Well, it's here again, that controversial holiday Halloween.
Now that Daniel and I have Mae the issue of whether or not to celebrate this holiday, or even if it can be considered a "holy day", become very important.
We have been discussing this for awhile now, and we have come to the conclusion that we will not celebrate Halloween, such as it is. The reasoning behind this decision is not because Halloween is inherently EVIL. From what we can gather from the MASSIVE amount of information regarding the origins of Halloween, it stems from a lot of different things and practices. Some of these practices could be considered evil, but some of them are relatively harmless. It is truly a mish-mash of a holiday. The reason we choose not to celebrate it is because it does not HONOR GOD. Again, I don't know whether or not Halloween is bad or evil, but there is nothing about it that specifically HONORS GOD.
Consider: Each holiday, or "holy-day", means something. Christmas, obviously, celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and what He means to the world and all people. Easter celebrates Christ's death and coming back to life again, and what THAT means to the world and all people. Thanksgiving is a time specifically designated for thanking GOD for all the blessings He gives the world and all people. Even Valentine's Day, though not inherently Christian, could be considered a God-honoring occassion, because it provides a specific opportunity to be thankful for your spouse and show them how much you love them. Love, after all, is God. God is love. And God honors marriage.
Halloween represents...candy? Horror? Not sure what we're celebrating here.
Daniel and I feel like celebrating the harvest time is more up our alley. Thank God for the food, the cool weather, etc. We like dressing up. It's kind of fun. Costume parties are fun.
We really don't approve much of trick-or-treating either. Children certainly don't need all the empty calories and sugar. Not to mention the potential dangers which COULD spring from trick-or-treating.
We don't hate you if you celebrate Halloween, but we also don't celebrate it specifically.
Another point: "Celebrating" implies embracing, encouraging, reveling in. Should we really embrace, encourage, and revel in this holiday? Candy for thought...haha.
Happy Harvest.
