Halloween

I am very curious what other people think about Halloween and how they celebrate it, if at all. When I was very young, we attended a church that did not celebrate Halloween and pretty much prohibited it. As I got older and realized the other kids dressed up and went around getting candy! on this unusual holiday, I was intrigued. We did do some trick or treating as we got older, but then I wasn't really into it anyway. The fact that we lived on an isolated, rural road with house few and far between only added to the misery.

Now, Kevin and I are (both) just not into dressing up, or making a big deal about Halloween. Last year we sat on our porch and handed out candy, while Kian (in his baseball outfit) played and slept. I also am opposed to the junk, I mean candy, that is handed out and inhaled by the handful. It's horrible for the teeth. Ugh. Besides that, I'm just a Halloween grinch, I can't exactly afford "good" candy and really don't see why I should hand out candy to people I don't even know. It's a strain on my budget. It just seems to me, it's an exaggerated "holiday" egged on by the retailers to pad their bottom line by getting those kids to "have to have Dora, Batman, Elmo" costumes, as well as 5 lbs of candy.

People don't even know what they are "celebrating". It's not even about the roots of the day, it's so commercialized it's unrecognizable. As a white Christian I celebrate meaningful holidays-Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving-and even those secular, but meaningful ones-mother's/father's day, military days, etc. For an explanation and definition of Halloween click HERE. I know we're not all Irish, and that we Americans aren't celebrating Halloween because of our recent harvest and worries about evil, dead spirits haunting and hurting our crops. I just don't think there's a purpose to (Americanized) Halloween-it's solely a greed-induced night, in my eyes.

So, all the crankiness aside. Kian is still small and has no understanding of this so-called "holiday". He's not aware of any commercialized personas, save Elmo, and has no desire for all things Halloween--yet. I think this year we might go out and do something instead of sitting home, waiting for the craziness to being, being drained of $20 or more to fill unknown children's candy bags. But, there will come a time he may want to actually "participate" in this weirdness, and what will we do then?

Okay, lay it on me.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cheepo.

Anonymous said...

I'm 23 and i plan on going for free candy.