Halloween isn't a problem, for me. I'm sure you've heard that it's a holiday for the Devil or that demons walk the Earth on that day disguised as candy corn or something. The truth is, no one can trace the roots of Halloween very well because each culture has its own seemingly ancient background for the holiday. Personally, I've always thought it was neat to have a day when we all remember those things that we fear and put them in perspective. (Which doesn't explain why I dressed up as a robot, one year. Halloween really doesn't make any sense.) Anyway, it seemed like a waste of time, to me, to set up a church festival that socially opposed Halloween.
Worst. Harvest festival. Ever. But, things have changed. Does anyone let their kids Trick-or-Treat, anymore? The threat of receiving poison in candy has been wildly overstated, but the idea of letting kids wander the streets is less appealing with every episode of the evening news - harvest festivals have become the only safe option for some parents.
It's no longer relevant to use harvest festivals to oppose Halloween, instead, it's about safety and fun. A church or community can work together to give the kids a fun evening without the threat of predators and such. I've slowly come around to the harvest festival bandwagon and I think that they provide many memorable Halloween memories for kids.
These kids are supposedly dressed up for Halloween, but it's Japan so it's kind of hard to tell.But I certainly don't want to see Halloween go away. I would regret it if Halloween lost its Victorian Gothic identity and the romance that goes with it. So, I'm not interested in toppling Halloween and advocating church alternatives like a social holiday usurper, but I've learned that Harvest Festivals have a lot more to offer than I originally thought - so I'll leave them alone.
OK, THIS is a stupid thing that people do at Halloween/Harvest festivals. Please, don't make your kids do this - it's idiotic. Maybe the threat of H1N1 will scare parents away from this sort of activity and Halloween will be better for it. (Threat of the Flu should ALWAYS deter such asinine activities in the late Fall, but no one cares about their health.)
6 comments:
I guess whether you should worry about predators at your church harvest festival all depends on what church you go to. Fortunately none of the churches I've ever been associated with have ever dealt with anything like that.
A wise church doesn't allow ANYONE to be alone with the kids. It would be difficult for such a thing to happen in a harvest festival when kids' safety is key.
Oh I know, I wasn't trying to be catty. The rampant abuses and cover-ups in the Catholic Church are a topic for a whole different blog post. My first church harvest festival was in the Pink Palace at the old EPBC building, where I dressed as bart simpson, which basically entailed a blue ghost costume (?) with a plastic bart simpson mask. I'm pretty sure even Jesus wouldn't have a problem with that, aside from its inherent lameness.
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We used to go to an "All Saints Eve" festival every Halloween. We had this really awesome box maze, and it was one of the highlights of my childhood to go to these.
To me, the best part of Halloween both then and now is dressing up. I never thought about trying to be scary (although, there was this one year where I dressed up as a t-Rex and growled at this girl I liked). I just really enjoy having this one day where the point is to look like someone or something else. (I once went as one of the Hanson brothers from Slapshot)
Its highly unfortunate that sexual predators have come and started ruining the innocent fun for everyone else in being able to do things like going door to door, etc.
I personally am not a fan of the Halloween... but that's a personal, not moral, decision for me.
As far as Harvest festivals at the churches. I've gone back and forth but I think what I feel is that it is a great chance to share the Gospel with folks who have maybe never heard it. If a church hosts one of these things and it isn't Gospel centered in its message then they may as well call it a Halloween Carnival (which is basically all it is minus the ghost and witch decor) and be done with it.
For me, this and any other function a church engages in absolutely must be centered on the Gospel. We meet the needs of the community out of love, absolutely... but if we aren't first and foremost concerned with their most important need, namely their soul, then we've missed the point.
For a church harvest festival though you and Justin are absolutely right. There needs to be wise guidelines (as with any event) that prevents children being alone with adults, children being alone period, safety of the location and keeping tall exits monitored so no one wanders off, etc.)
great post Adam!
j
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