Halloween blurs the line between triumph over death, and fascination with it. Photo: Beth Teutschmann via Unsplash.
Halloween is around the corner.
Shops are decorated and selling sugar, pumpkins and facepaint by the kilogram. And, come the 31st, random kids will knock on random doors trying to get more sugar.
All a bit odd to me, to be honest.
First, daylight saving in Australia means these neighbourhood doorknocks take place in broad daylight, hardly the scary moonlit setting of so many movies. If any pumpkins have a candle in them, that light is drowned out by the sun.
Second, this custom has been introduced in our country through commercial interests without any understanding or assumptions of the background. The Christian background, that is. Halloween was first observed as a precursor to All Saints Day – on November 1st – the day of recognition of those who have died and gone to heaven.
Third – and I think this is what concerns me most – some Halloween costumes and decorations have gone beyond the benign, child-friendly mockery of death, to become downright degenerate celebrations of death, gore, and all things evil.
From the very beginning, Christians have recognised Jesus as the gracious and victorious Saviour who rose from the grave, and defeated death. Because Jesus died for our sins and rose again for our salvation (Romans 4:25), we who trust Jesus will also rise again like Jesus did. Therefore, unlike the rest of the world, Christians need no longer fear death. Through Christ, we gain victory over it, and therefore, we may have confidence and courage to mock death, as the apostle Paul does in his first letter to the Corinthians:
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
(1 Corinthians 15:55 NIV)
Though we may mock death, we do not do trivialise it. After all, death remains a great evil in the world, introduced as the result of sin. It reminds us of the consequences of the fall, the grim reality that death awaits us all. So we grieve death, and yet all the while, we hold on to a sure and certain hope in the resurrection.
So, perhaps there are ways for Christians to “celebrate” Halloween, by recognising death’s defeat, the end of its sting, and by pointing to the hope found in the risen Lord Jesus. But, surely, we risk turning this into an event where death itself is being enjoyed, or at least being made light of. Death is not fun; it remains the heavy and righteous judgment from our God towards the sinful world. Paul may have mocked death, but he did not enjoy or celebrate all things death-related.
For those who wish to think further about Halloween, I offer you two different Christian perspectives on Halloween. They are from the USA, where Halloween is perceived and practiced a bit differently from here in Australia. I hope these are helpful for all of us, not only to grow in our own convictions about Halloween, but also to understand those who come to different conclusions, and still be charitable towards them.
[Tim wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Benjamin Shuhyta in preparing this post.]
