliminate Halloween we suggest to the children that
we have a family day instead and offer them suggestions as to what they could do on this day. At this
point you may be surprised at how excited your kids will get as to this new idea. 

    I would make several suggestions to the kids as to what we could do as a family and emphasize that 
it is their decision, or their vote and tell them that in or around the month of October, (they can pick the 
day) that we will have our family day.

    What we could suggest?  We could suggest a family supper at Pizza Hut, or night out at the Movie 
Theatre to see the latest movie.  We could suggest renting some movies for the family to watch and letting
them have a couple of their best friends over. (Or each child could have 1 friend).  Whatever your 
budget can afford but make that effort to follow through with this plan each and every year.  It is a great
idea to have a family night anyway and it just might catch on with other families, Christian or not.