I Hate Halloween

I hate Halloween.

{By the way, if you love this holiday, then you probably will want to skip this post. We are not going to agree, and I'm not saying that all Christians must hate Halloween or that there aren't ways to either redeem the day and/or use it reach others for Christ. One of my best pastor buddies came to Christ on Halloween at a scary event many years ago, and I'm thankful God used it. But I'm speaking here about how I personally feel when I consider Halloween.}

One of the things I hate the most about it is the glorification of the ugly. I hate the way that people use the holiday to celebrate death, evil, yucky-ness, darkness, and the macabre. Those are things to oppose, not celebrate.

Autumn is my favorite season of the year. I love living in Pennsylvania with the beautiful Fall colors. God wields an amazing paintbrush, and it shows the best this time year. And I can't understand why people would want to decorate their beautiful lawns with skeletons, gravestones, and things much more gruesome and worse.

I also love "dress-up" and costumes. I think little pink princesses and football players are really cute. If it was called "Dress Up Parade Day," I think it would be fun (especially if so many of the costumes weren't also ugly, scary, and other kinds of evil).

I don't "get" the desire to scare, to cause mischief, to force people to give you a treat or suffer a "trick." Perhaps there are godly or lovingly playful versions of these things, but they seem sub-Christian to me.

I know that demons are active around this holiday, at least with some believers. Satan loves to oppress and depress. One of my loved ones was suicidal on October 31st several years ago (thankfully unsuccessfully), and they feel oppressed again at this time every year.

I hate Halloween, but I love "Reformation Day." I think it's wonderful that it was October 31, 1517 when Martin Luther kicked off the Gospel-Recovering and Gospel-Recapturing Reformation with his 95 Theses. The darkness cannot win.

This day, I thumb my nose at Satan and sing with Luther:

    A mighty fortress is our God,
    a bulwark never failing;
    our helper he amid the flood
    of mortal ills prevaling. 
    For still our ancient foe
    doth seek to work us woe;
    his craft and power are great,
    and armed with cruel hate,
    on earth is not his equal.

    Did we in our own strength confide,
    our striving would be losing,
    were not the right man on our side,
    the man of God's own choosing.
    Dost ask who that may be? 
    Christ Jesus, it is he;
    Lord Sabaoth, his name,
    from age to age the same,
    and he must win the battle.

    And though this world, with devils filled,
    should threaten to undo us,
    we will not fear, for God hath willed
    his truth to triumph through us. 
    The Prince of Darkness grim,
    we tremble not for him;
    his rage we can endure,
    for lo, his doom is sure;
    one little word shall fell him.

    That word above all earthly powers,
    no thanks to them, abideth;
    the Spirit and the gifts are ours,
    thru him who with us sideth. 
    Let goods and kindred go,
    this mortal life also;
    the body they may kill;
    God's truth abideth still;
    his kingdom is forever.