Should Christians celebrate Halloween? How to talk to your child about it

Every October, “ghosts” begin appearing in shopping malls.

They appear alongside pumpkins with carved faces, cobwebs across shopfronts and skeletons hanging from ceilings.

For many children, Halloween simply means playing pretend in costumes and getting sweets.

But for Christian parents and educators, the occasion raises more complicated questions: Should Christians celebrate Halloween at all? What should we tell children about ghosts, witches and the supernatural? Is it wrong for children to participate in some parts of the festivities?

Each family’s answers may differ, but whether we participate in or abstain from the event, Halloween offers us an opportunity to help children develop something they will need far beyond October 31: A biblical way of understanding fear, darkness and discernment.

Here are some things we can do with our children as Halloween approaches.

1. Tell them the truth, but not more than they need

Halloween has a long and complicated history, shaped by cultural, religious and secular traditions over centuries.

But a four-year-old probably does not need a lecture on all of them.

For most children, Halloween is simpler: People dress up, decorate spaces and collect sweets. We can begin there.

You can say: “On Halloween, some people like dressing up and pretending to be scary. You may see ghosts, witches, monsters and skeletons. Different families celebrate it differently.”

As children grow older, we can introduce more about its history and discuss why Christians may hold different convictions about participating.

But we do not need to frighten them with descriptions of occult practices or make them anxious about spiritual realities they are not ready to understand.

2. Teach them that Jesus is stronger than the darkness

There is a difference between teaching children to recognise darkness and teaching them to fear it.

In the Bible, Jesus describes Himself as the light of the world (John 8:12). John’s Gospel tells us that darkness cannot overcome the light (John 1:5), while Paul reminds us that nothing in creation can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39).

Rather than saying, “Halloween is so scary”, we can say: “Sometimes the world can be scary. But when we are frightened, we can remember that God is with us. He is bigger than what scares us.”

Children will encounter fear long after the Halloween decorations disappear. Learning to bring that fear honestly before God may be far more valuable than simply learning which costumes to avoid.

3. Encourage discernment

It can be tempting to give children a list: This costume is okay. That costume is not. This party is acceptable. That activity is not.

Rules have their place, especially for young children. But our goal is not merely to raise children who know the rules. Instead, it is to raise children who know how to make wise choices.

As children grow, Halloween can become an opportunity to ask: “What is this celebrating? Why do I want to take part? Does this make something cruel, frightening or spiritually unhealthy seem attractive?”

More importantly: “Would this choice honour God and show love towards others?”

Discernment is not simply learning that “Christians don’t do this”. It is learning to ask: “Since I belong to Jesus, how should I think about this?”

4. Respect other families’ choices

On matters where Scripture gives no specific command, Christians will reach different conclusions.

One Christian family may be comfortable with their child dressing up as a superhero and collecting candy. Another may choose not to participate at all.

If our only message is “Christians cannot celebrate Halloween”, children may extend that judgement to those who participate and assume their friends are “bad” or “wrong” for making different choices.

But our Christian conviction should never require contempt. We can tell our children: “Our family has made this choice because this is how we want to follow Jesus. Other families may choose differently, and we can still be kind to them.”

Jesus is bigger than Halloween

At the end of the day, the simplest test of our conversations is this: After talking about Halloween, what looms largest in our children’s imaginations? Ghosts? Witches? Fear? A list of dos and don’ts? Or the hope we have in Jesus?

Not everything associated with Halloween is harmless. But neither should we make Halloween and darkness seem so powerful that children become fascinated by or frightened of them.

Eventually, our children will face questions far more complicated than whether they should take part in Halloween festivities. We will not always be beside them with a list of what is allowed and what is not.

But what we can give them instead is something more enduring: A knowledge of who God is, a confidence that darkness does not have the final word, and the wisdom to follow Jesus faithfully in the world around them.

Salt&Light recognises that there are differing views on this issue.

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