Well, I see it's been at least five years since I explained my position on Halloween, and I have *many* new readers since then, so let's go over it once more.
If you're a believer in the way of Jesus Christ, and you abhor this "holiday," that's perfectly okay with me. We have never let our kids dress up as a demon, skeleton, witch, ghost, or anything "evil" ... that's just giving the devil way too much due. If your church offers an alternative family event, I say go for it. You have my full support.
However, I also believe that just as our society has sucked much of the meaning out of Christmas, it has also sucked most all of the meaning of Halloween out of this day. So if you let your kids get dressed up and go knock on strange doors for a few free sweet treats, that's okay with me, too. Be it a nice or not so nice day, American society is the great "dumbing down" factor that creates a level playing field for everyone in that regard. But do remind yourself today is All Saints Eve, and give a nod to the Catholic church, which tried to turn it into something with a higher calling and nature.
And don't let yourself get too carried away with the candy and the costumes, okay?
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WAYS TO MAKE TRICK OR TREATING MEMORABLE
Give out something other than candy. (Marbles, golf tees, kid's modeling clay)
Insist your dishwasher is making a funny noise. Get everyone who comes to the door into your kitchen to see if they can figure out what it is.
After you give them candy, hand them a bill.
Answer the door with a handful of candy and a mouthful of M & M's. Look surprised, slam the door, then open it a second later and tell them you have no candy. ("There's no candy here. No candy. We have no candy. Why do you think we have candy...?")
Insist they do push-ups or sit-ups before they get their candy.
Hand out menus and let the kids pick their own candy. Keep asking if anyone wants to see the wine list.
Give away colored eggs. Explain you had to use up everything left over from Easter.
Exclaim, "Oh, what a nice selection!" and then go through their bags, picking out one piece of candy from each.
Dress as a pilgrim. Look confused when you see their costumes. Start flipping through a calendar, shaking your head.
[From Possum Al's Homestead, with family-friendly edits and additional material by Mark Raymond]
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Busy weekend. My daughter has a school concert tomorrow morning, and a friend is playing at a local coffeehouse tomorrow evening. And, of course, the weekend's big news: Daylight Savings Time comes to an end for those of us in states that observe it on Sunday morning at 2:00 a.m. Be sure to "fall back" an hour before you drop off to sleep Saturday night.
Watch for an "Odds 'n' Ends" post on the blog tomorrow with scraps and photos and a video clip. After that, I'll see you on Monday.
Mark
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WEB SITE of the WEEK: I've posted "microlending" sites in this space before, but I rather like the concept behind this one. It's from list member Thom N. who invites us all to join him at http://www.kiva.org, where you can loan money to specific entrepeneurs in Third World countries so they can "lift themselves out of poverty." The loans begin as small as $25, and the entrepeneur pays you back as he or she earns income. You can also create or join "teams" of people who pool their money together to have a bigger impact. Tell you what, if at least three other people write to say they're interested in this (my email addy is below), we'll form a "Mark's Musings" team for the benefit of someone who could really use our help. If you don't trust giving to the Kiva website, you can give to me and I'll transfer it on for you. Promise. Let's make some "loans that change lives." Thanks, Thom!
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Mark's Musings is still a Habeas-certified spam free mailer. Subscribe, view past issues in the Archives, and click all you want at my web site. To contact me and sooner or later get a reply, click here. To tell me all about your *own* Halloween beliefs, click the previous link. You can forward or reprint "Mark's Musings" freely but please keep the credits attached. Keeping the credits on the post is just good, clean, fun. Try it! Original material and commentary © 2008 by Mark Raymond. I update this blog with a copy of the post daily and occasionally toss in bonus material on the weekends. Look for the label that says "Weekend" and you can bring them all up with one click. My personal mission statement and my license plate is still John 3:30. I'll be so happy to see Wednesday.
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WORDS for YOUR WEEKEND: "It's a dangerous business going out your front door." (J.R.R. Tolkein)
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