Last year, around this time, I wrote a post about why I don't boycott Halloween anymore. I got some great discussion in the Comments. Just in case you missed it last year--or if you'd just like to add some discussion--I'd sure love to hear what you think about Halloween. Do you and/or your kids dress up? Or...do you avoid it like the plague? How do you handle this sometimes controversial holiday?
Oh, and while we're talking Halloween, check out some cute costume ideas our family has used over the years...
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Here is my Baptist girl disclaimer about celebrating Halloween: I know. I know that many Christians boycott Halloween, and I really do understand why. In fact, I used to semi-join in the boycott. When our kids were younger, we shied away from calling it "Halloween," and were thankful to attend a good friend's Fall Party every October, so that our kids still had the opportunity to dress up. "Come on, kids--let's get your Fall Party costumes on!" But, the older I get, the more I shy away from hard and fast decisions that I don't necessarily embrace 100%.
Boycotting Halloween never felt right to me. I just didn't feel that strongly about it. I know our family doesn't celebrate ghosts or evil spirits in our Halloween dressing up and trick-or-treating. We don't put any scary (cheesy?) decorations in our yard. You will never ever find me purchasing a red devil costume at Walmart because that is not the least bit cute--it is evil and damned. (Not that I feel strongly about it--HA!!!) And when we pass grown-ups dressed in gruesome costumes who (scare my children and) are actually trick-or-treating (without kids), I have to control my urge to point my finger and tell them, "Well, that is just STUPID! Get away from my innocent children, stupid person!"
I understand that Halloween might have origins in Druid or Celtic practices of offering treats to the spirits of the dead returning to the earth. But, OUR family certainly isn't celebrating this, and our kids have no idea about the origins. They just want to dress up in cute costumes and get to fill their sacks full of candy one day a year! (And truthfully, I just want to help make their creative costumes!! Oh yeah, and take some cute pictures!)
Can't you remember dressing up as a child, ringing your neighbors' doorbells, being offered gigantic bowls of individually wrapped candies, and selecting as many as you could get away with--politely? Going home afterwards and having the best time sorting out all the candy, comparing it with your sister's and brother's piles, trading for your favorites (Reeses, please!!), and talking about which neighbors had the best candy selection? Such fun, fun memories!!
Our calendars are FILLED with names of Roman gods and goddesses--the names of our months and days of the week--but yet we don't boycott any of them. We don't boycott Mondays, a name dedicated to the goddess of the moon. I mean, I'd like to boycott some Mondays--but not because it has any evil implications.
Like I said above, though, I understand why some people boycott Halloween. You won't hear me disagreeing with those people. Because, I understand, I get it. I can appreciate the stand they are trying to make with their families. I am ALL FOR families that stand up for good. I am ALL FOR families that stand against the tide of popular sentiment. In fact, our little family is committed to teaching our daughters how to stand alone, how to say a firm no, and how to rely on the Bible when everyone around them disagrees.
But, when it comes to Halloween? I just don't feel strongly enough about it to boycott it anymore. I am saving my boycotts for causes that I DO feel strongly about. And, there are plenty, I am sure!
All right, let me have it...What do you think?
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