(yes, I know I've been blogging less than a year, but I have lots and lots of things that I 'write' up in my head)
We are Celebrating Halloween!
Wow! I did it!
I went there!
I'm a Christian...
was raised in a Christian home
went to VBS
summer church camp
off to Christian College
my husband is a pastor
making me...gasp!
a 'pastor's wife'!!!
2006-Wilson the baseball, The Balloon Fairy, the Kitty Fairy and Beau-es-Moses' long lost brother
and we Celebrate Halloween!
YEP, I said the word Celebrate!lots of 'Christians' might say,
"we go trick-or-treating"
"yes, we dress up"
"Of course we hand out candy"...
but I went and used the word "Celebrate"...
hmmm
does that me we burn small animals and worship the undead on this night of Satan's?
2007, SuperMom, Place-Beau (Placebo...a sugar pill, still my all time favorite costume even if no one got it!) the A's player that insisted he wear Mickey Ears and carry around a fishing rod! and Gabrielle from HSM
um...
NO
BUT
we LOVE Halloween!
I have always dressed up
my parents always took us -every year- trick-or-treating and to the school carnival...
....well every year except when I got chicken pox in kindergarten and my lovely older sister pointed out the spots on my face AFTER we were all dressed up and ready to walk out the door...so she got to go with dad and I got to stay home a take a bath (NOT COOL!)...talk about scaring...don't remember anything about chicken pox except that it stole Halloween from me!!!
tangent...sorry...
all that to say...
we "Celebrate" Halloween...'All Hallow's Eve'....
What?
Christians can celebrate Halloween?
Why would we as Christians take one of the coolest holidays known to children away from them?
Why would letting kids (and adults) dress up...
and get candy
and meet their neighbors
and bake wonderful goodies with their parents
and learn about some of God's creepy creations (spiders and bats and other nasty stuff)...
why is this EVIL again....?
2008-Luke Skywalker, Larry-Beau, Flapper, Storm/Clone Trooper
Okay, go ahead and tell me that it's because lots of bad stuff happens on Halloween...
that it was/is the holiday that followers of Satan use to worship him
(pretty sure they celebrate all year long just like us Christians celebrate Christ)
...that people celebrate the un-dead on this night-of-evil!
(my theology is probably way convoluted here...but didn't Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead...making him un-dead...and didn't Jesus conquer death...making him un-dead?!? So I guess we do celebrate the un-dead in our house!)
Christmas and Easter are the holidays for Christians
really, because NOTHING bad has happened at Christmas?
EVERYONE keeps Christmas as a Holy day, and celebrates it as the birth of Christ...
No one gets drunk and has 'inappropriate' parties at Christmas...NEVER...
No one overspends and makes Christmas into a nasty orgy of gifts and money!
Holidays must only be 'celebrated' by Christians to make them okay...
if this is the case than we might as well roll over and give all the sinners (um...which we all are by the way!) all the fun holidays!
No, God created us to enjoy life, to love life, to show his love to others by enjoying his creation....
we are created to Celebrate God...and we celebrate God when we live a life celebrating him and showing others that love...
does turning your porch light off so the trick-or-treaters (those evil children) don't knock on your door show love?
does handing unreadable Bible Tracts out to kids that want candy (and can't read) show God's Love?
does NOT letting your kids dress up and enjoy their creative side that God CREATED show God's Love?
I'm not sure we all have the right answer...
but I know the answer that is right for our family is
2009-Littlest Pet Shop Bobble Head Pig, and Storm/Clone Trooper...he was a robot dog, but hated the costume after I forced him to wear it to Neewollah! so I let him go trick-or-treating in last years costume!
eating roasted pumpkin seeds is Celebrating God...
getting grossed out and a good case of the heebbie-geebee's by some of the nasty stuff God has created is Celebrating God...
dressing up and having fun with our children is Celebrating God...
walking around the neighborhood and taking candy from strangers with our children is Celebrating God...
2010-Dr. Chambers, Mom with butterflies in her hair, Raphael the Ninja Turtle!
so for us Celebrating Halloween is right!
blog edit
my friend Diana also pointed out...
"To add to what you said, October 31st is the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis' on the door of the Catholic churrch. We have lot to celebrate. He started a reformation that gave us the freedom to worship Christ the way the Bible says, and not only that, but gave us men who were willing to sacrifice their lives to print the Bible so we could read it ourselves! Let's celebrate that!"
and she also pointed me to this article to help enlighten us all on the origins of All Hallow's Eve aka Halloween...!
http://onthebema.com/2010/10/28/7-reasons-why-christians-should-celebrate-halloween/
thanks Diana!
I also respect those that choose to not 'celebrate'.
what it boils down to is a choice and if the choice is the right one for your family then so-be-it.
if your family has chosen to not celebrate it then please do not think less of my family for having a safe, healthy, fun, creative, enjoyable day while we celebrate Halloween...
and yes, make ourselves sick on candy, cupcakes, carmel apples and popcorn balls!
blog edit
my friend Diana also pointed out...
"To add to what you said, October 31st is the day Martin Luther nailed his 95 thesis' on the door of the Catholic churrch. We have lot to celebrate. He started a reformation that gave us the freedom to worship Christ the way the Bible says, and not only that, but gave us men who were willing to sacrifice their lives to print the Bible so we could read it ourselves! Let's celebrate that!"
and she also pointed me to this article to help enlighten us all on the origins of All Hallow's Eve aka Halloween...!
http://onthebema.com/2010/10/28/7-reasons-why-christians-should-celebrate-halloween/
thanks Diana!
I also respect those that choose to not 'celebrate'.
what it boils down to is a choice and if the choice is the right one for your family then so-be-it.
if your family has chosen to not celebrate it then please do not think less of my family for having a safe, healthy, fun, creative, enjoyable day while we celebrate Halloween...
and yes, make ourselves sick on candy, cupcakes, carmel apples and popcorn balls!
6 comments:
Very good...and super cute costumes!
And now you are making us wait to see this year's costumes? :)
I love your candor, Kiera. Your final comment "so for us, celebrating Halloween is right' says it all. However, the choice to NOT celebrate it, I know, is respected as well.
I do not 'celebrate' it (it seems there is nothing to 'celebrate' ?) and I tell the kids at school that I do not 'celebrate it' because it is a controversial holiday.....and it is offensive to some, so I generally opt out. No huge statements necessary. However, that being said, I do enjoy my little grandchildren in costume... and I do like pumpkins, but I do not hand out candy at my house. My choice. I am not judging anyone when I do not do it.
One year we invited neighbors over to sit in our driveway around our portable fireplace and we served a simple BBQ dinner. It just seemed like the 'right' thing to do that year....We felt it seemed good to be neighborly.
As to Christmas, it has its foundations on the birth of Christ, even if others have commercialized it and tried to strip it of its beauty and meaning.....however, Halloween does not have such a foundation, as far as I know. The Catholic 'Day of The Dead' is an interesting concept and so is 'All Saints Day', which falls on November 1.
This makes great conversation and is thought provoking, Kiera. Thanks for writing it.
Love you, Kathy
Awesome. I feel exactly the same way and am glad there are other fellow Christians out here that do to. This year we were told by several that basically it wasnt a good thing to celebrate or even be involved in any aspect (or clothing that had skulls on it). After seriously contemplating the conversation I realized that as Kathy above said, we have the right to or not to celebrate. I have no desire to judge or even point a finger at those that dont as that is their conviction and beliefs and we can only handle ourselves accordingly. For me personally - Whether it be at Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Thanksgiving or any random day of the year - its our hearts and relationship with Christ that should shine through in all things we do and say. If we hide our lights from the darkness than those within it will never see the path. We were given life and to live that life more abundantly! (obviously paraphrased and edited ;) hehe So I dressed up, had a party with friends and family and handed out candy to all the adorable kids that came by!
Like I said on FB...great post and great pics!
Thank you for this post. I am still not a fan, but I do 'celebrate' it with my family (candy, costumes, activities, etc). I do NOT look down on other families who differ from my beliefs. Every family has to do what is best for them. :)
Thank you for sharing your heart, funny costumes, and experience. :)
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