Opinion Column

Bringing light to Halloween

Anna Price encourages Christians to engage positively with Halloween rather than hide away, on what many see as the darkest night of the year.

On Halloween this year, St Mary Magdalene Church in Gorleston will be preparing to welcome something in the region of 200 families to pass through their Light on a Dark Night event.  Hundreds of families ‘trick or treat’ on the estate where the church is located and, over the past three years, the event has provided what has proved to be a very popular community gathering point for them as well as a haven for those trying to avoid the darkness associated with Halloween celebrations.
 
There is no doubt that the celebration of Halloween has become a massive cultural phenomenon in many neighbourhoods.  The hope of introducing the softer American-style ‘superhero’ costumes have hardly overtaken the very real obsession of kids and families with bloody, spooky, skeletal elements of traditional Halloween celebrations. 
 
As Christians, there is a has been a tendency to feel frightened by this, not to answer the door, to encourage children to retreat into insular but safe-feeling Light Parties. Perhaps it all points to a deeper fear that the cultural popularity of the event reveals the very great distance of British culture from its Christian heritage and salvation.
 
However, as Christians I believe we are called, like Paul, to be like a Jew to the Jews and like Gentile to the Gentiles; we are challenged not to retreat from but positively engage with the prevailing culture.  The church has done this throughout history, notably of course by turning the pagan festivals into Christian ones, such as Christmas, Harvest and Easter.  And with this model in mind, our church has been exploring our understanding and approach to Halloween.
 
First, although celebrating darkness and death is rightly associated with evil, as Christians we can have confidence when experiencing the celebrations of darkness. Christ’s resurrection demonstrates His victory over sin, death and the kingdom of darkness.  We need not fear anymore.  We need not fear those who come to the door, the costumes or the celebrations, the discos or the sweets.  Christ is greater by far and has victory over these things; he is present in us by his Spirit as we go out into the world, living as salt and light.  If we, or our children, attend a Halloween disco or go trick-or-treating in celebration of the light of Christ, we are simply learning and demonstrating what it means to be in the world but not of the world.
 
Second, although it appears to us that the world is celebrating darkness and evil at Halloween, it may not be that simple.  For starters, my friends and neighbours are not generally pagans who have an interest in satanic arts.  More often than not they are community, neighbourhood-minded families who wish to introduce their children to their neighbours in a fun, responsible and safe way.  I’m afraid for many, the celebration of evil at Halloween is as meaningless to them as their celebrations of Christ’s birth at Christmas and his death and resurrection at Easter.  It is us who fear something deeper is going on spiritually.
 
However, none of that is to suggest that the forces of evil and darkness are not real, sinister, deceptive and powerful in our world.   In church history Halloween celebrations were always a futile final fling for the powers of darkness before the night gave way to the dawn and the light of All Saint’s Day. So, far from celebrating darkness – or evil – Halloween was all about mocking it, because Christians believe that darkness and evil has already been defeated by Jesus’ death and resurrection.
 
Or think of the comic but ugly gargoyles found on medieval churches, where we see in stone how the church has approached and depicted the kingdom of darkness in the past.  The gargoyles (often practically waterspouts!) symbolised the warning of the reality of evil, the dangers of being outside of the church fellowship, and the destination of those who do not take the salvation offered in Christ.  The comic nature of the gargoyles somehow serves as a reminder that being secure in Christ, we can laugh at evil, being victorious over the satanic forces, and trample over them, even with silly childish costumes that mock the thwarted efforts of the evil one.
 
So, for us at St Mary Magdalene, we will be seeking to use the opportunity of Halloween to engage with this imagery of darkness and in doing so, we give power to the marvels of our message of victory over darkness and light in Christ.  We will have a Twilight Maze leading to a Light Zone, where a fairy-light-lit cafe will supply hot dogs, hot chocolate and a Jesus-is-Light-based craft. 
 
It’s been our experience that parents, as well as their kids, always seem relieved to have arrived at their tea and coffee break in their trick-or-treat outing, and find that it really is good to have Light on a Dark Night.
 
Read more about Light on a Dark Night at St Mary Magdalene here.
 
The image is courtesy of St Mary Magdalene Church.

 
Anna Price is Community Lead at St Mary Magdalene Church in Gorleston.
 

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