News by email Donate

Suggestions

Top Stories

Most Read

Popular Videos

Halloween-main_article_image.jpg
Flickr/hanna horwarth
UK News

Halloween labelled 'most Christian festival'

Speaking at a conference organised by Church Mission Society, he said: "Contrary to the reluctance of most people to open their doors and welcome strangers, Halloween is a unique time when doors are thrown open, people welcome strangers and there is a willingness to talk about spiritual things like good and evil, heaven and hell, angels and demons, and embark on conversations of meaning that can be tied to the gospel."

While Christians in the UK have traditionally shunned Halloween, its estimated £430m gets spent here on Halloween products.
 
Wyman, author of The Reformation of Halloween: Rethinking Christianity's response to Halloween, continued, "At Halloween when people put on masks, this interesting transformation takes place: we ironically feel more free to be ourselves when in costume. Other holidays are often celebrated behind closed doors with people we know and love really well, but on Halloween, we go out into the neighbourhood, we speak to strangers, offer hospitality and have fun and it's also a real family holiday."
 
His comments come as the Church of England's National Children and Youth Adviser encourages Christians to do 'trick or treating' with a difference this year.

Mary Hawes says we shouldn't ignore Halloween but instead children should dress up as saints or hand out treats and Bible verses.

Speaking on Premier's News Hour, she said: "If we know this is part of our community activities - have some treats ready to give to people, maybe a Bible verse alongside it to show we're not killjoys all the time - too often people are repelled by the Church for that reason."

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate