Halloween: Movement Homeschooler Style

Legalism, judgmentalism, retreat-ism, fundamentalism. Yep, those words pretty much summed up my Halloween experience, and countless others of my background, as a child.


Movement homeschoolers, and even those of the legalistic mindset in the Christian churches, like to use Halloween as an excuse to keep their lights turned off and refuse to hand out candy and partake in wickedness. Generally speaking, their feelings are that this is the Devil’s holiday and it is a holiday of death, demon worship, and séances. Their feelings run along the lines of those who prematurely jumped to conclusions in the early Puritan era of our nation in the Salem Witch Trials. To participate in this kind of a holiday is condoning a culture of evilness and great wickedness. It is after all, they contend, Satan’s holiday.

Their antidote to this ridiculousness is to either not celebrate it or to do an alternative like a Reformation Party or Harvest Party. Seriously not near as much fun as trick or treating. Most of their children, when asked by outsiders, put on a costume- a façade- and smile their way through the torturous conversation with the cashier at Wal-Mart.

Cashier: “So what are you going to be for Halloween?”

Child in question, with a super-sugary smile, designed to mask the horror they feel at being asked such a question: “We don’t celebrate Halloween.” With extra emphasis added on the word “celebrate” to gain an approving and condescending smile from mom.

Cashier gives a blank look and thinks, What a sheltered life those kids live.


This group of culture bashers has the intention of showing the world that they are different. And yes, they do succeed in doing that, but seriously, the world doesn’t think you are different in a good way. You are different in quite a wrong, and completely constricting way! Not in a way that makes others want to be like you, but in a way that makes others come to the conclusion that they don’t want to be like you at all.

I remember Halloween as a little girl. I was six when I dressed up for Halloween for the last time. Seriously Mom, it was just starting to get fun! I was a princess. When the next Halloween rolled around, my mother had met way to many fundamentalists and Movement Homeschoolers. And she had become legitimately convinced that Halloween was of the Devil. Jack-o-lanterns were forbidden, because they were designed to scare away demons. Dressing up was out of the question, as was trick or treating. This was Satan’s holiday and Christians were to have no part in it.

Our family would literally hide from the neighbors, closing our curtains, turning off all the lights, and ducking to avoid the knockers at the door. Should a costumed child appear at the door knocking, Mom would answer. Proceeding then to inform them that “we don’t celebrate Halloween” in a very self-righteous and judgmental air. I hated, hated, hated, that my parents never let us have the experience of trick or treating. To be able to do it for two years and then have it yanked away for some sort of ideology was baffling. Oh I bought into the arguments and I am ashamed that I judged my cousins so harshly for participating in it. I was trained to believe that I was holier and closer to God, just one step above the rest of the populace, because I did not participate in Satan’s holiday. At least, that’s what I told myself, partly for survival and partly because I wanted to believe that there was some good reason why we did not celebrate Halloween.

But deep down I knew my childhood was being robbed from me. And deep down I knew that there was something that just wasn’t right about this whole scenario. But I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I knew that there had to be equilibrium between the demons and the angels on Halloween night.

Years passed, and when I reached the point where trick or treating was a thing meant for little children that I had out grown, I was actually relieved. But eventually I had children of my own and the whole question of, “Will you celebrate Halloween?” in the Christian parenting circles that we frequented came up.

Eye-roll. Really? Whose business is it if you do decide to let your kids go out in costumes? Whose business is it if want to deck your whole house in spiders, bats, and black cats (which, ours is by the way)? Did not the God who created heaven and earth create those creatures too? And what about the Harvest Moon, pumpkins, firelight, and crunching leaves? Is this world in which we live meant not to be enjoyed?

I am not suggesting that a Christian partake or condone the demonic presence of this world. But just as there are angels, there are demons. This is a reality. And sheltering your kids in a box and suggesting that Christians have nothing redemptive to offer the world on a holiday in which our entire culture is celebrating, is completely missing an opportunity to show Christ’s love that literally comes knocking on your door.

I am not one of those people who believe that we need to hand out gospel tracts in the place of candy to the Spider Queen and Werewolf who knocks on your door with bags opened wide. Those are completely ineffective and often times, offensive. No, what I believe is that when you open your door and pray that Christ will shine his light through you and that those who interact with you would see His love in your eyes that even the tiniest seed of genuine Christian love is not wasted.


Besides the fact that the majority of the elements of this holiday are harmless and innocent, parents whose refusal to let their kids participate only heighten their interest in the occult, especially when their reasons involve refusal to participate because of the Devil. Mine was, and if I had been a couple of degrees less sheltered, I would have experimented in it. This is an excellent opportunity to discuss these things- demons, Satan, devil-worshippers, witches- with your children at an age appropriate and developmentally appropriate level. We live in a spiritual world, and our world contains both good and bad spirits. This is another opportunity lost. An opportunity to talk to your children about real things, things that God has created for us to enjoy and wonder at (like His autumn creation, friendly neighbors, fun) and things that are in the world that we need to shed our bright lights on and understand (lost souls, a culture of death, the Devil, his demons).

We do not have to be afraid that letting our children participate in this holiday that all of America celebrates is going to somehow train our children to go down a path of wickedness. We have been given much freedom in this world and we have been given freedom to enjoy God’s gracious gifts. We are commanded to shine brightly for Love, and those who pull their curtains shut and contain themselves at home are missing an excellent opportunity.

So next Halloween, instead of hiding your light under a bushel, let it shine, shine, and shine!