Then when my kids started getting old enough for trick or treating, we participated. Mr. M did not ever participate in Halloween as a kid so he wasn't real thrilled with the whole thing, but I LOVED Halloween! We went to all the same neighbors that I had gone to as a child and all my friends brought their kids over to our parents neighborhood, it was so much fun!!
Then we moved away, all the way to Washington state. As Halloween grew closer, Mr. M and I both started feeling some conviction about participating. There were scary graveyards all over the neighborhood. Children were talking about the costumes they were going to wear: witches, zombies, characters from movies they shouldn't even know about. Dad's were talking about dressing up like Freddy Kruger from Nightmare on Elm Street and scaring the kids! This wasn't sounding like too much fun anymore. What are we doing to our kids? What are we teaching them? Do I want my kids to think that all this is fun and games and be lead into the same activities that I played around with? Thank the Lord I was protected from the evil that I messed around with, but did I want to put my children into the fire as well?
We chose to hand out candy that year. As I watched these kids coming to my house, I had another thought...any other time of the year we tell kids "Don't talk to strangers!" "Don't ever take candy from strangers!" "Don't ever go to someone's house you don't know!" OH, except this one day! When everyone is dressed up really creepy and you don't know who might possibly be a pedophile!! Yikes!
Then we moved to Virginia. We handed out candy again. This time we had a pumpkin carved with the name Jesus in it and Christian music playing on our porch. No one cared about either. It wasn't a witness. People aren't stopping to have conversations, half the kids were out without an adult anyway! They were with older siblings who weren't even dressed up and wanting candy! That year, Princess had nightmares. We decided that was it. No more Halloween for us.
Since then we have had many wonderful times on October 31st!! Our favorite thing to do though is to have Family Movie Night! We close the curtains, turn off the lights, and don't answer the doorbell when someone doesn't realize our light isn't on. We have popcorn and candy and watch a family friendly movie...it's the best!
Most people aren't bothered at all by the fact that we don't celebrate Halloween...the world that is. Now Christians on the other hand, that's a whole 'nother story! Somehow, us not celebrating is very offensive to other Christians who do. We've been told how legalistic we are. I didn't realize that following God's will for OUR family was legalistic. Who knew?!
Now, I also don't think that we would ever hand out tracks on Halloween or use that day to try to witness to others and tell them how "evil" it is. That's really going to win them over to Jesus!
Here is what I believe, I believe that Jesus is the light! I believe that Halloween celebrates the darkness and death. Jesus overcame death!! So do I want to celebrate the opposite of what Jesus represents? No thanks!
I also don't feel this hurts my testimony at all! People see that I live my faith, yes I make mistakes, but I ask for forgiveness daily! Just cause I don't take part in Halloween isn't going to drive a wedge between myself and my neighbors. In fact, if you are a Christian and Halloween is the only day of the year that your neighbors darken your doorstep...then you've got bigger problems.
A few years ago for Christmas, Tink decided she wanted us to do a manger scene in our front yard. I really didn't want to do it, it seemed like a lot of work on my part and it seemed kind of silly. But she was so persistent! So we did. I made up flyers and she went to every single house in our subdivision and invited people to come and see our "live" nativity and sing some Christmas songs with us. People actually came!! Even someone from the local paper! She reached thousands of people that Sunday when her story and pictures and why she did it were in there! We met so many people in our neighborhood and people thought that it was such a neat thing. You can choose any day of the year to witness to the lost...it doesn't have to be on Halloween.
For our family, we can't argue with scripture!
1 Thessalonians 5:20-22
Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.
James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
3 John 1:11
Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.
Romans 12:9
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
1 Corinthians 10:21
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.
1 Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
James 4:7-8
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Proverbs 22:6
Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
2 Chronicles 7:14
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
