There I said it,
I am so tired of people going on and on and on about how horrible Halloween is. I can’t tell you the number of times today I have heard people, basically yelling at other people, about how horrible Halloween is and how they are going to permanently damage their children if they even acknowledge the holiday, let alone celebrate it.
(If you are one of those people who feel this way, than stop reading now, don’t send me any comments telling me how horrible I am, or why you don’t celebrate Halloween, I have heard them all, it is not going to change my opinion. This is my blog, I can write what I want and I am entitled to my own opinion, if you don’t like it, stop reading now.)
Yes we let our children get dressed up and go trick-or-treating. Yes we have pumpkins on our front porch. Granted they are plastic and store bought, but that is because I don’t really like the mess that comes with carving a pumpkin. When the kids really start asking to carve pumpkins, we will. No I don’t decorate for Halloween, other than the before mentioned pumpkins that don’t come out till the week before Halloween. Yes I decorate my front porch for Fall, It goes up in September and goes down right after Thanksgiving, when I put up my Christmas decorations. And yes I am a Christian, I believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Participating in the Halloween festivities doesn’t change what I believe.
Okay now that I got that off my chest, let me explain. I don’t see the harm in letting little kids be kids. I don’t dress my children up as devils, witches, monsters, etc.. If they wanted to wear something like that I would say NO!!! Celebrating Halloween by dressing up in innocent Disney or Superhero Costumes is not Pagan Devil Worship. I REPEAT, DRESSING UP AS CINDERELLA OR WOODY DOES NOT MEAN MY CHILDREN WORSHIP THE DEVIL OR PRACTICE PAGAN WORSHIP. If that were the case, millions of children around the world would be in trouble. Little kids play dress up everyday, I know my daughter does. I am sorry if I seam a little harsh about this. I have been hearing more and more about how horrible people are who celebrate Halloween. Yes I believe that the devil exists, and that worshiping him is just asking for trouble. But what harm is there in dressing up and begging your neighbors for candy. 
If you look long enough and hard enough you can find Pagan roots to all of the major holidays that we celebrate. Does that mean we need to stop celebrating? I know some people would say yes, yes, yes. My thinking is than, how do you explain to you kids why they can’t do something as innocent and childlike as begging for candy (which lets face it, is what trick-or-treating boils down to) when that is what all their friends are doing. And before you give me the, if your friends were jumping off a bridge speech, No I don’t think we should just automatically conform to what the world thinks. What I do think is that we need to use some common sense and know and understand that our kids are going to ask these sorts of questions. Children are not dumb, even though they often act that way when you ask them to do something. If you don’t have a good solid answer then they are going to keep asking, until they get a good answer. I believe there are ways to let your kids celebrate, and still keep Jesus front and center. I know plenty of people who use the pumpkin as a way to explain how Jesus saves us. He cleans out our insides and fills us with his light. We don’t do that, but mostly because of my aversion to the mess carving a pumpkin makes. You want to get the Good News out there during this season, go ahead and do just that.
Instead of turning off all your lights, and locking your door and pretending that you don’t hear the constant ringing of your doorbell on Halloween, be The Light to your neighbors. One thing I have done in the past is hand out scripture candy, and special Halloween cards with scripture on them. Jesus tells us to get out there and spread The Word, how can we do that if we stay locked up safe and sound in our homes and churches.
Here are a few other things you can use to spread The Word.
S.H.I.N.E. Reflective Slap Bracelet
S.H.I.N.E. Squeeze Light with Carabiner
Let’s Shine Jesus’ Light on Halloween Board Book
Have a happy and safe Halloween.
(By the way, the pictures are from last year, I haven’t taken any pictures of the kids in their costumes yet this year)
I can’t believe how well Lizzie’s 18 month Pictures turned out. She has always been my difficult one to get pictures of. When she was 4 months old, I had to sit on a stool with a blanket covering me holding her just so she would stop crying long enough to get her picture taken. Today was no exception. She was constantly on the move and any toy that the photographer used to make her laugh she wanted and when she couldn’t have it she threw a tantrum. She absolutely loved this white kid sized rocking chair. They kept moving it so she wouldn’t see it and she kept finding it. I laugh now, but it was very frustrating at the time. So by the end of the picture session, I didn’t really have high hopes for how well the pictures would turn out. I was pleasantly surprised. They took 92 pictures!!!! and I loved most of them. She was full of personality in all the pictures so I really feel like they captured who she is.