[Bishop's Fantasy?]
This is MY story and I'm sticking to it!Happy Halloween!
2007-10-31
I was just reading another post and the accompanying comments about Halloween and it got me thinking about why I celebrate this particular holiday, knowing full well that it has pagan roots. For a long time, I wasn't able to celebrate. I was involved in an Assemblies of God church and they frowned on it. OK, that was an understatement. I used to volunteer in the church office. My job was to publish the church's bulletin every week. I was supposed to get the pastor's approval before it was actually printed - partly because he was a control freak and partly because the church didn't have the extra money to reprint in case there was a mistake (which there rarely was, due largely to spell check). As with everything, I went over and above the call of duty. I started adding clipart and playing with fonts, just to give some visual interest. One week in October, I added a jack-o-lantern to one of the announcements. It happened to be a week where I was running behind and didn't get the pastor's approval before printing.
By the time he saw what I had done, it was already too late to fix it. He was nearly in hysterics by the time he approached me about the infraction. In my defense, I didn't understand what the big deal was. I had no idea at the time about Halloween's pagan roots - probably because I wasn't a pagan myself. Fortunately, the pastor gave me a chance to explain myself before he went off on me too badly. He told me a little about his understanding of paganism and went on to say that there were some older people in the church who had raked him over the coals for allowing Halloween to even be acknowledged, let alone celebrated. He was clever enough to turn my naive mistake into a "teaching moment" for the congregation. His sermon that morning became a history lesson on Halloween, as well as an explaination and apology for the mix-up in the bulletin. The lesson stayed with me for a long time - long enough to think it through on my own.
My husband is a staunch Southern Baptist. He was raised that way and fully buys into just about everything they teach. He's also of the mind that we do not celebrate Halloween. Funny, though, that the church happens to have a fall party, complete with costumes, on Halloween night every year. Usually it's called something like a "Harvest Festival" or "Hallelujah Party". I understand where they're coming from - it placates the people in the church who want their kids to be able to dress up in costume and get candy just like they did when they were little (and like the kids' friends do), it provides a safe place for kids to "trick-or-treat" - which is an important thing in today's social climate, and it gives the church an opportunity to "reach the lost". I have no objections, though there is something missing with those events - the interaction with kids in their communities.
That became apparent to me last night. In Des Moines, trick-or-treating happens on the 30th under the name of Beggar's Night. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that churches planned their parties on Halloween, so nobody was taking their kids out anymore. For the first time in years, I took my kids out trick-or-treating - much to my husband's chagrine. I had a marvelous time with the kids - I even dressed in costume myself. I managed to find enough stuff in my own closet to put together a gypsy costume and had a great bonding time with my daughter while we played dress-up. She ended up in a princess costume and my son wore his wizard robes, complete with a staff that a friend helped me put together at the last minute. We went door-to-door in our neighborhood. It was a lovely evening. Warm temperatures, leaves on the ground, the distinct aroma of wood burning in someone's fireplace, and all of the amazing decorations people had taken time to put up. We went out after dark, adding to the excitement for my kids.
Our neighborhood up is populated mostly by older people, so there weren't a huge number of kids out. The people who answered the door honestly expected my kids to perform a trick or tell a joke if they expected to get a treat - something I'd forgotten to prepare them for, yet found really amusing because it meant my kids had the opportunity to think on their feet and blurt out whatever came into their heads. Given how imaginative my kids are, that can either be highly embarrassing or immensely entertaining. My daughter was kind of bratty about it at a couple of houses until I explained to her that she needed to play along or we'd be heading home. She had to sing a song at one house to get her treat. The lady wouldn't budge on that requirement and I'm glad. We had a great time meeting the neighbors and I know the neighbors enjoyed seeing the kids in costume. There was even an ambulance driving around handing out glow-in-the-dark necklaces for the kids to put on for added safety. So what if the kids got candy for their trouble? So what if there were "scary" decorations and jack-o-lanterns. All my kids took home from the experience is that our neighbors are really nice and it was great fun to dress up in costume and go for a walk at night.
So why do I celebrate Halloween? Because it offers me the opportunity to delight in my children and it stretches my skills as a seamstress and party planner. I set the bar pretty high with my son's costumes. I told him he could choose anything he wanted and I'd find a way to make it work. He has been a deep-sea diver, Larry Boy from Veggie Tales, a ninja, a cow, a puppy, an M & M, a dragon, a gryphon, a wolf, a wizard, and a whole host of other things. My daughter has been a scarecrow, a leopard, a puppy, a pirate, a princess, and an M & M, I've kept all of the costumes I've made, so whenever we need something (or just want to play dress-up), we head for the costume box. Even my friends have caught on. The year my son was a Veggie, he had two friends who also wanted to be. I ended up making a Bob the Tomato and Junior Asparagus costume that year, as well (keep in mind, there were no patterns for these characters). Last year, one of my daughter's friends wore the Larry Boy costume. It was great to remember my son being that small and gratifying to see the costume get some more use. Maybe I'll try to dig up some pictures of the kids over the years. When I'm looking at those pics, pagan thoughts never enter my mind. When we were out trick-or-treating, I was laughing at my daughter because she saw a "pumpkin man" (scarecrow with a jack-o-lantern head) and told me she was going to marry him someday. She was Cinderalla, so she was out cruising for her prince.
Say what you will, but I know those people who met my kids last night will probably keep a closer eye out for them when they're driving in the neighborhood. I'll also take a little more care watching out for my neighbors. Enjoying a holiday, regardless of the origin, doesn't make me a hypocrite. God gave me a brain for a reason - He meant me to think through my beliefs and His commands. I don't remember reading a command about Halloween. There's plenty about not worshipping false gods and about loving my neighbors. Last night's experience had nothing to do with the former and plenty to do with the latter. If it was wrong, then I guess God will have yet another thing to take issue with me when I meet Him face-to-face - something that's nobody's business but mine and God's.
piper (2007-10-31)
think you got your head on straight on this Halloween business!...back in Illinois, the dads took the kids out, and carried a canteen cup for liquid refreshment
Witqueen (2007-10-31)
You look great! Now, if you were in PA I would introduce you to my Halloween tradition I developed over 20 years ago for adults. "Trick or Shot" Pretty simple, though costumes are required, other wise you're just an alcoholic looking for free booze. But after the kids are done, and you've gone through all the candy, grab yourself a shot glass and some friends. Go back out to the same houses, and this time you shout.."Trick or Shot!" You must drink whatever alcohol is placed in your glass. You are allowed a beer chaser if its too harsh. Stay within staggering distance of your home, and enjoy meeting your neighbors on a whole new level. Unfortunately as you get older, the houses get fewer, but...no religion involved...uhmm..unless you count praying to the porcelain princess later..muttering...oh..god...
:-)
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