Halloween: To Trick or (Not to) Treat?

The matter of Halloween and other topics can, to most of our society, seem to be unimportant or "dumb" in comparison to things like poverty, bigotry, or malice... but they're not. What we deem acceptable for ourselves and our children to be exposed to and participate in will shape our viewpoint and legacy in this world. With that being said, if you are wrestling with whether your family will do Halloween or not this year, here are some helpful thoughts.

THINKING OF CHANGE?
First, if you have already been doing Halloween, changing that current tradition can be a big deal for everyone involved, regardless of the philosophy behind it. Traditions create memories and those memories can form how we function and be what we look forward to (good or bad). Wearing Spider-man costumes, making funny faces on vegetables, and engaging in neighborhood activities where one can both give and receive hospitality is not something we should oppose. Fictional fantasy tales of monsters and elves even scary ones are not wholly inappropriate either, whether punctuated on this particular weekend or sprinkled throughout the year in classic tales from authors including Tolkien and Lewis. It can also be difficult to deprogram a tradition if it's something you participated in as a kid. For instance, did your family trick-or-treat as a kid? Did your spouse’s? Being sensitive to that is important because there are many elements within the practice of Halloween that are alluring and leave us with beautiful memories (ex: dressing up, candy, pumpkin carving, etc.). So any compromise that you may need to make with your spouse, children, and any other family members in order for you to ease them into this change will help each person involved better embrace your decision and leave them with less opportunity for regret. Maybe you and your spouse can talk through some creative ideas that can become staples of tradition for you and the kids during this season that become a "healthy" alternative to Halloween?

HALLOWEEN HISTORY
So, honestly, you’re not crazy for thinking this through. Our girls know about Halloween partly because it's impossible not to know, it’s a significant part of our culture, and it is a teaching opportunity. Strangely enough, Halloween has Christian roots, too. The name of our present-day holiday, Halloween (or "All Hallows Eve”), actually stems from a celebration for saints formed by the early church. A celebration day for all saints emerges in church history as early as the 4th century, but it was originally set in May or the day following Pentecost (some records suggest this also paved over a similar Roman day of the dead), the date was later changed by Pope Gregory III. It wasn't until the Reformation period Christians became divided on it's practice. But there are many things bound in Christian roots that could be considered poor practice (ex: The Christian Crusades). Most of what we currently experience Halloween to be comes from superstitious Celts that would extinguish their hearth fires and host large ceremonial bonfires, sacrificing animals and crops. This didn’t occur on October 31 but around the same time, depending on the phases of the moon. It marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of a season where the people would be dependent on food stores and shelter from the elements. The Celts associated winter with death and thought that the season’s transition was marked by the close proximity of spirits. They believed this thin veil would help their Druid priests make prophecies, enabling them to survive the harsh winter. There is an accrued mythology that Druids also wore masks on this night and went from door to door, but historical evidence does not support this theory, it seems more like creative fiction manufactured to explain the evolution of modern customs. So, Halloween may not be inherently evil, but it also has no central, specific focus on the Lord we love. Whether we see Halloween as pagan practices, Catholic traditions, or good old American, candy-coated commercialism, none of these offers great reason to participate.

A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE
What I'm finding is that regardless of the premise behind Halloween there is a responsibility to be sensitive to the overall physical and spiritual safety of your family. Even though we’ve played dress up, gone trick-or-tricking, and gathered enough candy to advance job security in the field of dentistry, there are things that can present themselves that you may later regret. For instance, I remember two teenage kids with skeleton masks that jumped out from behind a tree inside the Oviedo Mall just to scare us. It frightened both the girls and my wife while I found myself defusing my primitive instincts and avoiding the advice given by LL Cool  J in “Momma Said Knock You Out”. Needless to say it wasn't a pleasant memory and we have to revisit whether we should even do that this year. So there are a lot of unsafe things about Halloween, that have no direct relation to Christianity, that we do have the capacity to control and avoid. Still, some are virtually impossible to hide ourselves from and avoid. If you drive anywhere in Orlando you will most likely pass by a sign for Halloween Horror Nights and those images will plant themselves into the minds of our children. If anything, Psalm 101:1-8 is a landing point on this. Fear should not in itself push us away from participating in culture, however, we should be caring of what we see and those that are entrusted to us.

ALL THIS TO SAY THIS...
Our abstinence or participation in regard to Halloween should not be derived from fear, misinformation, Starbucks flavor, or pressure but rather from a sincere love of Jesus; every response to our culture and its festivals is a way to point to the God we love and serve. So, I plan on going to pick out a pumpkin and carve it. I'm sure we will get up on some Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks and do a fall festival. And we will dress the girls up in some fun costumes and go to a friend's party on the 31st. You won't find me twirling snakes, dancing at any ceremonial bonfires, or worshiping any dead spirits. Just sincerely loving the breath I've been given and considering it a privilege to oversee the physical and spiritual safety of our girls' hearts whether it’s Halloween or just another Tuesday night!

Pushed Past Your Limit? (Day 369)

I can't do it! Let me off this ride! This isn't what I signed up for!

These are all just some of the few things that have scampered through my mind two minutes into my treadmill time. Matter of fact, it reminds me of an experience I had with a friend recently before riding Big Thunder Mountain at Disney. We had found ourselves with some time to burn while at Magic Kingdom and decided to jump on what looked to be some sight-seeing train ride. After moving through the line, we found ourselves plopping into a two seated cart with a seat belt and some brief instructions on safety. No big deal, it's just a train ride. Next we found ourselves being waved at and immediately entering a dark tunnel making a left hand turn. After a short straightaway during which the sounds of bats can be heard, the train makes a slight right hand turn and starts to climb a hill. So as we are climbing up this hill my friend turns to me and asks, "Is this a roller-coaster?" Uninformed, I just shrugged my shoulders and wondered why he asked the question. Then it hit me, this dude is deathly scared of roller-coasters and that we were on one.

At about pretty much the same time as this hit me, it hit my friend. He started to freak out flailing his arms around looking for an exit. I'm not sure why my first response was laughter, but it was apparent that it wasn't a help. As we were being cranked to the first drop, I heard him praying fervently and making major deals with God, all being contingent upon his life being saved! Again, I don't know why my response was laughter and, again, it was not helpful. The rest of the ride was full of tears, screaming, closed eyes, and my laughter. As we pulled into the gate ending the ride, the most interesting thing happened. I assumed he would vomit, punch me, or ask for an ambulance... but he didn't. Instead, this fear-stricken wreck wanted to jump on the ride again!

It's amazing how much our thoughts can handicap us and stop us from going any further. Especially when we're not sure what kind of ride we are on. But even though today you may be beaten up, worried about the future, scared to death you will fail, losing something you feel like you can't live without, dished out something you didn't account for, and the ride just seems out of control... there is someone there with seat belts for protection and a track guiding you home. And the craziest thing is that if you just hold on and endure the ride, if you just surrender your fears and anxiety when you are pushed to your limit, he'll always be there to help you come through it. Heck... you might even gain enough confidence to ride again!

"No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it." 1 Corinthians 10:13 MSG