Adults reflect on not being allowed to celebrate Halloween as kids: 'My parents thought that it was a day to praise evil'

For many Americans, Oct. 31 means trick or treating, haunted mazes, and witchy decor. Yet for others, Halloween has no such personal associations, due to the fact that they've never participated in the so-called spooky season, for religious reasons.

Megan Santiago, a 26-year-old mental-health counselor intern who runs the blog Holistic Momma, tells Yahoo Life that her family did not acknowledge Halloween due to "being Christian," and instead participated in “fall festivals” that did not have any potentially scary connotations. In fact, she says her family "would trick or treat around the neighborhood in costumes that weren't creepy" — but they would not claim that they were celebrating Halloween by doing so.

“We did not feel like we were missing out because we went to carnivals at churches with candy, bounce houses and games,” she explains. “We did a little trick-or-treating around the neighborhood as I was younger, more so when I was a teenager, but we didn't connect it to being a part of Halloween.”

Santiago's family was and is not alone in its avoidance of Halloween. That's because the holiday has roots in the Celtic pagan religious festival Samhain, during which, adherents believe, the barrier between the physical and spiritual world breaks down — something that can be seen as too Satanic for some Christians and too Christian for some Muslims and Orthodox Jews. 

In fact, differing opinions on Halloween have led to waves of cancellations in schools around the country — a trend that began before COVID shutdowns. Similarly, you won't find any Halloween decor at arts-and-crafts chain Hobby Lobby a company famous for its staunchly-held Christian beliefs (though you will find plenty of pumpkins and other more neutral fall decor).

Some, unsurprisingly, take to social media every year to talk about Halloween and the gospel.

For adults who grew up as kids who were forbidden to celebrate Halloween, the holiday can feel complicated.

Jasmin Diaz, like Santiago, tells Yahoo Life that her parents also took a strong view against the holiday due to religious reasons.

“As a kid, my sisters and I were not allowed to celebrate Halloween,” the CMO of SmokyMountains.com shares. “No decorations, no passing out candy, trick-or-treating, and no dressing up. At the time my parents were very religious and they did not like the meaning of the holiday and what it had to offer. My parents thought that it was a day to praise evil and do terrible things, dressing up like murderers or dead people. They could not wrap their head around why this was even a holiday to be celebrated. Though," she adds, "I also don't blame my parents for wanting to protect their kids."

Coffee blogger Marty Spargo says that he tried to take part in the holiday despite his family’s wishes, explaining, “I was not allowed to celebrate Halloween growing up because of my grandmother. She believed that it was a day for the devil and that the children who dressed up in costumes were possessed by demons. In fact, she would not allow any decorations or activities that celebrated Halloween in our home." But, he adds, "I was one of those kids who would sneak out to go trick-or-treating with my friends anyway."

Now that his grandmother has passed away, Spargo says he has decided to celebrate Halloween for the first time since childhood.

Diaz, similarly, shares that she now “loves” the holiday.

“I enjoy the fall festivities that revolve around the holiday — carving pumpkins, getting together with friends and making spooky drinks, and watching scary movies,” she says. “Even the costume contests at Halloween parties. I don't see Halloween as a holiday only meant for evil. I see it as a day to dress up, eat candy and have fun. Whether you want to be a princess or a cat, putting together a costume is always a blast.”

Still, not everyone who was forbidden to celebrate Halloween as a kid had the desire to do so as an adult. Santiago says her relationship with Halloween is about the same as it was when she was young — and that now that she has children, she doesn’t want them “focused on spooky characters and the creepiness of Halloween” because she believes it can trigger “anxiety and nightmares.”

“Their brains aren't developed enough to understand the consequences of seeing certain things such as scary movies, haunted houses, etc.,” she adds. “When they are older and in high school or older, I plan to keep an open dialogue with them about the effects of pursuing negative, evil or scary things and how they feel daily."

While Santiago says she doesn't celebrate Halloween, she did say she let her kids wear costumes and trick or treat — sans scary costumes.

"My kids went to a fall festival and walked up to a few houses dressed as the Hulk and a unicorn," she explains. "They don't really know what Halloween is for some, and how it is celebrated."

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