“Awww man, I hate this holiday.” He said rolling his eyes. “I just don’t get it…”
“Oh really?” I asked, “What are you talking about?”
This is me several years ago having a conversation with a Christian college guy I know.
“I just don’t get Halloween parties and Christian girls. Why do so many Christian girls use this holiday as an excuse to dress in seductive costumes?” He asked raising his eyebrows in question.
“I don’t know…” I said. “It is kinda weird.”
“Like, my Christian college has tons of Halloween parties and I don’t even want to go to any of them.” He continued. “It’s just too awkward for me to see my Christian girl friends dressed so…sensual.”
I walked away from that conversation with a new eye-opening perspective from a Christian college guy. He made some really good points. He asked a good question that begs for a good answer. Why do so many of us, as Christian girls, use Halloween as an excuse to undress?
Why do so many Christian girls turn naughty for one day on Halloween?
I decided to do some research on this topic and came across a secular article by the New York Times called, “Good Girls Go Bad, for a Day.” The entire article was about how everyday “good” girls suddenly turn into seductive witches, vampires, devils, and even slinky little red riding hoods, for one day. The article came to the conclusion that girls and women have to be “good” every other day of the year, so why not be bad for one night?
Interesting conclusion.
Costumes aren’t the only thing that turn bad on Halloween night though. My neighbor’s beautiful front yard has transformed into a graveyard with skulls, skeletons, witches, body parts protruding from the ground, blood and tombstones all over the place. My other neighbor has several full-size skeletons hanging from their tree by a rope tied around their necks. Appetizing, right?
If you stop to think about Halloween for one second…it’s pretty creepy and weird.
Darkness, death, and evil is unashamedly put on display during the Halloween season.
Now, I get where a lot of people are coming from. They’re not necessarily viewing Halloween as a holiday to literally celebrate death and the devil, they’re just excited to wear a fun costume and embrace the “scarier” side of life. I get that. At the end of the day, each Christian person/family has to decide how to approach this Holiday based on their own Biblical convictions. However, as Christians, we can’t completely ignore the uniquely dark and evil aspects of this holiday and how it’s celebrated in today.
For more info on the history of Halloween and how to approach it Biblically, check out these helpful articles:
Should Christians celebrate Halloween?
With Halloween only a few days away, I wanted to write this post to encourage all of us, as Christian girls, to pause before we jump on the spooky holiday train. Our culture has no hesitations in celebrating death, darkness, and evil…but we are called to be different.
Our language, our dress, and even our celebrations should look different than the unbelieving world around us.
Now, I’m not against having a fun party this weekend (I love hosting a fall cookout party!), I’m simply encouraging you to continue being a light for Jesus, even on Halloween. God calls you and me to be reflections of the beautiful image of Christ.
Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Ephesians 5:8 “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”
One of the ways I love to embrace this holiday for good, is to pass out candy and fun gospel tracts to the kids who come knocking on my door. Instead of promoting darkness, there are great ways to engage in this holiday and use it as an opportunity to get the message of light and hope into the hands of your neighbors who come knocking on your door.
With so much darkness around us, people are in desperate need of hope and light.
I want to challenge and encourage you to think of creative ways to get the gospel message to your neighbors this Halloween weekend. Instead of turning “naughty” for one day, make the choice to approach this day in a way that will honor God and bless those around you. Don’t just follow the popular trends, but choose to stand for what you know is right.
Take a few minutes to thoughtfully consider what you’ll be doing, what you’ll be watching, what you’ll be celebrating and what you’ll be wearing this Halloween weekend.
- Will your actions reflect the light and hope of God to those around you?
- Will your clothing reflect the beauty of Christ to those around you?
If you have some creative ideas on how to turn this holiday of darkness into something a little brighter, I’d love to hear about it! Share your ideas with me in the comment section below.
