Hi! Brooke here. Pastor’s wife. Mom. Worker for Bread of Life’s humanitarian foundation in Poland, for Moldova, and for Ivory Coast.
You know. Basically, female, human person (kind-of a double explanation, eh? Human. Person. Haha).
So, I originally had this really great post on Halloween. But it became such a hot-button topic this past week that I decided not to do it.
Instead, I will share one story that my dad always told. He wasn’t suppose to go trick-or-treating as a kid. Therefore, when he was in college, he decided to go.
He dressed up as a ghost. Put a big sheet on. And went door to door. When they would answer the door, he would squeak out, “Trick or Treat!”
And, of course, the little old people would say, “My what a cute, little ghost!” and dump candy into his basket.
Then he would stand, stretching his huge 6’4″ frame and say in his deep voice, “Thank you!” and walk away. I am sure with many stares and probably a great share of giggles.
Of course, he had a blast. And we, as children, grew up carving pumpkins, going trick-or-treating, and also attending fall festivals.
But, as I became a mom, I learned what a hot-button topic this Halloween thing really is.
As a kid, you don’t think about anything but the FUN in dressing up and getting candy. The parties with friends. The fun of imaginations. The running up and down streets. The Ramona Quimby parades at school (where she FINALLY gets to pull Susan’s curly hair).
But, as a mom, Halloween has the potential to become a big issue.
The thing is. There is a lot out there on Halloween. Good. Bad. And in between.
Therefore, I am going to share a couple links with you. Some you may like. Others you may not. Regardless, I hope that you make the best decision for your family.
We do Halloween. And we call it Halloween. And we dress up. And our kids trick or treat.
And it’s all good. And we have fun.
Perhaps you don’t. No problem.
Perhaps you are on the fence about it. No problem.
Regardless where you are and what you do, I hope that you enjoy these links!
xoxo
b
(This is a very short list—there is so much out there. Comment below, if you have others you would like to share. Thanks!)
Lengthy and worth the read. History from the Christian influence (even shares how carving pumpkins came about): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween#Christian_influence
An article on Jesus’s victory over death. When Jesus Haunts Your Halloween: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/when-jesus-haunts-your-halloween
A short video (3 minutes well said) on Open the Door to Halloween (Obviously this is more for countries where children go door to door trick-or-treating. In Poland, kids do not do this. At our daughter’s Halloween party at our home, we have the kids come a few at a time to our door. They think it’s great fun. When our daughter was smaller, all the kids went from door to door inside our home—be it the bathroom door, closet door, bedroom door, etc. And we would station ourselves around the house and be there to answer the door and give candy. Although candy given from a bathroom sounds a bit unsanitary 😉 ): http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/open-the-door-to-halloween
And 2 Makes Crazy 