Friday, October 31, 2008

Halloween Fun?

I haven't always hated Halloween. In fact, when I was a young child, I loved to dress up and go out collecting candy with my friends. As a young mother, I encouraged my sons to make their own costumes which they creatively did but I wasn't happy with all the candy they brought home. (Photo on left: cousin Michelle as Raggedy Ann-now a mother to four, Brook-my superman son, and his cousin Jason-a father to two who is dressed as Raggedy Andy. Photo below, my first three sons-Daniel a robot inside the cardboard box, Frank a vampire and Brook as Scooby Doo.)

As a first grade teacher, I started to hate Halloween because my students were unruly for days before and hyper days after from the sugar overload. Then I became acquainted with the dark side of the holiday which was originally to celebrate All Saints Days Nov 1st with a hallowed eve the night before honoring and remembering the dead. I began to see this holiday in another light with extreme groups whose religion included Satanic rights, worshipping vampires, and witchcraft etc., Halloween is a special time of celebration for them. 

Digging a little deeper, I discovered many teens were involved in religious cults that were very strange. They dressed all in black with white faces and practiced secret rituals. Yes, there is good to Halloween as the little ones like my grandkids love to dress up but there is also another side to it. Just as in everything else in our world. Opposition in all things! (Photo on left of my twin grand daughters dressed as a lion and a tiger years ago.)

11 comments:

  1. Love the photos -- like you, I'm not wild about Halloween, but in the relatively small town where my kids grew up, it was always a fun night -- well, except for the sugar high!

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  2. I agree with your Halloween thoughts. As a teacher, it became my least favorite day of the year, as the parades went to bloody and/or dark costumes. Not like the 50's and 60's when life wasn't so-o [I can't think of the word that I want to use here!!]
    I love to see the creative hand made costumes, mostly kids 12 and under.

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  3. I was so glad when we were year round and I was on the track that was off the end of October!

    Funny how Halloween has grown. When I was young it was just a night for neighborhood trick or treating. Now it seems to have become as much for adults as kids. Personally, I don't like teen-age trick or treaters. Let them buy their own candy.

    Sorry, just venting a bit.

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  4. Halloween has NEVER been my favorite holiday. I've mentioned before the "Witchalena" activity tht I did with my children that brought a warm, happy spirit to the season. It was lots of fun, gathered us all together for seven nights to do our treasure hunt, taught gospel principles, and has become a favortie memory for all of us. I don't ever remember enjoying making my kids Halloween costumes. It became just one more things for the highy competitive parents in our neighborhood to compete over. I always hated the horror costumes, you know, the bloody guts, slasher type nonsense.

    The candy was bad when my four were trick or treating, but I think it's even worse now. There again, my own kids were never real sugar freaks so they didn't eat a lot of the treats they brought home... BUT, my grandkids are another matter. And now they have the costume parade where the kids walk from room to room picking up treats that the parents are asked to provide, then they go to our church for a "Trunk or Treat" where the families all pass out treats from the trunk of their cars in the parking lot...(supposed to be safer than walking through the neighborhoods) but, the kids walk through the neighborhoods ANYWAY... So, now we have three sources of candy in one day. Each kid can literally come home with 150 pieces, or more, of wrapped hyper-activity.

    Here in our little town, the school kids all march up and down Main Street in their costumes. The parents and older folks sit in lawn chairs and clap as they walk by. Today,I saw mostly super hero's, princesses, Jack Sparrow, a few mummies, pumpkins, cowboys, ballerinas... It was fun! And Chandi and I are going to be gypsy witches for Witches Night Out next year because we had a good time at Gardner Village this year.

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  5. We love Halloween. I grow up with out it. also with out candy bars and sugary treats. I love dressing as a man ( I make a really scary ugly guy) now Hakan loves Halloween. He eats one candy a day and really does not make any fuss if I don't let him for the second one...we had a blast tonight trick or treating in our neighbor-hood. Frank and Hakan were storm troopers from star wars it was very funny to watch a 6'5 and 3 footer dressed the same way.

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  6. The photos are so cute. I hope you had a nice time tonight anyway. Enjoy your weekend.

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  7. Lin..I am so sorry that you are being presented with multiple health issues. It does get overwhelming and you do feel like crying. I got hit with the high cholesterol shortly after a MS relapse and I can't tolerate any of the meds that normal people can take to help. So I have to do it with diet and good grief is that boring. But the specialist told me that you can help lower your numbers with every 6 pounds you lost. I am working on it..but it isn't fair...but life isn't fair...hugs to you..Michelle..

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  8. Thank goodness most of our costumes at school weren't too bad. Weapons were not allowed on any of the costumes. Kids were encouraged to come as a storybook character, etc. It was a hyper time of year, though.

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  9. I have always enjoyed this holiday for the creativity it employed as well as the generosity of people toward kids. My daughter's birthday is Oct. 29, so I've always joined the two in a way.

    I used to love Halloween in Ireland, where it is a 2000-year-old harvest festival, really. Winter starts in Ireland on Nov. 1. Kids there go door to door for fruit and nuts as well as candy. The towns are smaller and this can be done safely! I think it's an important time to stop and think of the beautiful fruits of the earth and to remember the awesome importance and power of nature in our lives.

    It disturbs me that so many fringe groups with dark hearts exploit this holiday for their own miserable purposes. May their dirty hands never touch the lives of the little Tinkerbells and Pooh Bears that came to my door last night.

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  10. In Sweden we never celebrated Halloween until some years ago, then your custom crossed the Ocean. So I don't have any memories myself, and I feel sorry that Halloween is celebrated at the time we remember our dead ones. I am grateful that my son - to get away from all the begging at the doors etc - started a tradition to take his family to the family graveyards and light candles. It is so beautiful to see all these candles! They did so even when they lived two hours from the cemetaries.
    And at the same time I thought another grandchild look very sweet in her custome when Primary had their Halloween party. So life is full of opposites, and it is up to us to make good choices. Gittan

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