Thursday, October 2, 2008
halloween
ok so right now I am trying to figure out how to explain to a 5 year old why we don't celebrate halloween....I knew that this would get harder as the kids got older but finding the right words is quite difficult...especially now that she is in kindergarten and they have the whole classroom decorated! At this point she understands that she is allowed to dress up everyday and have candy anytime so she is not being "left out" of anything...but you can't quite go into the history and origin of halloween with a 5 year old! Growing up we had many families who did not celebrate halloween so I think it was easier but we do not know a single family here that does not participate...We are standing firm to our convictions on this but please be praying that we can find the right words to express them to our children in a way that they can understand...this one is a kind of hard one to write because I know many people may not agree with me but this is what I am dealing with at the moment.
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7 comments:
em... completely understand! we're the same way (although it's much easier to explain to a 3 yr old!!) much to my mother-in-law's dismay (she thinks it's just a "fun" holiday for kids). justin and i have agreed that we do not celebrate it (nor santa... that's a whole different boat!), but we know we're in for a challenge as the years pass! praying that you all will stand firm! :)
I know what you mean... I'm totally against Halloween, but I'm not sure what to think about "Harvest Festivals"... I like the concept of replacing Halloween with something fun that the kids can do that is clean fun and all, but it still involves dressing up and candy. So is it just putting another name on the same face? Don't know.... : (
my 9 yr old, in fostercare, told me today that her friend told her that she was coming to trick or treat at our house....we were in the grocery store at the time so I tried to pass it off by saying 'tell her we won't be there'...it didn't work...she wanted to know where we would be...I admitted we actually WOULD be there but it wouldn't look like it and we'd talk about it later...this child spent last Halloween at a cemetary with her mother where she was told that a big white spirit arose behind her...she was totally freaked out....I guess I'd better make time to talk...(by the way, since we live in town, we watch movies in the dark, eat tons of candy and have a blast NOT celebrating)....c
We will be praying.
Our church has a Fall Festival that is so much fun. The kids all dress up (no scary costumes) and they have fun games and candy. Maybe this could be an alternative. They just think it means dressing up for all your friends to see.
Mama told me you were trying to explain not celebrating Halloween to Ellie. Alyssa's not quite that old yet, so it's easier. Here's what I've come up with though.
The main goal -even for a little child- is to know God and have fellowship with Him. So, I would emphasize the goodness of that first and throughout. His peace, joy, hope, presence, rewards in heaven...
Since we cannot pursue God at the same time as practicing things we know He hates, we want to know what He says regarding Halloween and do things His way. I came up with a few scriptures which can be paraphrased or put in story form or whatever clicks with a little mind. : )
WITCHCRAFT - Gal. 5:19-21 sorcerers won't inherit Kingdom, 1 Sam 15:28- it's compared to rebellion: God hates both.
FEAR- 2 Tim 1:7 God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. (why should we give fear to ourselves or others if God has given us something better already?) Gal 5:22 fruit of Spirit is peace. (I have already been teaching Alyssa this when she asks what the haunted house billboards are).
TRICKS-Mt. 5:37 Let yes be yes. (“just joking”, crossed fingers, etc are excuses to not be true to your word and sometimes to practice cruelty.) Mama also explained to us pretty early that although most people use “trick or treat” as a cute meaningless poem, some people use Halloween as an excuse for real tricks – for Mama’s neighborhood she said it was teens throwing raw eggs at windows. In our childhood, we didn’t see it, but there were a couple of people somewhere who did such dangerous “tricks” as poison, needles, and drugged stickers! And they will tell Ellie about some of that at school too – they have to for “safety” while they pretend the holiday is only about innocent fun!
Honoring, praying to, sacrificing to ANCESTORS-Though you say you cannot really go into history with a five year old, Disney definitely included the acceptance of cultures that worship ancestors in their October daily TV shows the last few years. The ideas may be part of Ellie’s world much earlier than they were part of ours. Here again, the goal is to have fellowship with God and “worship Him only.”
I’d say – Give her as much truth and she can embrace in an age-appropriate way and encourage her to seek God’s peace over all the rest!
Also, we just watched Veggie Tales “Rack, Shack and Benny” it addresses peer pressure in a fun way.
I’ll be praying too!!! Only God can put any of this in our hearts old or young.
Audra
Thanks to all of you...I appreciate your input and prayers!
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