Getting ready for Halloween!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year. My childhood memories are filled with exciting Halloween nights thanks to my mother. My mom is a fan of the macabre and anything that makes your flesh crawl with terror. She let me watch Cujo and Carrie as a nine year old.There is no doubt that letting me watch these horror movies were detrimental to my young mind, but she did not think about those things. I can remember laying on our couch in the den, watching Silver Bullet for the first time, and hiding under the pillows when the werewolf was chasing Corey Haim down the bridge in his wheelchair. That was a great horror movie. As a pre-teen and teenager, I loved to watch horror movies and read horror genre books. Mom was a big fan of Stephen King, but I did not enjoy his writing style and stuck to Anne Rice and other authors who intrigued me with their eloquent phrases and unbelievable descriptions of detail. In high school, my boyfriend's mom took me to meet Anne Rice at at book signing. She came out in a casket, dressed in a black wedding gown. There I was, a little blond cheerleader, looking everything like a blond bimbo with my long hair and cute clothes, surrounded by all of these people dressed in gothic clothes. There is no doubt in my mind that I stood out in that crowd. When I approached the table for Mrs. Rice to sign my book, I told her, "Your eye for detail is amazing." This pleased her and she told me that she would love to put that on a t-shirt. As I grew older, and matured, my reading interests began to shift to less gory books, to more historical. However, I believe that part of the reason I loved to read Anne Rice's books was not because of the vampire or witch themes that the books were based upon. What actually drew me to her writing were the periods in which her characters lived. For instance, most of 'Interview with a Vampire' takes place in 18th century France. Little did I know that when I was reading these books in 11th grade, I was setting myself up for a life time of reading and research into European history and culture. I enjoy reading about western history much more than I enjoy American history. This is probably due to the fact that our history is much younger than Europe's. The fact that most of US citizens are not native to our country is also part of my fascination with Europe. Unless you are of Native American descent, you were probably descended from a family across the Atlantic who risked their lives to come to our country in order to be free from the monarchy that ruled Europe.

Back to Halloween. Mom always made Halloween fun. I would be thinking about my costume for months before, and we always found exactly what I wanted to be. Our neighborhood was full of kids, and the residents went all out for Halloween. One house in particular had a whole set up in thier front yard with a casket that opened, and blue lights along with dry ice that would float about in the air when the casket opened. Mom would invite her friends from across town who had children my age to come and trick or treat with us. Then we would pair up with other families in the neighborhood and trick or treat for hours! It was magical. I will be grateful to my mother for my Halloween memories forever. I did not ever question whether or not Halloween represented something evil or that as a Christian I should not be participating in it. If you research the orgins of Halloween, you will find out that the holiday originated by the Celts and was then used by the Catholic church as one of the biggest worship services of the year. All Hallows Eve, what we now call Halloween, took place at the end of the summer harvest, on Oct. 31. It was thought by all of the people in the 13-16 centuries in Europe that on the night of All Hallows Eve, the spirits of the dead rose from thier graves and walked amongst the towns to destroy their crops and kill their children, livestock, and spread diseases. In order to protect themselves, the people who lived in smaller villages in the countryside of England and Ireland would take a pilgrimage to the closest Priory, or Cathedral town in order to have a safe refuge from the evil spirits that would roam the country. The monks and nuns would provide thousands of people shelter on this night with food, drink, warm fires, and other comforts that most of the pilgrims were not privileged enough to have in their own homes. No one would venture out of the sacred ground of the monastery for fear of the spirits. The Catholic church used this time as a way of showing Christ's generosity and compassion for the poor and unbelievers. It was a wonderful outreach opportunity and back in those days, most people believed in God, out of fear more than anything else. The day after All Hallows Eve was known as All Saints Day. The pilgrims would rise from their beds made on the floor of the monasteries and walk to the cathedral for worship and to recount their sins to the priest. After the service and repentance period was over, the pilgrims would then partake in the priory or town's festival, where they would trade livestock, wool, vegetables, etc for necessities.

For this reason, as a Christian, I do not believe that it is right to label Halloween as evil. In this century, it is looked upon as a time where children can dress up as their heroes. Little girls can be Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel or another princess for a night. Little boys can be Superman, Batman, or Handy Manny for a night. In our case, Speedster has opted for a Jango Fett costume that I found at Target. His daddy was a little annoyed at the price tag (39.99) but Speedster will probably wear the Jango costume every night for the next year. Therefore I have no qualms about getting my money's worth out of this costume. He has already worn it every night since we bought it on Saturday. I have to pry him out of it to get a bath or eat dinner. He loves to pretend play, which I think he gets from his momma. WildMan is going to be Superman. His sweet aunt Joann sent him a Superman Pj set with a cape on the back and I think that it will be perfect for his Halloween costume. Last year he was Tigger, and didn't appreciate the tail or the hood very much.

I guess what I am saying in this post is that I plan to enjoy Halloween, and not let anyone else's opinions on the holiday affect my own. Our church is having a festival this weekend, and the kids are allowed to wear non scary costumes, which I think is great.

Evil is present in this world everyday, not just Halloween. The fact that we only recognize it's presence on one night a year is scary in itself. If you have a chance, read C.S. Lewis' book The Screwtape Letters. It is a chilling read that will make you look at every word and action you utter or make during the day and question why you said what you said or reacted the way you did. God promises to protect us, but we have to deal with evil in this world, because we as creation are full of sin and the devil feeds himself on those sins. However, if you are a true believer you know that no matter what happens to you in this world, you will be cradled in the hands of Christ for eternity. This belief does not cause you to never worry, and to be mindful of dangerous decisions that will affect you and your family. Unfortunately we do not know God's plan for us and even though I pray for my children's safety every day, I still worry over them as most mothers are inclined to do. I try to be vigilant in remembering God's words, to help me get through scary circumstances in life. I am no martyr. I can't say that I am not scared of the future, I just do my best to enjoy the present. I will end with Psalm 23:4 "I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me."