Halloween: Trick or Treat or Abstain?

Fans of comedian Jerry Seinfeld might remember his humorous recollection of Halloween. Growing up in Massapequa, Long Island, he remembers being admonished to never accept candy from a stranger. Although contrary to the “Get candy! Get Candy!” mantra running through his little brain, the warnings made sense, he said, until he was suddenly introduced to the October 31^st holiday.

“You mean everyone we know is just giving away candy?” he asked incredulously. “What’s wrong with them?”

Many Christians, maybe even some of my readers, might ask the same question. Halloween’s admittedly pagan and creepy origins, involving druids, ghosts and goblins, among other things, is enough to force many believers to ignore even the more innocent aspects of the day. Jean and I understand the source of the energy behind much of the opposition. We’ve talked about it and even prayed whether or not we’d allow Trent and Troy to participate in some of the harmless aspects of the holiday.

While there is clearly no place in the Christian community for the “darker side” of Halloween, we’ve concluded there is a place in our family for some innocent fun. Kids love to dress up and pretend. Over the years, we’ve allowed the boys to cobble together costumes and go trick-or-treating, while supervised, around the neighborhood.

This year is no different. Excitement is mounting around our home as the boys plot their plan. I’ve been informed they’ll be carrying pillow cases [hopefully not mine or Jean’s] to carry their loot. Apparently those little plastic buckets or plastic sacks just don’t cut it anymore.

Since Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, we’re bracing ourselves for the likelihood of an extended session, probably bundled up against the Colorado cold. I’m hoping they don’t point out that Daylight Savings Time ends on Sunday morning at 2 A.M. and negotiate some extra time!

I’m curious where you stand on this issue. Good people can see things differently and this is just a personal opinion. I would urge you to stay true to your own convictions. But for the benefit of this forum, do you, or have you, allowed your kids to go trick-or-treating? Why? Why not?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, family, kids, parenting October 28, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura