Halloween (cuz Jon says I need to)

I thought I would write a blog posting on Halloween because Jon Acuff says I need to. He goes on to say that there are three views on Halloween within the church sector-

I Hate Halloween

We Love Halloween

and then of course there is

Christian Hybrid Halloween.

Id like to start off with a funny very short clip from How I Met Your Mother:

I am sorry if that is offensive to anyone, but... in the general community it sure seems like a true sentiment. Girls starting in Middle School or perhaps High School and then traveling on into their 20s seem to have this idea that for Halloween costumes they need to look sexy. I don't exactly know why. Perhaps because they can blame it on Halloween and not their personality because on any other day, others might think... wow thats inappropriate, but on Halloween.. it's okay?

But, getting back to the Halloween traditions of Christian ideals I have encountered people of varying backgrounds in the church. Some are totally against Halloween- saying it is a Pagan holliday and should not be celebrated- "No my kids don't go trick-or-treating. "Halloween is of the Debvil, Bobby" (Waterboy reference in case you missed it and, Yes, I meant to spell it that way)

I feel this approach is legalistic in its roots.

Then there's the "Harvest Party/Fall Festival/Pumpkin Party/Autumn Bash/insert your own non-Halloween name here. I would say most churches plan some sort of party (Not calling it a Halloween Party) at their churches- especially this year, since it lands on Sunday. They give out candy, and have booths, and you can dress up in costumes. This is supposed to be an alternative to trick or treating.

Then there is the "We Love Halloween" stance. To be honest, I don't hear that much within the church.

You may be wondering what my stance is within this spectrum. I'm glad you asked...

As a child, I enjoyed Halloween. You might think since dad is a pastor, I did not get to go trick or treating, but you would be wrong. My parents let me go trick or treating until after my 6th grade year. After that I was "too old" and I was bummed about that. I can remember one year when I was in High School and I wanted to trick or treat, so I climbed out my window at the house and trick or treated at my own front door. Now, there were some limits to my trick or treating in elementary school. Of course we had the safety issue of bringing a flashlight and not eating any candy until we got home to go through it. But also, I was not allowed to dress up in anything totally gruesome- not that I wanted to.

I had a few friends that were not able to do the trick or treating thing.

Sure, I can go and say I am not going to participate in this celebration, but I feel that, even though there are those who use the day to do bad spiritual things, Halloween is not that bad of a holiday with the right intentions at heart.