Featured How do you handle Halloween?

If I thought that would work. More like this.

 

LOL! My set up was similar to this (that's the photo that gave me the idea). I had my skeleton crew gathered around a fire pit with orange LED lights in it. They were roasting marshmallows (made of styrofoam). Kids in the neighborhood loved it.

 

Exactly. Something can only be pagan if you give it a pagan meaning. Many don't like the practice of hijacking symbols, but I don't see the problem.

 

Studying this issue, I came across this interesting article on All Hallows Eve during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Halloween was once so dangerous that some cities considered banning it.
"Violence and vandalism were once as traditional as candy and costumes"

I'm not sure where the tradition came from, I believe Irish immigrants, the article said. It was apparently pretty bad, often resulting in deaths of the pranked and pranksters. Trick or Treat was a tradition that corporations and communities came up with to replace the violent tradition. Modern Trick or Treat, seemed to be the tradition that effectively phased out the previous tradition. In a real sense, Trick or Treat saved Halloween and saved lives.

I mention this, as I've heard some say Trick or Treat is about magic spells and Samhain traditions. Looks like that's not true. In fact, I don't find any real connection between American Halloween and Samhain at all.

 

LOL! My kids haven't quite talked me into that show yet, but they love it.

I did the same for a while. We just figured it was a pagan holiday, and something we shouldn't observe.

An epiphany then hit me to hijack Halloween and use it to teach something biblical. We use it to study the Fall and Curse. Makes the most logical sense, given the symbolism. It just so happens to be all about death. Gravestones, skeletons and the like.

Then we use the faint light in Jack-o'-lanterns to symbolize the Gen. 3:15 prophecy, which is a prophesy about Christmas and Easter. It's a prophecy of a the coming Conquerer who will defeat death.

So, in essence, we use Halloween to study the Fall and prophecies about the Seed. We have an annual Candy theology talk Halloween night or the next day. It's actually become quite a Christian event for us. We discuss things you normally never discuss, but probably should.

Ironically, we've gone the opposite direction many Christians have, keeping the dark symbolism and using it.

 

That's the dilemma. Halloween symbols are well established and difficult to eliminate. And frankly, they're kind of cool. It's a fun holiday.

I would love to see the Church use it, hijack it in some creative way. Its symbolic meanings aren't very well known anyway. Most don't know who Stingy Jack is. Most aren't aware of the vandalism and violence trick r treat replaced. I can tell you for certain, most trick or treating families don't know what Samhain is.

I doubt, though, most Churches would go my route and use them to teach about the history of death and evil.

 

Oh man I loved the album. Used to sit in my room and listen. I believe it's available on iTunes.

Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House by Walt Disney Sound Effects Group