Light Over Fear: Navigating Halloween as a Christian Family

Halloween can bring up all kinds of mixed feelings for Christian families. Costumes and candy are fun, but there’s also that little tug in our hearts — how do we honor God while still letting our kids enjoy the excitement of the season?

I’ll be honest — I wasn’t really brought up celebrating Halloween, and to this day, I don’t know much about the history behind it. Growing up, our focus was always on God and family, and if we did participate in anything, it was more about the “fun” side — costumes, candy, and community.

As a parent now, I still try to keep that same heart. It’s not about the pumpkins, the costumes, or even the candy — it’s about our heart posture.

Whether your family chooses to participate, attend a fall festival, or skip it altogether, what matters most is that we reflect God’s light in whatever we do. We can use this season to talk with our kids about how light overcomes darkness, how kindness always wins, and how we can shine God’s love in small ways — even on Halloween.

For us, we focus on togetherness. We talk about courage, good vs. evil, and how God calls us to be a light in the world — even when the world looks a little spooky. Sometimes that means carving pumpkins with hearts or crosses instead of scary faces, or handing out candy with a smile and a “God bless you.”

It doesn’t have to be complicated. It just has to be intentional.

Let this Halloween remind us that light always wins — and that we can celebrate joyfully, with hearts that point back to Him.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” — John 1:5