There’s been quite a bit of Internet hullabaloo this Halloween season on whether faithful Christians are justified in celebrating Halloween. What with the holiday’s often-celebrated connection to the occult, the influx of unnecessarily gruesome décor, and the prevalence of costumes that are either gory or offensively sexual, there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about celebrating Halloween.
It’s easy to preach about the evils of Halloween to neighbors and friends—but at the end of the day, it might be more difficult to turn down the excited child on your front doorstep eagerly awaiting your donation to his one approved candy fix per year.
Luckily, there are creative ways to reconcile the secular approach to Halloween with the celebration of The Eve of All Saints. Children in particular are always willing to learn new things and since candy and chocolate are still involved, they’ll be receptive to other gifts as well. Here are some examples:
2. Give out saintly goodie bags: Little goodie bags filled with candy and activity packets on the saints (trivia, fun facts, coloring pages) are a great way to reach kids. These methods manage to keep the focus of the night—and the subsequently earned candy— on the celebration of the Saints.
3. Have your family be an example: It’s always possible to be the one house on the block that doesn’t have bloody ghouls or monsters on the porch, but still has candy for the kiddies. Having your family dress in wholesome and humorous costumes can express to others that you don’t need to look gruesome or “sexy” to have fun on Halloween. And never underestimate the power of simply talking to children about the saints. Especially if you have kids that are well-educated on the holiday’s true focus, they’ll spread the word to their peers.
And today we celebrate...