We go to church where we have a fall carnival every year! I do let me kids trick or treat too, but no evil or scary costumes.
I started out hiding in my basement on Halloween but then realized I was missing a perfect opportunity to meet and mingle with my neighbors. If it involved a lot of glorification of evil, I would look for an alternative or perhaps try to offer one myself. Mostly it's a night for our neighborhood to get together. One year I painted my face and dressed up like my dog (a Boston terrier)! I've even thought about borrowing a canteen from my church and offering the parents hot drinks in my driveway.
I am not (NOT) a fan of haunted houses etc. Funny - I was never introduced to them until we started going to church - yikes!
Thankfully it's not an issue here in Australia. Halloween is seen as an American event which is largely ignored by the majority of Australians. I think we've only ever had about 2 kids knock on our door for trick or treating and that was probably around 8 or 9 years ago.
I am absolutely flabbergasted that Christians get involved. I suppose from a distance it's easy to see just how incompatible the concept of Halloween is with Christian thought and practice.
Halloween has certainly gained popularity in Australia but it's still very much a fringe thing that very few people celebrate or pay any notice. I hope it stays that way.
I'm interested in the 'haunted house' thing. I've seen it mentioned in a couple of places. What's it all about?
I'm interested in the 'haunted house' thing. I've seen it mentioned in a couple of places. What's it all about?
A "haunted house" is a traditional Hallowe'en attraction where participants are led through a darkened series of "rooms" decorated with various scary or grotesque things - skeletons, gravestones, ghosts, Frankenstein monsters, and so forth.
In a variation on the theme, victims are led through the haunted house blindfolded and experience the creepy things via the other senses (e.g. spooky sounds, being told to put their hands in "intestines" fashioned out of spaghetti, etc.)
I don't buy into the "pagan origins" hype of Hallowe'en. Historically it's actually the opposite, in fact: a Christian feast day (All Hallows Eve), and its associated traditions, that has become paganized in modern times. In addition, as Cindy points out in her article, it's also the second most commericialized occasion on the calendar, after Christmas.
So there is a good reason to opt out: It has ceased to be a Christian celebration of the lives of the great saints, and has become a secular celebration of greed and gluttony. All the mock-horror trappings aside, it's an excuse to go door to door and demand bagloads of candy.
Thanks for the info, Scott.
My hubby wrote an entry in his new blog about chessboxing: http://semeron.blogspot.com/2005...-
checkmate.html. It's pretty funny.
As for Halloween, we go to a Harvest Festival at church and play games and such. It's always on a Sunday night, sometimes falling on Halloween. This year it's a day before, so we're planning on going to a friend's home for a Reformation Party.
When I was in elementary school, our church always had a Fall Festival, but it included a haunted house. I never got that, especially it being a Southern Baptist church. I think it was mostly something the youth did. We moved from the area when I started middle school, so I don't know what ever (or why or how) happened to it, but I never experienced that with churches I went to later on.
i don't celebrate halloween, but as my five-year-old daughter, Selah grows it is getting harder and harder to avoid. What we have done the last two years instead of Halloween she hosts a sleepover. Last year it was a princess sleepover. This year it is an angel/fairy sleep over. We will have it the Friday before Halloween.
I think that's a great idea, Dee!
Only one of your readers mentioned the "Reformation". I would encourage Christians to research the topic and you will find a wealth of information you can teach your children. You can have a "Reformation Party" and dress in period clothing, etc. It is a wonderful day of celebration for Protestants....a day of freedom....and obviously a day much forgotten (as I rarely hear anyone speak of it). Let's Celebrate!
Want to know more about chessboxing? Just go and see my photoreport... http://chessboxing.canalblog.com
Regards, Cyril
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