From my Facebook page.....MY RANT OR THE YEAR
I'm not so much a stickler for telling people what to believe or participate in so much as I'm amused by those who take Halloween so seriously. I mean, we're talking about a holiday that encourages people to dress up as witches and demons, sure, but it also inspires dog costumes, action heroes, and whoopie cushions, and lots of other costumes that people wear for the sheer joy of dressing up and getting drunk on vampire blood punch. In fact, I think I'd be hard-pressed to find a single person who says she participates in the ritual of Halloween because she worships the devil. Not sure what's so "weird" about having fun with characters of your own creation? Also having hobbies that you don't understand / aren't into doesn't make somebody "weird", either? I'm not exactly sure but it seems to me the only actual side-effect is that it helps the economy… something we SURELY don't want want during the global recession! Surely, you cant think that children who are properly educated will turn into demonic beings simply because one night out of the year they dress up as (largely made up / imaginary) spooky creatures or characters?! Regardless of this fact, what needs to be observed is that during this day and age, Halloween is simply a secular holiday. An excuse for people to dress in silly outfits and have a laugh. It's the ignorant pollution of people's minds with propaganda that create the sort of ill-tempered, mis-informed, ‘demons’ of society. People who spread hate and ignorance for the sake of it. Guess what? Our family carves pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns and we trick-or-treat in costumes on Halloween. Not an amazing statement, is it? But for some people these days, participation in Halloween is viewed as some sort of mortal sin or major controversy. I find Halloween an excuse to do what I love best, create, make, paint, build, and bake. Those are my hobbies, as well as my children. It seems like every October, some people voice their condemnations against Halloween. I personally find it irritating. Condemning others for their participation in a fun holiday certainly wins no one to Christ, quite frankly, I think we all need to spend more time loving people and less time judging them. If you are a Halloween-hater, you are entitled to your opinions. I respect your right to have them. But please understand that most of us have moved into the current century… we don't celebrate Halloween for the original reasons it was created. We celebrate it for the fun costumes, family time, and candy. We aren't promoting murder. We aren't teaching our children non-Biblical beliefs about ghosts and witches. And we don't love Satan. But we do like carved pumpkins, and candy. Definitely don't forget the candy. And for future reference, we decorate a tree in our living room every year for Christmas, too.
TAIRA TONEY
"Because... If you don't get to survive being scared as a kid, how are you ever going to survive being scared as an adult? When there's so much more to be scared of."
