I'm a Christian and I Let My Child Go Trick-or-Treat

Yes, I let my toddler join our neighborhood trick-or-treat.

I remember that Halloween of last year, I was so excited to join the event, but we weren't able to attend because of the downpour. I was already Christian back then but I have been used to practicing secular things during that time, allowing me to forget some of the minor aspects of my belief.

You see, more than 4 years ago, when I decided to follow Christ, I let go not only of my vices (smoking and drinking) but also my guilty pleasure, which is all things "horror." That means I also stopped "celebrating" Halloween. (And we all know its pagan roots, right?)

Again, last year was a different case because I conveniently forgot this aspect of my faith. Now, this year, when I made the decision to strengthen my faith again (late last year actually), I have had mixed convictions regarding Halloween and, by extension, Trick-or-Treat.

But we went anyway. Here are my reasons:

First, my mother is a major officer in the village, and since the Trick-or-Treat is a village activity that they sponsored, we needed to show support.
Second, we've been cooped inside the house for quite a while now because of my work and the weather and we're itching to play with other kids and interact.
Third, there was never a time when I didn't like dressing up. I love costumes, and this was a good opportunity to dress Yuri in one (not me haha).

And I have to tell you that we had fun. Yuri got to see some of his friends again and I'm glad that 90% of them are in cute, completely wholesome costumes. (Yesterday, I posted photos of his friends in their cute Halloween costumes.)

Yuri's mood changed when some older kids whom we didn't know started arriving. They were dressed in gory, bloody costumes that bothered even me, an adult.

However, we tried to make the best out of the evening by eating, having fun, and getting as much candy as we can from generous neighbors.

But after coming home and eating some of our loot (and brushing our teeth with feelings), I laid awake because I was still confused. Have I done the right thing by joining Trick-or-Treat?

I did some Bible reading, praying, and more reading of other Christians' articles. Don't get me wrong: I don't think anyone goes to hell for participating in a Halloween activity. What we choose to do and not to do doesn't save us; only Jesus does. But still, should Christians participate in an activity like Halloween? Here are my insights.

WHY I MAY GO TRICK-OR-TREATING AGAIN NEXT YEAR

1. Because it's completely safe inside our neighborhood.

We only got candies from neighbors. No outsider was allowed to participate in the event, and all of the participants are children aged 12 and below. There are no security issues whatsoever.

2. Because costumes and candies aren't inherently evil.

Well, candies are bad for our teeth (says the mom who joined get toddler to munch on a chocolate bar). Ngayon lang, promise.

3. Because we "celebrated" the event in a wholesome manner.

I surely can't speak for anyone else because only God knows their hearts, but in our case, we just joined the activity to have fun. I am not judging those who chose to dress their children up in scary costumes, but God knows I did my best to control what I can control.

4. Because it tested my faith.

Again, we joined only for fun. When we saw scary costumes, we avoided them and tried to stay as far away. Why? First, my 2-year old was afraid. Second, I don't want the devil to make whatever impact on our night. I am not afraid of the costumes, but I don't appreciate a representation of something unholy. It also encouraged me to pray.

I prayed a prayer of protection for everyone. And I'm not talking about protection from "scary," horror-movie stuff; I'm talking about protection from the devil piquing our curiosity to know more about dark stuff or the paranormal or the occult. I'm not talking about ghosts entering our houses but the enemy seeking an opportunity to make another lie.

With that in mind, because this is our first trick-or-treating experience, I learned a lot and realized some things which may discourage me from attending next year.

WHY I MAY NOT GO TRICK-OR-TREATING AGAIN NEXT YEAR

1. Because I can't dictate what other people should do our wear.

I'm not afraid of the devil because I trust Jesus, but what about those who don't know Him? I'm not sure, but is wearing "evil" costumes a means of glorifying it? Does the devil delight in watching those costumes? I'm not sure, but if it is, then I wouldn't want myself and my family around them.

2. Because it wasn't a totally positive experience for my child.

Yuri is also very scared. I know he is because that night, he fell asleep clutching to me. My left arm fell asleep under his head because he wouldn't let go of me. He was back to his normal self last night, though. It would be pretty thoughtless of me to subject him to that again.

3. Because it's didn't help me grow as a Christian.

I admire those who can use the Halloween celebrations to share the gospel. I wasn't able to do that because of restrictions. Actually, I asked God what His opinion is, and He reminded me that even though everything is permissible, not everything is beneficial. If it didn't improve my Christian walk, perhaps it is not beneficial.

4. Because, as a Christian, I should be liberated from worldliness.

I guess you inferred that the main reason why we decided to join is pressure. I needed to support the activity, so we were there. But God again reminded me that I should be more afraid of His opinion than other people's opinion.

5. Because it doesn't sit well with my conscience.

In blogs debating whether Christians should join trick-or-treating, I noticed that their bottom line is that we should follow our conscience.

But I'll be honest with you: it didn't feel like purely innocent fun. You may or may not agree with me here.

More than two days later, I'm still talking about it, so obviously, it doesn't sit well with my conscience and conviction. The fact that I'm still bothered means that I should be wiser in making my decisions and keep in mind that everything I do should glorify God.

6. Because it doesn't glorify God at all.

Truthfully, there was no single aspect of it that glorified God. We had fun, but did that fun give glory to God? No, it didn't.