Halloween is a holiday that often splits Christians down the middle. Many believe it is a fun holiday where kids can have fun dressing up and getting candy while others look at their pagan beginnings and decide to shun the holiday and close their blinds and turn off their lights.
I hang my head in shame now as I admit to being the hider for so many years. I would hold my head high....nose stuck high in the air...declaring that we would not be participating in such holidays. We would not be party to the deprivation of society nor encourage others to do so. Oh no. Not us. We would make ourselves feel better by taking our daughter to Fall Festivals. We would even let her dress up in something fun and pretty...only positive characters, please. I just could not let my daughter behave in such depravity.
About 4 years ago, I came to realize a couple things. First and foremost, Halloween deprave? Hmmm.... Like anything, it can be. If you avoid things that have evil roots, or pagan roots, than you may want to find that cave in the hills and begin growing your own food. It is unavoidable. Christmas and Easter, largely celebrated as Christian holidays, are pagan at their roots. Hmmmm....
Also, as I would go around and see all the kids running around with great joy on their faces as they showed off their costumes, accessories, makeup, etc....I found myself searching for the evil lurking in their shadows and finding none. I saw joy and fun and I saw a longing in the eyes of my daughter as she watched the fun taking place around her.
Now, there are things about Halloween that do give me pause. I do not care for all the evil type characters that are portrayed (yes, my daughter was a zombie this year...). For a long time, I was concerned about the witches you see portrayed. Here's the thing: their cartoon like, glorified versions of witches. When was the last time you saw a witch flying around on a broomstick??
I think too many of us take these things far too serious. It is imaginative play. It is a time for neighbors to step outside and laugh and coo over these children who are having so much fun. The first time I took the kids trick or treating...Daniel was 3 (almost 4) and Sierra was 9. It was under the worst of circumstances. My dad had died just days before and we had to go to his town for his funeral. My kids (Sierra most especially) had been looking forward to trick or treating and I knew we needed to make it happen. So, we went to a nearby neighborhood in my dad's town and went trick or treating.
Through the pain of my father's death, I found myself laughing as my little guy who was spiderman (I think) and my girl who was a blue haired pop star went home to home trick or treating. Adults would just coo at them and they had the best time loading their buckets with candy. I vowed, right then and there, not to take life so darn seriously anymore...and to continue trick or treating as long as my kids want to.
It's so fun. Sierra has outgrown trick or treating, but she LOVES to hand out the candy and see the kids. She sits outside the garage and just coos at every little one who pops by. Daniel is passionate about trick or treating and I just love to see his excitement and to hear what people have to say about his costume.
I have yet to see the evil associated with it, now that I have opened my eyes. Oh, evil is there...evil is everywhere. But evil is not found in the 3 year old bumble bee I saw yesterday...or the many Captain America's that came up with muscles bulging....Spidergirl.....Batman.....the cowboy.....or my own little hobo. There was joy, laughter, giddiness, excitement, love....I saw parents look on in pride as their kids showed off their costumes and reminding their kids to say Thank You...which just about every kids did.
I just wish I had come to this knowledge sooner...I hate that Sierra missed out on so much!!
I hang my head in shame now as I admit to being the hider for so many years. I would hold my head high....nose stuck high in the air...declaring that we would not be participating in such holidays. We would not be party to the deprivation of society nor encourage others to do so. Oh no. Not us. We would make ourselves feel better by taking our daughter to Fall Festivals. We would even let her dress up in something fun and pretty...only positive characters, please. I just could not let my daughter behave in such depravity.
About 4 years ago, I came to realize a couple things. First and foremost, Halloween deprave? Hmmm.... Like anything, it can be. If you avoid things that have evil roots, or pagan roots, than you may want to find that cave in the hills and begin growing your own food. It is unavoidable. Christmas and Easter, largely celebrated as Christian holidays, are pagan at their roots. Hmmmm....
Also, as I would go around and see all the kids running around with great joy on their faces as they showed off their costumes, accessories, makeup, etc....I found myself searching for the evil lurking in their shadows and finding none. I saw joy and fun and I saw a longing in the eyes of my daughter as she watched the fun taking place around her.
Now, there are things about Halloween that do give me pause. I do not care for all the evil type characters that are portrayed (yes, my daughter was a zombie this year...). For a long time, I was concerned about the witches you see portrayed. Here's the thing: their cartoon like, glorified versions of witches. When was the last time you saw a witch flying around on a broomstick??
I think too many of us take these things far too serious. It is imaginative play. It is a time for neighbors to step outside and laugh and coo over these children who are having so much fun. The first time I took the kids trick or treating...Daniel was 3 (almost 4) and Sierra was 9. It was under the worst of circumstances. My dad had died just days before and we had to go to his town for his funeral. My kids (Sierra most especially) had been looking forward to trick or treating and I knew we needed to make it happen. So, we went to a nearby neighborhood in my dad's town and went trick or treating.
Through the pain of my father's death, I found myself laughing as my little guy who was spiderman (I think) and my girl who was a blue haired pop star went home to home trick or treating. Adults would just coo at them and they had the best time loading their buckets with candy. I vowed, right then and there, not to take life so darn seriously anymore...and to continue trick or treating as long as my kids want to.
It's so fun. Sierra has outgrown trick or treating, but she LOVES to hand out the candy and see the kids. She sits outside the garage and just coos at every little one who pops by. Daniel is passionate about trick or treating and I just love to see his excitement and to hear what people have to say about his costume.
I have yet to see the evil associated with it, now that I have opened my eyes. Oh, evil is there...evil is everywhere. But evil is not found in the 3 year old bumble bee I saw yesterday...or the many Captain America's that came up with muscles bulging....Spidergirl.....Batman.....the cowboy.....or my own little hobo. There was joy, laughter, giddiness, excitement, love....I saw parents look on in pride as their kids showed off their costumes and reminding their kids to say Thank You...which just about every kids did.
I just wish I had come to this knowledge sooner...I hate that Sierra missed out on so much!!
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