Halloween has never been a personal favorite on my list of "Holidays."
I don't like the history of today and I especially have a hard time with the celebration of death. Because I don't feel like death should be celebrated, it's an enemy of mine and I hate death, so there you have it.
I do however, enjoy Trick or Treating with my kids. I think they are so adorable all dressed up and walking from house to house, bravely ringing doorbells and receiving their reward of sugary sweets. I also really appreciate the excuse to see all my neighbors. What other day of the year do you get to check in with everyone at once? Mark and I see Halloween as a great chance to befriend our neighborhood, to be involved and familiar with those living near us and to meet other kids we often see running around.
Someday we'll have to go more in depth with Emma and Hazen as to what "Halloween" means. And at that point, we hope to be honest and practical. I'm not worried about that day. Its good for our children to know that not everyone is like us, that we believe different things than many other people do, but we still love on those people. We want them to understand the culture they are being raised in, and to have a full understanding of the differences between what they see and what Jesus says, so that they can make informed and wise decisions about their own perspectives.
And until that day comes, I'm going to continue to enjoy seeing a certain little Green Fairy and a seriously strong Space Hero running around with those giant smiles on their faces!
my feelings exactly - thanks for typing it up so eloquently :)
ReplyDeleteGreat perspective. I feel the same way. It always seems to cause somewhat of a debate among fellow Christians about who is or isn't doing the Halloween thing. But in our house, I don't want to make it an issue until it actually becomes one. Sometimes, we make little eyes, ears and hearts aware of things that are over their heads by pointing it out and making it seem "bad." If I ever felt that trick or treating or dressing up was becoming a stumbling block in our relationships with God or in our testimony to the world, then that would be the time to address it further.
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