The Gaslight Effect: How to Spot and Survive the Hidden Manipulation Others Use to Control Your Life
Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence–from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror
The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection (Modern Library Paperbacks)
Things I Have Learned: Chapel Talks
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
October 31st, 2008
Have a Splenda-ed Halloween!
It always seemed like we lived across the street from dentists. In South Bend, it was Dr. Rosenbaum. In Tulsa, it was Dr. Hudson (who has since retired). They always had the scariest decorations for Halloween. Ghosts that moved across the porch on wires and loud music blaring. Both had the top houses in the neighborhood! My Dad would always instruct me in my cookie monster costume, “Now, a nice and loud ‘Trick or Treat.’ REMEMBER TO PROJECT!” I did fine with every other house but Dr. Hudson’s because at his house there was so much cool stuff to dodge.
But their treats were lame: toothbrushes and mini-tubes of Crest and stickers of smiling teeth. Who wants a sticker of a tooth? It wasn’t even scratch-n-sniff!
As we’d survey our booty late on Halloween night — with our parents dutifully checking for razor blades and unwrapped candy inevitably injected with cyanide. It was the 1970s after all. — I’d see those forlorn toothbrushes and dumb stickers and think, “Oh. Figures. It’s the dentist.” And I’d toss them aside in favor of Poprocks or Bottlecaps. Like every other kid, I’m sure.
It’s kind of funny in hindsight because I’m sure their business went up after all the Sugar-Daddy-inflicted broken fillings. Do they want more work or do they really want us to use these brushes and paste and send them to the Poor House?
So I’ve got to ask — what are Kim Weir and Pam McCune thinking in Redeeming Halloween: Celebrating without Selling Out? Granted, they do a genuinely good job of retelling the history of the early Church leading up to and including All Hallow’s Eve. And as a list of party ideas go, it’s okay, I guess. No different than a recent issue of Family Circle.
But between those two poles, it’s strange. Instead of holing up in a backroom of the house with the lights off to avoid the inevitable trick-er-treaters, they encourage Christians to have the “best treats” in the neighborhood to be a “good witness” (sounds sooo familiar), When you carve the pumpkin with your kids, quote Bible verses for each step such as “Let this mind be in you” when you lift off the stem (I tried this the other night when we were carving. Besides the fact that Grant glared daggers at me, it was clearly sacrilegious). For costume ideas, they suggest you brainstorm as a family about which people group they want to witness to. Like Astronauts.
Seriously? Is that any different than Dr. Hudson’s tooth stickers?
When I was done with the book, I thought about the artificial sweeteners I use in most of my cooking. I’ve got diabetes in my family history, and so I try to steer away from sugar and white flour. So if I can get away with it, I replace sugar with Splenda and flour with oatmeal.
But it’s obvious. It’s fake. And you can taste the fake.
Do we have to fake it at Halloween too? Does being a good Christian mean we have to give a saccharine nod to the holiday always holding back a full-fledged spooky scream?
It all boils down to what my friend Mollie said when I told her the title of the book I was reading, “What’s to redeem?”
October 31st, 2008
skerrib Says :
Oooh, this post captures so much of what annoys me about “Christianizing” Halloween…or pretty much anything else. I wonder if anyone, in the history of the world, has ever thought, “Wow, I wonder what makes them give the best treats…only people of faith could give such marvelous treats.”
I want to read the book out of sheer curiosity, but I wonder if I should steer clear for my own sanity…
Great post, thanks. I’ll think of it when I’m trick or treating with my kiddo, and then handing out regular old mini candy bars to the neighbor kids. =)
October 31st, 2008
Dan Keller Says :
When I first started my current job, we had a whole Education Committee meeting on whether or not we should have a “Halloween” party, which had been a tradition. I grew up trick-or-treating and the devil hasn’t stolen my soul (although I am pretty liberal, so an arguemnet could be made…) and I work in a church. So, we call it a “Costume” party, ask there be no “goulish” costumes. But, they still trick-or-treat and decorate pumpkins. The answer is we can still let kids be kids and have fun at halloween.
November 1st, 2008
Will Says :
Hmm…this is a little weird.
You know me — I try to be all about trying to redeem all of life. But modern-day Halloween is either creepy and the opposite of redemption OR meaningless & tack-resistant for Christian add-ons like this.
Why not do something MEANINGFUL instead of thinking you have to buy into the accepted way of doing things? Be a little more creative here, folks. I dunno, hand out little cards with your candy, with your name & address on it, saying “You’re always welcome at the Lewises” (or whatever). If a family stops by around dinner time, ask if they’ve already had dinner – if not, invite them in! I don’t know, I haven’t given as much thought to it as Kim & Pam. But it does seem fairly obvious that paper-clipping Christianity to Halloween cheapens the message of the Gospel. Start from scratch, right? How would believers celebrate this time of year? Do that instead.
November 1st, 2008
Dan Keller Says :
Actually, the early church “co-opted” the holiday, moving the Feast of All Saints’ to the day after Halloween. BTW, the early church did this to most major holidays. They kept Easter because it was so closely associated with Passover. But the other Christian holidays were moved to line up with pagan holidays, including Christmas. I don’t think there was anything “pagan” about this, Moving the Christian feast days made it easier for the pagan converts – they could still celebrate on their traditional celebrative days and worship God through Jesus Christ.
I don’t see anything evil about letting kids dress up in costumes and trick-or-treating, but I don’t make a federal case out of parents who choose to have their children stay home. I do think people who do “Hell House” and other Halloween “alternatives” should really think if they are helping the cause of Christ.