Sunday, October 24, 2010

Let's talk about halloween.

Just for a moment.  I don't want to be controversial, but I love halloween.  
I'm not a witch, just an ordinary woman. 

Now before you jump up and protest, let me tell you that I love the Lord with all my heart.  My love of halloween has nothing to do with satanism.  For me, it has always been just a fun time with lots of candy!



We did have to empty our bags out once we got home to be inspected.


Yes, I usually had to be a ghost because I got my creativity from my mother and about the only costume she could come up with was a sheet with holes cut in for the arms and eyes.  Made it really tough later when the sheets were on the bed.  

It was a kinder simpler time and my friends and siblings were all given pillowcases and sent out in groups to trick or treat in our neighborhood.  There was lots of laughing and fun.  Our neighbor across the street had a bakery and we always got fresh baked goodies from her house.  Would you let your child eat home made goodies now?  Well, probably not.  But in the good old days, nobody in our neighborhood wanted to hurt us....we knew every neighbor and they all knew us, everybody looked out for everybody else.

Since halloween falls on Sunday this year, we will only give out candy on Saturday.  I do NOT feel like it should interfere with Sunday services.

Our Christian school will be having a fall festival the Friday before and it will have a theme and ask the kids to dress in the theme costumes.

I remember the carnivals we had at our elementary school every year.....we had the usual games and had really good times.


These two are the main problem with halloween.  Each and every time the doorbell rings, they go absolutely c.r.a.z.y.  They bark and bark and I have to squeeze out the door with the candy bowl which makes them so mad because they truly believe that everyone who rings that bell is there to see them.

We're thinking about getting them a shock collar some training, but I just think they are really set in their ways.

One funny story I can remember about halloween.  When I was about 13, I was supposed to be trick or treating for Unicef and instead a couple of my friends and I went to a dentist office after hours and for $5.00 he pierced our ears.  Can you believe it?  Today he would go to jail for that, but then it was great for us to have someone who would do it without our parent's permission.
There were no ear piercing guns then so he pulled a hollow needle through our ears with the earring loaded in one end.  After he pierced the first ear, I almost fainted and immediately said No, I'm done, I don't want to other one pierced.  But to my horror, he said nope, you wanted them pierced, they're getting pierced.  I'm sure he knew he was pretty safe as there was no way we were telling our parents.
In fact, I went around terrified my daddy was going to find out and rip my ears off of my head.  They did find out around Christmas time when I decided it would be cute to wear ornaments for earrings.......on the ornament hooks.  My ears got so infected that I had to go to the doctor.
Believe it or not, I got the real earrings back in and still have the same piercing today.  Man, I'm glad I don't have to go through those teen years again!

Anyway, whatever you do for halloween, whether you call it that or just call it fall festival....the important thing is to have fun with your children.

Opinions and questions are welcome....I'd like to hear your views.


11 comments:

Needled Mom said...

You are hysterical! My dad would have killed me. He always told me that if God had wanted me to have holes in my ears he would have put them there. I finally pierced my own after I was married with a sterile needle and an ice cube behind the ear to dull the pain.

I love Halloween for the same reasons you do - especially the candy corn. It has to be fresh and from Brachs!!! Halloween has definitely changed from what it used to be. BTW---I was always a ghost too!

Dawn said...

I loved Halloween as a kid, though was never good at costumes. But I hated it when my kids were young - I'm not creative at all when it comes to costumes - still. It was the time when Halloween began to take a really bad rap with Christians and we kind of bought into it.

I just don't like it on general principles now - especially the decorations people do in our neighborhood that rival Christmas decorations - really give me a bad feeling.

But I do have good memories from childhood. And maybe the honest real reason - I can't eat the candy!!!

We've always been at our church for the alternative party, but this year we're not having it. So I'll see for the first time in years how many kids come down this culdesac.

Tonja said...

We were never big on Halloween. My boys went trick or treating. But, we just didn't make a big deal out of it. If they wanted to go, that waas fine...if not, that was fine, too. Since the boys have all been away, I don't do anything at all. Usually I just turn my lights off. Kind of like a Scrooge. But, I always have some candy ready in case someone comes by anyway. I think it is fine for little kids. Like all the fall festivals, too. Much safer. I am doing face painting at our church festival tomorrow night.

Gigi said...

I'm with you...I grew up with Halloween and Trick or Treating! My Mom always made my costume (she was an excellent seamstress) and I was always a princess or something fancy and my Dad took me around the neighborhood. I can remember being afraid of all the scary costumes and making my Dad stay far, far away from them! Never was much for the candy and most of it ended up in the trash, but I do remember Mrs. Ray's homemade popcorn balls...YUMMY! Nowadays those would go in the trash straighaway!! But back then they were gobbled up immediately, like your neighbors baked goods...we KNEW our neighbors then!

I don't "do" Halloween anymore. My sweet hubby loved it...he loved handing out candy, oohing and aahing over every costume, clutching his chest in mock fear over the "scary" ones, swooning over the little princesses...he just loved it and I loved watching him!

But I've never thought of it as an evil day...just a fun day for kids!

Connie said...

We also grew up with Halloween and my children dressed up and loved all the candy from Halloween. I do like the candy...especially candy corn. We now celebrate through our Church's Trunk or Treat even that they hold around that time and not always on Halloween and go to our daughter's to see our grandson. I do love to hand out candy and see all the little ones dressed up! It's an American tradition. I don't think we really ever thought about the evil side of it!

I don't think you're a bad person either! Enjoy! Connie

Keetha Broyles said...

This holiday became very controversial in the mid 80's when a "christian" author/speaker named Mike Warnke claimed to be saved out of witchcraft. He pointed a finger at Halloween as being evil.

Later, he was exposed as a fraud.

We used to have Halloween parties AT CHURCH for goodness sakes! We certainly were NOT worshiping Satan.

Some people still get their undies in a huge bundle over it - - - but I think most of our Halloween traditions are just good clean fun.

My kids went trick or treating and we gave our candy at our door. We will again if we live in a neighborhood that gets many trick or treaters.

Our church currently sponsors a "trunk or treat" - - - people decorate their cars, park them in the church parking lot and give out candy from their trunks/hatches. It is a HUGE hit in the neighborhood!

Katie and Beau said...

What's not to love? Little kids in costumes and an excuse to buy candy? Sounds like the perfect holiday to me!

Cathy said...

Halloween is fun!! My husband calls it "empty hotdog day"! I am also not creative, but when my kids were little Sears sold pajama costumes. They could wear them for Halloween and then sleep in them all winter!!

Now we live in a neighborhood where we have lots of trick-or-treaters and we love them. My grandchildren and a large group of their friends come to our house about halfway through. I always have special bags for them and they usually have a drink and rest for a few minutes and I try to get them to all line up on the front porch for a picture. It's fun!!

Christy said...

I'm so glad you posted this! I've been thinking a lot about this topic lately, as I have a few parents of my patients that "don't do" Halloween.
I don't get it. Kids love dressing up. They love candy. Little kids don't associate Halloween (or anything really) with the DEVIL unless grown-ups tell them about it.

Happy Halloween to you and yours!

The White Family said...

I agree with Christy. No sense in making a mountain out of a molehill! Children wouldn't think of Halloween as a "satanic" holiday if parents wouldn't put that idea into their heads. It's a fun day to dress up and be creative, go trick or treating, and get candy. That's it! :)

Anonymous said...

Back in the 70s, our Halloween costumes came from Sears. Every costume was just a mask, and a plastic tunic with the character printed on it. In other words, a Scooby Doo costume would be a plastic mask held on with a thin elastic band, and this plastic bag with armholes which had "Scooby Doo" printed on it, with a picture of the whole gang.