Halloween
My mom loved to dress up for Halloween. In fact, most years she won first place at her bowling league costume contest. When I was ten she was Little Bo Beep carrying my baby "sheep" sister. Another year she became a frightening black widow. And during intense freeway construction in our city she dressed as a road! Complete with orange safety cones and a little roadkill.
Mom passed that creativity and playfulness on to me. As my children grew I found fun ways to enhance and complement their Halloween whims. When my son wanted to be a firefighter, I made his dad into a firetruck and me into a tree, standing nearby with a black cat baby sister on my limbs. When my daughter wanted to be a strawberry, I became the mouse from one of her favorite books, The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear. And when daughter fell in love with a second-hand Winnie the Pooh costume (complete with a paunchy stuffed tummy) and son got into magic tricks... well, Dad became Christopher Robin, and I popped out of an enormous top hat dressed like the white rabbit.
So much fun!
But the candy. That has been difficult.
I don't like it! Not one bit. At first, it was my wrestle against autoimmune disease causing the friction. Then my war against food addiction and emotional eating as well. So I tried to curb the frenzy. The first year they were allowed free access for one night only. A one time pass to the candy buffet. They gorged themselves until they were sick.
The next year I tried the dentist's plan. I paid them per pound. They were thrilled! But the concept troubled me. My neighbors bought candy. Gave it to my kids. Then I paid the kids, and gave the candy back. This was not a tradition I could stand behind.
Soon after my son showed signs of ADHD and digestive issues surfaced in my daughter. Now the candy had to go. So, ever creative, I got my kids excited about handing out candy to trick-or-treaters.
That year was the year of Winnie the Pooh and her elder brother, the magician. Trick-or-treaters received red balloons (like the one Pooh uses to float up the honey tree) and party favors that magically appeared at the tap of a wand. The next year my son made a giant Price Is Right spinning wheel out of cardboard. Our visitors played carnival games with my daughter, then spun the wheel for their prize.
But I'm still not satisfied. Particularly as Halloween decorations get darker and more elaborate in the stores and neighbors' yards. What am I doing with this holiday anyway? I'm putting in lots of effort transforming something unholy into something we can work with, while everything about it goes against our values. Celebrating evil, fear and scary things. Gorging on candy. Staying up late. None of this is helping our family culture, bodies, minds, or souls.
So this year, after prayer and pondering, we discovered something new. Or rather, we discovered something old for the first time: All Saints' Day.
According to Wikipedia, in Western Christianity All Saints' Day (also known as All Hallows Day) is celebrated November first. Its purpose is to celebrate the saints, -- those who were close to God and those who were martyred.
Unfortunately, that's the extent of my knowledge at this point. Even so, I'm excited to chase this lead. All Saints Day aligns with my values, it doesn't involve candy, and our first, feeble attempt was enriching. Furthermore, I believe each day begins at sundown. This means that All Saints Day can be a perfect substitute for a traditional Halloween.
So... more to come. I'm not sure how I'm going to make All Saints Day a fun, holy day with my kids. But I will do something.
Incidentally, this was the year that my daughter asked to dress up as Jesus for Halloween. I didn't feel great about that. But her preferences certainly align better with our new venue!
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