Article By Paige Townsend // EEW Magazine Online // Faith + Culture

I had a strict Christian upbringing, but we were allowed to celebrate Halloween as long as we were at church and dressed as Bible characters.

Our “Hallelujah Party” alternative was cheesy, but it beat staying in the house while school friends were collecting tons of candy, going door to door, yelling “Trick-or-treat!”

Halloween dates back more than 2,000 years. Europe’s Celtic peoples celebrated their New Year’s Day on Samhain (SAH-win) – what we simply know as November 1. On Halloween or Samhain Eve, the Celtic believed spirits walked the earth on their way to the afterlife. Demons, fairies, and other creatures were believed to be lingering.

According to the American Folklife Center at the U.S. Library of Congress, Celtic peoples sacrificed animals to the gods and gathered around bonfires wearing costumes, possibly to avoid being possessed or to confuse the roaming spirits. They also are said to have blackened their faces and worn masks to impersonate dead ancestors.

The origins of trick-or-treating is linked to Celts dressed up as spirits, going door-to-door, participating in silly acts for food and drink which could have been inspired by an earlier custom of leaving food and drink outside the door as offerings to supernatural beings.

Samhain later underwent a transformation, as Christian leaders changed its original intent. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV made November 1 All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day. Samhain, however, carried on with a new name, All Hallows' Eve, later becoming "Halloween."

Now, having established the origins of Halloween, what are your thoughts about it?

Should Christians choose not to participate at all in Halloween, the popular American holiday which is set to bring in billions of dollars in revenue for businesses? Should churches continue to offer up a faith-based alternative like the ever-popular "Hallelujah Party"?

Is there something inherently evil about Halloween, or is that only a part of the marketing of the "spooky" holiday? Could Halloween be completely harmless and all in good fun? Is 1 Corinthians 8 a good guide to re-purposing Halloween, even though its origin is in the occult?

Is Halloween a trick of the devil or a treat for the kids? You be the judge.