IT'S ALMOST OVER!
I may be in the minority on this one, but we don't celebrate Halloween. Not even a pumpkin. Nada. Everywhere we go in town there it is, and it seems that more and more people are decking out their homes with bodies hanging from trees, headstones, and cobwebs. And then there's the television; shows we usually enjoy are littered with Halloween references. We've always ignored it, but I have to say that it's getting more difficult than it was even a few years ago. Back in my retail days there was a big push on decorations, to the point where Halloween was second only behind Christmas.
Many wonderful Christians we know do celebrate Halloween, but our personal conviction has been to leave it alone. My oldest daughter never had a problem with not participating in it, especially after reading about the true origins, etc. But now I have a new crop of kids. And people who are close to us would love to carve pumpkins, dress them up, and feed them candy. My problem is this: how do I tell them "NO" without coming across as "holier-than-thou?" I think I deflected it this year, but not without hurt feelings, and I know that the same issue will arise next year, too. Thoughts?
P.S. Speaking of my kids, I went to my daughter's open house and (you're not going to believe this) but she has the same locker I had! I could burst into a chorus of "Memories," but I'll spare you...this time.
About Me
- Georgiana
- Georgiana Daniels is the wife of a super-generous husband, and the mother of a teen and two tots. After graduating with a degree in public relations, she spent several years in the business world, but now has the privilege of staying home and working on the stories she loves. Table for One is her first book. When not writing, she spends her time burning up miles on the treadmill, blogging, and participating in ACFW and RWA.
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11 comments:
G - That's hilarious about the locker! haha And as for Halloween - I'm with ya! I don't love it either. I decorate for fall - not Halloween. Pumpkins, CUTE scarecrows nestled in a haybale centerpiece for my table, etc. Happy, fall-leave-pumpkin-hay-red-orange stuff. I HATE ghosts, goblins, witches, tombs, etc. Its so tacky, in most cases, to litter your yard or home with that mess! I know some Christians aren't convicted about celebrating Halloween, but I think that might be close to naivety. If you really study Halloween's origin and history, I don't see how any believer could stand to be a part of it. In my opinion, its fine for a christian couple to take their kids trick or treating if they want to - its all about the candy to them! And nothing's wrong with candy, right? (other than cavities! hehe) But you gotta watch the costumes, especially with the teenagers! Everything is so trashy/hoochy now! Ugh! I'm working our church's fall festival, which is Halloween night, and we have fun booths set up for church kids and neighborhood kids to come by and play games and get candy and fellowship, do a cake walk, eat hot dogs for a quarter, etc. I like that, because its a safe alternative to get kids out of the dangerous streets and into a godly place, where they'll hear about Jesus. I hope no matter what you do to celebrate or not celebrate Halloween this year, do it with class and do it in a way that honors Jesus. If its okay between you and God, then its okay with me =) Jumping off soapbox....NOW!
If I were in your shoes, I would just politely decline invitations for Halloween activities, with a "Thank you, but we don't celebrate Halloween". I don't see why there would be any reason to have to elaborate.
Good luck!
There was a piece on the news last night that said that on average, each American spends $60 on Halloween--most of it going to costumes. They also said that this year, "sexy" costumes are outselling "scary" costumes. Which to me just makes it worse, because now it's not just about the paganistic symbols of the day, but it's quickly becoming an excuse for celebrating hedonism, as well.
As a kid, I never liked halloween because, believe it or not, I had trouble coming up with a creative costume! Also, being an introvert who hated (and still gets stressed out by) interacting with strangers, I hated trick-or-treating. Even with as much of a sugar addict as I am, I could very easily bypass trick-or-treating (of course, we always had a huge bowl of candy left over at our house, so, really, what was the point?).
My favorite memory of halloween is the year back in the late 70s or maybe 80 or 81 when there was the scare about poisoned candy or needles in the candy or something like that. We had a costume party at my house for several of my friends. Mom did a fun "scary story" where all the kids sat around the dining room table in the dark and passed around bowls of "stuff" under the table as Mom told a scary story and we felt eyeballs (peeled grapes), blood (ketchup), intestines (cooked tube pasta), and so on and tried to identify each item. Now that was fun!
I don't have kids, so halloween really isn't an issue for me. But I don't decorate and I don't give out candy. I usually go to the library until closing time and try to get some writing done.
How neat about the locker! LOLOLOL
I hate Halloween, but not for any personal spiritual convictions. I hate handing out candy to neighborhood children. Some are downright whiney. Very few of them are cute. Many are teenagers who barely even have a costume on. I don't put on the porch light until my husband comes home from work so HE can hand out the candy.
I feel like the Scrooge of Halloween.
Camy
We haven't done the 'trick or treat' thing with out kids either. We get together every year with another family who shares our conviction instead. We have a "Reformation Day" party to celebrate Martin Luther's nailing the 95 theses to the Wittenburg Chuch door.
I don't know what I've come to wish was over sooner...Halloween...or these annoying elections. Once the election is over, we can stop getting so much junk mail and so many mud-slinging commercials on radio and tv.
Is Reformation Day the same day? I had no idea. Well, I'm glad to know I'm not alone in not celebrating Halloween...I was beginning to wonder. I'm a scrooge too, LOL, but I don't mind. We leave our lights off and I think the kids around the neighborhood have gotten the picture over the years. Our church doesn't have the alternative party, but that's OK, I'm just as happy to get the kids to bed early:)
Just politely explain to them that you don't feel it's the right thing for your family. They should respect this decision like any other decision you make for your family.
(The 100 post thing, there should be a place on your Blogger dashboard that tells you how many you've done. If not, then check where your posts are listed and see if it's there. I know on my Beta it's on the dashboard and on the list of posts. I can't remember which one it was on the regular Blogger. Sorry, I know that's not much help.)
Ha, I never noticed the counter there before. This is post #71 for me.
Hah, love Camy's title, the Scrooge of Halloween.
Anyway, good for you, Georgiana. I admire you for not touching it with a ten foot pole. I'm a little more of a participant...to offset the world's way of celebrating, me and my girls bake Molasses Gingerbread Jack O Lantern Cookies (gingerbread cookies, cut with pumpkin shaped cookie cutters and frosted orange...then decorated with candy corn eyes and m&m or choc chip smiles. We've done it every year for 6 years and hand them out to all the cousins/aunts/uncles who stop by. We also carve pumpkins (big confession). I may yet be convicted against that one, but it's something dh has done with the girls while I bake the seeds, etc. Lots of tradition...maybe we should just pick a different day of the year to do it!
Interestingly enough, last year my oldest didn't want to do any of it because I'd told her some of the origins of Halloween. We went to a church fall festival and though scary costumes weren't supposed to be allowed, they were everywhere. :O(
So you're doing the right thing and I commend you. It is hard when your extended family participates in it, especially when they come around dressed as little witches, etc.
Tradition is a huge part. I suppose that's why this year was harder than before, because I didn't always take a stand when I should have. I allowed my oldest daughter to go carve pumpkins, though she and I both knew where we stood. But I don't even want to start this stuff with the babies. Thankfully it'll all be over tomorrow!
We don't really emphasize Halloween, but we don't deny our kids the candy and Harvest parties and in recent year we've gone trick or treating.
We never carved pumpkins until we found an awesome way to present the gospel while carving out a pumpkin. We haven't done it yet this year, but maybe the closer we get to Thanksgiving we'll give it another try.
When we are home to hand out candy, I usually buy fun tracts to hand out to the kids with the candy. I don't know if they read them, but at least I'm trying to get the Word out on this night.
One year in college I felt led to pray through the midnight hour on Halloween! I wish more people would catch a vision for prayer on Halloween instead of gorging themselves with candy.
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