31st October 2026
Some of my fellow Christians are wearing long faces today. It’s Halloween.
I spent last week in Yorkshire. Each day I walked past several houses where people have placed small pumpkins beside their front door. It’s a signal. It says, if you are ‘trick of treating’ tonight, feel free to call here. The general message is, come and say hello, have a bit of a chat and a bit of a laugh on the doorstep, and the kids can leave with a few more sweets than they arrived with.
Meanwhile, some of my own neighbours have been planning their annual Halloween party which will happen tonight. Most of them will go in fancy dress. There will be loads of laughing, lots of good natured banter. and of course a fair bit of drinking. They will have a great time together as friends.
Yesterday, I visited my brother in Suffolk. Along with his closest neighbours, his front garden is decorated with skeletons, ghosts, spiders webs and pumpkins. Most of those neighbours will spend the evening sitting outside in fancy dress. This evening, lots of children and families from his own housing estate and the surrounding town and villages will drop by. The children will be delighted by the dry ice, spilling over from the witches cauldron, the skeletons, and the ‘spooky’ light show. People will take time to chat to each other, build relationship with their neighbours, and enjoy a growing sense of community.
Of course, There are aspects of modern Halloween that I don’t enjoy. I live in a town centre. I’m fully aware of the potential for anti social behaviour, but without being distracted by a few over excited teenagers, surely there is a upside here.
On doorsteps and parties across the land, people will be building bridges with their neighbours. Conversations will stray into the spiritual realm. One or two people will wonder about ghosts, the afterlife and the supernatural. As Christians, we should long to be part of those conversations. Surely Halloween offers the ideal ‘jump off point’ to talk about our life, death, resurrection. Bring it on!
I won’t be dressing up as a skeleton or a zombie tonight, but I just don’t think we should be frightened of this stuff.
Some of my fellow Christians are wearing long faces today. I’m not sure why. After all, it’s Halloween!