After having written over the weekend about how much I enjoy the certainty that comes with fundamental Christianity; I run into one of those issues in which I find no certainty, Halloween.
It seems when I was a kid, Halloween was not that big a deal. We threw together some costumes, raided our neighbors’ houses and made off with an unreasonable amount of candy. The next day a queasy stomach and some discussion about which of our neighbors were generous good guys and which were cheap bums, pretty much summed up the event.
Now it seems like such a big deal. My neighbors decorate their yards. Stores begin hawking their ghoulish wares as long before Halloween as they put up Santas before Christmas. And that may be the heart of my discontent. I want Christmas, even in its impure form as celebrated these days, to be clearly THE holiday. I don’t like the challenge being put up by Halloween. To me it seems an obvious good guy/bad guy dichotomy. It’s God versus Satan. In that race I have a clear favorite.
I know that for many, maybe even most, Halloween is just good clean fun. I admit having fun last night watching Kaydence show off her Flapper costume and her LSU cheerleader costume. Okay I would have preferred a Gator cheerleader, but at least she wasn’t dressed up as a demon, serial killer or politician. But I can’t seem to shake this sense of unease at the popularity of a holiday that tries to put darkness and evil in a positive light. Should Christians celebrate Halloween? This article sums up the dispute.
I guess if I am forced to answer I would say “no.” But tonight I will turn off the lights so the neighbor kids don’t know I’m home or take my wife out to dinner. It’s become a Sigur tradition to hide from trick-or-treaters and wait for Christmas decorations to replace the ghosts and goblins. But Kaydence sure did look cute in her outfits.
I just hate uncertainty.
Trick or Treat or Don’t. In any case,
Be blessed.
Nick
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