Happy Halloween

"My Radio Flyer Truck"

"Wow, a real live fire fighter!"

Mom/Grandma, Nathan and Summer

"Where is the fire? I'm going to put it out with sugar!"

Cheeeeeeeese!

Howdy y'all!

Ryan doing his Ninja stance!


Some believe Halloween is a Satanic holiday. I know a couple of people who choose not to participate in Halloween and I respect that completely! I admire anyone who feels strongly enough about something to live their beliefs. Especially when their choice might not be a popular one. But I look at Halloween differently.

I guess to some it would appear that Halloween is "evil" and that the participation in such translates into the celebration of evil. I decided to research the origins to determine if Halloween is actually a satanic holiday. What I learned was that it is not. It comes from Celtic custom, which is Pagan (not Satanic) in nature, which marked the end of the harvest season. When seasons changed the Druid's believed that there was one night when the dead could communicate with the living. I won't go into a huge history lesson but if you are interested, here is one minister's research about the celebration: http://www.new-life.net/halowen1.htm.

So, I guess the question becomes, should we participate in a celebration that has a Pagan origin? Maybe we shouldn't put up the Christmas tree either. It's my understanding that the Christmas tree is also Pagan in origin. Should African Americans not celebrate Kwanzaa? The individual who began Kwanzaa, Robert Karenga, tortured some of his followers, two women, whom he believed tried to poison him. He spoke of a desire to create an all black nation, separate from whites. He expressed hostility toward both Christianity and Judaism and set the holiday close to Christmas for this reason. My point is that our choice to participate in a yearly celebration that has an origin or whose symbols have an origin derived from a different belief system, doesn't translate into us encouraging an opposing belief system. Are there people who celebrate Kwanzaa who are racist? Sure. Are there people who participate in Halloween who celebrate evil? I am sure that is the case. But we don't. That's not what our family is about.

So, why do I allow my children to dress up in costume and go door-to-door for candy? I agree with what this person wrote, "We don't worship other gods or honor the dead on Halloween. Halloween is nothing but a secular time of fun and games -- an excuse for the kids to dress up and overload on sugar!"