🎃 Inside The Halloween Tailgating Trend Gaining Popularity At Houses Of Worship 🔌
Weekend Plug-in 🔌
Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” meets readers at the intersection of faith and news. Click to join nearly 10,000 subscribers who get this column delivered straight to their inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Jesus loves the little children — all the princesses, Peppa Pigs and “Paw Patrol” characters of the world.
Is it just me, or do more and more Christian houses of worship seem to organize trunk-or-treat events?
The Episcopal church in my neighborhood. The Baptist church near my office. My own home congregation — a Church of Christ.
I could go on.
But according to Chuck Peters, it’s not just me: The Halloween tailgating trend is real — and growing.
“Trunk-or-treat … has gained a lot of popularity in a lot of churches in a lot of places all across the country,” said Peters, who directs the NextGen team for Lifeway Christian Resources, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
“It’s become a way,” the Nashville, Tennessee, resident explained, “for churches to interact with members of their community who would not otherwise darken the doors of a church.”
Trunk-or-treating has gained popularity at Christian houses of worship across the nation. (Shutterstock photo)
When I was a kid, trick-or-treating remained the norm.
That meant putting on a costume, going door to door to ask for treats and — upon returning home — letting Mom and Dad check for razor blades in apples and poison in candy before enjoying all the lollipops and chocolate bars.
In the United States and other countries, the tradition of trick-or-treating goes back more than a century.
“Its origins remain murky but traces can be identified in ancient Celtic festivals, early Roman Catholic holidays, medieval practices — and even British politics,” according to history.com.
Trunk-or-treating is a much newer phenomenon.
Its origin can be traced back to the 1990s, although much of the growth came later.
“Trunk-or-treating is an alternative to trick-or-treating, in which parents and guardians gather their vehicles in one spot, typically a parking lot, open their trunks and give out candy as children walk from car to car,” NPR noted in 2023. “Some candy-givers decorate their trunks with scenes and themes, such as pumpkin patches, spiderwebs and monsters.”
As far back as 2006, the New York Times highlighted trunk-or-treating.
Trunk-or-treating’s origin can be traced to the 1990s. (Shutterstock photo)
“Trunk-or-treating … solves the rural conundrum in which homes built a half-mile apart make the simple act of ringing doorbells require some physical fortitude,” the Times wrote. “Where neighbors are strangers, these community events substitute family-friendly entertainment for the unwanted risks of what lies behind each door.
“And for churches that had disdained Halloween as a pagan ritual, trunk-or-treating has become a safe alternative for parents — and pastors — who wish to keep a watchful eye on children, often encouraged to dress as biblical characters.”
Fast-forward nearly two decades: I don’t know about biblical characters — Bluey, Super Mario and “Wicked” stars seem more prevalent — but the safety aspect of trunk-or-treating still resonates.
That’s especially true for millennial and Gen Z parents, who are “protective and aware of who their kids are exposed to,” said Peters, who has a 2-year-old granddaughter.
“What I would say — anecdotally, based on what I hear — is that the churches that do trunk-or-treat have seen them get bigger and bigger over the past 10 years,” Peters said.
Along with giving out candy, many churches use trunk-or-treating to promote future events, he said, such as Christmas ornament decorating or an Easter egg hunt.
Besides the outreach emphasis, trunk-or-treating can serve as a fellowship gathering for congregations themselves.
Cassidy Grom, Religion Unplugged’s managing editor, attends a Presbyterian church in New Jersey.
Most of the members — primarily first- and second-generation English-speaking Korean Americans — do not live close to each other.
Trunk-or-treating lets the congregation celebrate Halloween and the fall season together.
“My church just did it [Sunday],” Grom noted in an email, “and people went all out on the themes: there was a ‘K-pop demon hunter’ car, a ‘Starbucks’ car serving real coffee and at least three ‘Costco’ cars handing out samples.”
Interestingly, not all trunk-or-treating actually involves a trunk.
A community Halloween event at a Spring Hill, Tennessee, church. (Photo by Caroline Sparrow)
CourtniAnne McMillin serves as director of children’s ministry for a Texas church.
For “Treat Night,” the Lubbock congregation decorates its building and turns every room into a “house” where children receive treats.
“We already have a large presence in our community with our Blessing Center which helps people with food and clothing and household needs,” McMillin said. “We want to be a place that welcomes the community and that shows we care about them and can help them feel safe and have fun on Halloween.”
While trunk-or-treating apparently started with churches, the concept has flourished in other venues, too — from police and fire stations to YMCAs to real estate offices.
But not everyone is a fan.
Paul Musgrave declared in Slate last year that trunk-or-treat makes him cranky.
“Let me take off my mask,” Musgrave wrote. “Like a lot of horrified elders online, I dislike trunk-or-treating in principle. I’m a Halloween traditionalist. It’s not so much that I want to bring back the vandalism and violence of 19th-century Halloween. Rather, the traditions I want to preserve are those of the idealized, midcentury It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown — style holiday. In my happy vision, children should dress up, knock on doors, and get candy from neighbors delighted to see little ghouls and goblins.”
In a piece for SheKnows, Lindsey Hunter Lopez voiced sadness over trunk-or-treating.
“Perhaps it’s the pagan in me, but I relish the spooky elements of our beloved October holiday, as do my kids,” Lopez said. “The pageantry of the costumes, the fantasy of ghost stories and witch myths and the slight shiver of fear that comes with wandering around in the dark (or at least the dusk, for younger kids). Removing that small element of fright — however imagined — sucks the magic out of Halloween. And kids have so little magic these days, and childhood is so fleeting. Can’t they at least have trick-or-treating?”
Korin Reid has a different perspective, pointing out that churches often host trunk-or-treating on nights other than Halloween — such as the Sunday before the holiday.
That means her children can enjoy trunk-or-treating and trick-or-treating.
Last year, she and her family decorated her husband’s SUV for their nondenominational church’s trunk-or-treating.
“We decorated it with, like, disco balls, and we had bubble machines and music, and we had candy,” said Reid, a Chicago resident who lived in Florida at the time.
Growing up, Reid didn’t celebrate Halloween because the church her family attended then worried about satanic elements.
But now she welcomes the opportunity to get to know neighbors. Last year, she and her husband didn’t just hand out candy — they also offered pulled pork and brisket, wine and margaritas.
“I feel like communities are getting more isolated,” Reid said. “So I’m definitely going to embrace when people are out and about, whether that’s trick-or-treating or trunk-or-treat or a festival.”
Inside The Godbeat
If you missed it, be sure to check out Religion Unplugged’s other Halloween coverage, including:
• Spirits in the End Zone?: Many NFL Fans Say The Supernatural Is At Play
• On Religion: How Halloween Is Different In The Bible Belt
• A Bone To Pick: Inside Europe’s Spooky Churches And Monuments To Death
• Don’t Believe Boo: Most Americans Skeptical About The Paranormal
• Night Of Darkness: Halloween’s Forgotten Struggle With Evil
• ‘Black Phone 2’ Dials Into A New Era Of Faith-Based Horror — But Loses Its Signal
• Podcast: Religious Horror Movies Are Here To Stay
The Final Plug
In last week’s Plug-in, I delved into how baptisms, funerals and giant fish can be hazardous to preachers’ health.
That tongue-in-cheek column prompted reader Ralph Williams to share this humorous anecdote:
Bobby,
Similar story...
Years ago, my dad was on one of his missionary fundraising trips, visiting one of the large churches in the Houston area, and the preacher told him this story:
Apparently the church had a glass-front baptistry, and a very busy schedule. Preparations were quietly going on for a wedding which would take place immediately after a funeral. Just before he entered the auditorium to preach the funeral, a lady with arms full of flowers backed through the wrong door, and ended up in the glass-front baptistry, in front of all the mourners! She dragged herself out, and the preacher was unaware of the episode when he came in to preach the funeral.
But he was quite distressed, because the mourners kept looking at him (actually at the baptistry above and behind him) and giggling. Even the widow was giggling. The poor fellow preached the whole funeral wondering what was wrong with his clothing or his hair that was making everyone giggle!
Happy Halloween, everyone! Enjoy the weekend.
Bobby Ross Jr. writes the Weekend Plug-in column for Religion Unplugged and serves as editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 20 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.