October enters with thoughts of apple bobbing, hayrides, Halloween, and all the fall festival fun.  Early on, children start planning costumes for trick-or-treating.  Usually, whoever is the superhero of the day gains the attention - Superman, Spiderman, Wonder woman, Batman, and more modern ones that, I’ll admit, I know nothing about.

As these days draw near once again, I remember a Halloween that touched my heart.  While her friends were choosing to dress like Barbie dolls, movie stars, witches, or devils, my granddaughter Bethany chose a more holy hero.  She told her mom, “I want to be an angel for Halloween this year,” and that she was.  Never has there been a more glorious angel than was Bethany.

 I’ve thought of that often since then.  Churches make super-heroic efforts to diffuse the evilness and hedonistic Halloween celebrations by offering safer and more religious-based events, such as Judgment Houses and trunk or treat affairs.  With remembrances of the angel at Halloween, I’ve thought of another way we could Christianize this holiday.  How great it would be for children, and adults for that matter, to dress as Bible figures and let people guess who they are.

We, in the twenty-first century, are not the first to think of disguises.  Tamar masqueraded as someone else and tricked her father-in-law (Genesis 38:12-14).  1 Samuel 28: 7-25 has all the elements for a good Halloween story – ghost, dress-up, mediums, and witches. 1 Kings 14:1-5 tells of how even a queen changed her appearance to get information from a prophet.  Jacob tricked his blind father into giving him his hairy brother’s blessing by wearing his brother’s clothes and goat skin on his arms (Genesis 27: 11-14.)   

Another idea for a disguise would be very representative of what many people seem to be, as was one young lady.  One day she confessed to my husband that sometimes she tried to be an angel, while at other times she lived like the devil.  To illustrate this anecdote in my book, And the Angels Laughed, the illustrator  drew a picture of a woman with a split spiritual personality – one half angel and the other half devil.   

Some may feel, as my husband Steve did, about ghosts and witches.  While teaching a four-year-old Sunday School class, he asked the children if they dressed in costume for Halloween.  “Although some of you dressed as ghosts, witches, and goblins, we don’t really believe in ghosts and witches, do we?” he asked. 

One little boy, looking a bit bewildered, replied, “My daddy does.”

“Oh, really?”  Steve answered not knowing what else to say.

“Uh huh.  He believes in the Holy Ghost.”

Relieved, Steve told him, “Well, I believe in that one too.”   

May we all believe in and honor the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost by placing them first on our priority list for Halloween.  May we find ways to celebrate the holiday which would bring honor to God.