Being totally honest, I feel like Halloween has gotten the shaft by Christians. I know that Halloween has less than stellar origins. All of this talk of druids, paganism, and sacrifices make it a little unnerving to people. Plus, the whole idea of scary stories, costumes, and darker decorations is contradictory to the light, innocent pastel colors of other holidays that make people feel warm and fuzzy. Sometimes I wonder if Christians don't like to celebrate it simply because it's the one major holiday that doesn't have religious origins.
I have to admit though, I like Halloween. And it comes down to two reasons: 1) I love candy and 2) I love Fall (maybe also because I love toilet papering houses).
Let me be frank, who really cares of the origins of Halloween? When two adorable little kids dressed up as a princess and a teenage mutant ninja turtle show up at your doorstep, yelling out "trick or treat" in singsong voices, are you going to scream at them for being heathens, leave them with a copy of the Gospel of John, and anoint them with oil? Of course not! You're going to give them each a couple of fun-sized Kit Kat bars (my personal favorite) and send them along. And you'll smile, thinking about how desperate they are to eat that deliciousness but mom won't let them because she has to check for razor blades first.
Well guess what, Halloween-hater, you just unwittingly endorsed Halloween. Your argument is invalid.
The only other point I have is how Halloween can be a time to appreciate the season. Fall is by far my favorite season (I'll probably save most of the gushing for a separate post). The colors, apple cider, cool evenings, pumpkins, etc, it's the best. When I think of Halloween, I think of Fall. It's a beautiful time of year and a way to celebrate it without thinking about psycho family members, Black Friday, and icy roads.
Bottom line, if you have a serious beef with Halloween, lighten up. In this day and age, no one is sacrificing virgins, or worshiping goats. Instead, we're dressing up as ghosts and Spiderman, and getting loads of candy. We're chaperoning kids down streets for hours. We're chasing punk teenagers off our property with a water hose. We're carving pumpkins and drinking hot apple cider (ew). We're watching Nightmare on Elm Street for the eightieth time and still freaking out. We've secretly DVRed Casper (not me, I swear). Let's enjoy it!
Here's a video for some smiles. (I apologize for the random song playing over it)
