Given some of the costumes and a lot of "it's pagan and darkness" articles about it, it's not surprising some Christians choose not to celebrate Halloween.   Originally Christian parents had their kids dress up as saints who, of course, had been tortured and slain for loyalty to the Christian faith, so that, of course, the costumes often were and still are sometimes quite scary-looking. The idea was to encourage the kids to be faithful as the saints were, which sounds positive and pro-Christian.

The word Halloween comes from Hallow which means Holy) and e'ven, which means evening or eve.  Although most Christians let their kids have fun on the day, some who otherwise don't care for Halloween now substitute some other party with or without costumes etc.  Such parties are sometimes called Fun Night, Hallelujah Night, Costume Party Evening or go by some other name.  In any event Christian parents have arranged them as a safe, fun substitute for the kids, the chief rationale being that Joy is also a fruitage of God's Spirit, second mentioned in the list at Galatians 5:22 only after Love, and the two fruits are closely linked.

Going back to the costumes, those opposed to Halloween over the wearing of costumes point out they are no longer tied to saintly living but sometimes include masks etc mimicking the devil, demons etc.   They are also naturally concerned that kids may get hurt from needles etc put into trick-or-treat candies, or even tempted to do un-Christian pranks that hurt other people such as put boards with nails on them on roads.   Those for Halloween accompany or watch over and see that their kids do not engage in such misdoings or get harmed, for example, by checking candies and fruits to see that there are no needles in those.

 

Although Paul said to let none be judging us over holidays or Sabbaths one way or another, (Colossians 2:16), others in good conscience note that light has no fellowship with the dark. (2 Cor 6:14)  The majority who do favor Halloween counter that they understand this but that the day replaced the pagan Samhain, so that this is actually a matter of light having replaced darkness, even as where many other holidays have attacked and replaced paganisms.

For example, those not celebrating Halloween may otherwise have no problem with things of non-Christian origin that Christians commonly use such as wedding rings, names of days and months, and Christian names in the Bible such Apollos and Jason, which also all came from pagans.   Romans chapter 14 says allow freedom of conscience, and many scriptures say to not be highly judgmental.

So all in all, it's important to keep good balance and to remember that overall the Bible says that the strongest bond for Christians is not by absolute sameness of beliefs on every imaginable thing or doctrine but rather it is by the "greatest" bond, which is LOVE. (1 Cor 13:13)  

 

Although knowing this information will not change the view of all readers, it can definitely help each of us to better understand the other's position about Halloween, to help us continue with greater respect of one another and therefore enjoy more Christian love and unity.