The date is October 31, Halloween of 2007. It is brisk and chilly outside, as it has been for the last couple of weeks. I expect to see many strange characters walking the streets today (some in costume and some not), and one can only hope that there will be candy corn at Temple’s cafeteria.

Halloween is one of those holidays that Christians just do not know what to think about. Some say it is a harmless autumn funfest while others see it as synonymic with Satan’s birthday. For myself personally, I was never allowed to trick or treat past the age of three. Halloween was not really Halloween; it was October 31, and that meant going roller skating with the church youth group. I never felt deprived of classic childhood memories, which astonishes those who do cherish their trick or treating experiences throughout the years.

Now that I am twenty years old, however, it is appropriate to decide for myself what I think of the holiday. The excuse that my parents will not allow me to attend a Halloween dance does not fly anymore. My personal opinion of the holiday, then, is this: There are many fun things about it–the candy, the dressing up, the beautiful time of year. But there is also a dark side to Halloween, though it surely does not apply to everyone’s celebration of it. Dealing with scary demons and ghosts is not always harmless, and it makes me wonder whether the holiday is just another way Satan is making us trivialize the fact that there truly is spiritual warfare going on around us.

This may seem like an uptight, negative view of a beloved holiday that is supposed to be for children’s amusement. But history shows that this was not always the purpose of the holiday. It has been celebrated since 5 BC, but in very different ways by various cultures. To some, it was a pagan celebration of the dead, but to Episcopalian Christians and Catholics it was a day to “hallow” the memory of the saints. There was also the celebration of the holiday as simply the end of one season and the beginning of another, when harvest was over and winter was about to begin. One of the classic traditions of the holiday that has stayed in America is the saying “trick or treat,” which is not always as harmless as it seems. After all, the true meaning of the saying is “give me candy or I will prank you or harm you in some way,” and is that really what we should be teaching our kids?

A good question to ask yourself is whether Halloween brings out the best or the worst in you, or better yet, does it bring out the best or the worst in your relationship with Christ. And to that, each man his own.