Does your family celebrate Halloween?

This can be a contentious topic among the general population of conservative Christians. 

It gets debated in FaceBook groups. It gets argued about by different denominations. It even results in heated disputes within the same church family. 

It ranks up there with Santa Claus and Harry Potter for topics that cause some Christians to feel judged by their fellow {usually like-minded} believers. 

Reasons for not celebrating vary but usually center around words like death, darkness and demons. 

James 2:19 is often quoted as the Biblical standing to not celebrate. 

But, when people ask me why we don’t celebrate, I give them one very simple statement…

“My husband does not want us to celebrate Halloween.”

Even before we were engaged, Charlie told me that any future family of his would not celebrate Halloween. 

He took the time to explain to me why and he answered all of my questions on the topic, but, I’m not going to share any of that with you. 

He quoted Scripture. He felt convicted on the topic. What he said made sense to me at the time {and it still does}, but if you want to engage in a debate with me about why we don’t celebrate Halloween, all I am going to say is

“My husband does not want us to celebrate Halloween.”

I know many firmly-grounded Christian families that do.

Heck, I grew up celebrating Halloween.

Double heck, so did Charlie!

But our son, who is now 12, has never dressed up and knocked on doors for candy, has never carved a jack-o-lantern and has never even attended a single Harvest Celebration or Trunk-or-Treat.

My husband’s desire never to celebrate the holiday extends to not wanting to mimic it either so we steer clear of it all. 

Instead, we hide in the basement, watch movies and eat pizza and candy. It’s a rather fun family tradition that we all enjoy. 

I’ll admit, it was harder when our son was younger and everybody {from the waitress taking our order to the eye doctor giving an exam} would ask what he was going to be for Halloween.

There were even a few years when we basically avoided all social activities in October because it seemed that everybody, including the library, MOMS Club, MOPS and the local Rec Center planned their crafts and experiences around the topic of Halloween. 

There were some awkward exchanges between my closest friends because I’m sure they felt I was a party pooper, or worse,  judged by our choice. I used to fumble for responses and replies. I often did whatever I could to avoid the topic altogether. 

But, as each October has come and gone, I’ve grown more confident in the topic and finally found the perfect reply when people would ask about our holiday plans… 

“My husband does not want us to celebrate Halloween.”

It’s not a cop-out. It’s not passing the buck. It’s not avoiding confrontation. It’s simply the truth and, if anything, it shows that devotion to your spouse and a unified front of both parents are more important than any cultural traditions, fun holidays or seasonal activities. 

How about you? Is there something your family does {or does not do} because one spouse feels strongly on the subject?