Happy Halloween 2011

Did you know that Halloween is ALSO All Hallows Eve / Reformation Day?  If you are not of the Reformed  Christian faith, you may not know what happened that day.   Hint:  Martin Luther.  (THE original Martin Luther)  Is it OK to celebrate either? or both?  Here are my thoughts from a previous blog post.

Much of the country is having terrible weather today/tonight, but if you take your children out, be safe. Be careful.  Be alert.

Many of the decorations are too spooky to put on here and I thought some were in bad taste.  Here are a few sights and tastes of Halloween:

Friends whose cat stood up straight for about 1 hour as far as I know...

My  husband and I saw this coming home one night this weekend...

My younger son's first attempt at pumpkin carving...he even won a prize!

A few tasty recipes for your trick or treaters...

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Halloween Cookies

Snack Mix

AND a few items in my Ebay store that are Halloween related.

To see these listings, go to THIS LINK.

Halloween All Hallows Eve Alternatives

October 31, Halloween / All Hallows Eve. Christians often ask the question about trick-or-treating, dressing in costumes, etc.--Should we or shouldn't we? Of course we would not participate in seances, vandalism, witches covens, or anything satanic. In all honesty I have never met anyone who did such things on Halloween although I'm sure there are some. Most people, young and older alike, enjoy the dressing up and trick-or-treating aspect (emphasis on the treating) on this night. When my children were younger we were fairly legalistic about this and did not allow them to go trick-or-treating except at Fall Festivals or church-sponsored events which they loved. We explained the origin of Halloween and the "dark side" and they were never interested in any of that. Now that I have gotten older, as have they, it does not seem to be such a big deal any longer. I even allowed them to read Harry Potter and see the movies which I also did not do initially. (I watched and read them first just to be safe though.)

If you have never read about the history of Halloween and how it relates to Reformation Day (and Martin Luther) here are two good links to do so.

There are many alternatives to Halloween trick-or-treating. For some, it is a safety issue because of scary things that the news reports. The article in the link above offers many suggestions such as Fall Festivals, pumpkin patch visits with a carving afterwards, arts & crafts parties at home, etc. as alternatives. As Christians it's not good to isolate yourself entirely from the culture nor is it good to totally participate without discernment. The choice, as always, is yours.