Any student who’s been at Westminster for longer than a year will know that the celebration of Halloween is prohibited at school, and many wonder why. It seems like a harmless way to grow class spirit, dressing up and handing out candy. So why not allow it?
Some people know of Halloween’s questionable and not so kid-friendly origin that includes pagan practices, but our culture has changed much in the last two thousand years. October thirty-first is now seen in most places as merely a fun holiday, a way for kids to dress up and go door-to-door, meeting new neighbors and asking for candy, usually telling a joke to ‘earn’ a piece.
Emma Dunn, Sophomore at Westminster, explains how Halloween “is just a fun way for little kids to get excited, being able to dress up and get free candy. It’s also a good excuse for teenagers to get together and throw a party or just hang out, which is good for our social lives.”
What’s wrong with little kids dressing up as their favorite Disney princesses and basketball players? Kids live for fun. They don’t have to worry about long school days filled with homework or draining work projects, but they still need breaks from the everyday routine, and Halloween is a fun time for all.
Beyond building social skills by interacting with others, there are multiple benefits for children celebrating Halloween, including improved imaginations. From the time they start thinking about what they want to dress up to the night itself when they devise the ways to get the most candy, children grow in creativity throughout the entire spooky season.
Sophomore Jessica Ma expresses how for many children, “Halloween is a huge part of childhood and forms a lot of fond memories that we remember for years to come. It’s also a really good time to build new relationships or further old ones that will last with us for a long time after.”
However, the origins behind Halloween are not as light or kid-friendly as we make it appear today. The early history of the holiday contained the belief of Samhain, an idea that a ‘doorway’ to the Otherworld opened, allowing supernatural beings and the souls of the dead to return to earth.
Additionally, the Bible clearly commands to not take part in the old practices of the Halloween tradition.
But the questionable history of Halloween is not actually the reason it is not celebrated at the Academy. Dani Butler, Head of Student Development, explains that “the Bible does not explicitly address whether celebrating a holiday like Halloween is appropriate. Therefore, the decision of whether to celebrate, and how to do so, is a matter of Christian liberty, meaning that some Christians choose to participate, while others choose not to. At Westminster Christian Academy, we respect these differing perspectives. In keeping with Paul’s guidance in 1 Corinthians 8:9 to be mindful of others in the use of our liberty, we have chosen not to observe Halloween. This has been our policy since the school’s founding, and it continues to reflect our desire to avoid unnecessarily doing things that may offend.”
Although the reasoning of respecting the different perspectives at Westminster makes sense, perhaps there are ways to celebrate many people’s favorite childhood holiday without offending anyone. Whether it be teachers asking for jokes or handing out candy during class or hanging up small decorations like pumpkins or leaves, the fall season and its exciting event should be celebrated in as many small ways as possible to make Westminster feel more comforting for its students.
So while we wouldn’t advocate for wearing your scariest mask or dressing up in a frightening costume, perhaps small things like jokes or candy in the Halloween spirit can help build the school community and connect with the fall season.
