Lately Joanna and I have had to come to terms with our
own convictions about Halloween as we now have an impressionable little boy
attending full-day kindergarten. Our concerns are exactly the concerns you
would probably expect the pastor of a conservative leaning Evangelical Christian
church to have with a holiday that celebrates ghouls and goblins, witchcraft
and werewolves along with all sorts of demonic ‘baggage’ packaged up in a bite
sized, candy coated harmless-looking presentation that kids really want to be a
part of.
We have opted NOT to allow Jack to participate in
Halloween this year. Perhaps that’s inconsistent because we got excited as
parents and had Jack dress up in costume for both his first and second
birthdays (Jack’s birthday is October 28th so the tow days go hand
in hand almost – one year he went as a pirate the next as a lion) – for those
of you who would level that charge against us I admit guilt and inconsistency.
I agree with many Christians that there is nothing wrong with little kids
dressing up and having fun one day a year – taking their imaginations to the
limit as they pretend to be something that they are not – but somewhere along
the way that harmless fantasy can no longer be separated from the grim reality
of what Halloween means to so many. Perhaps there is a post in that for another
day closer to the end of the month (but I should go onto say that people in
general have been very supportive of our stand – even Jack’s kindergarten
teacher is working hard to find Jack other non-seasonal activities to do when
the class is doing Halloween things) but the reason I mentioned all of that is because
I came across another reason that I don’t want to be a part of Halloween this
year – and this one it a lot less contentious.
Child Slavery.
Check out this blog post from Rage Against the Minivan.
And tell me that there isn’t something wrong with this.
Just my two-cents today.
Chris
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