Hallowed

When Evan was a toddler and Katie was a baby, we trick-or-treated a couple of times. Then our church began to offer an alternative to the cultural celebration of Halloween. Personally, I am a fan of anything that involves dressing up and candy. I am not a fan of the macabre. Or the gross. The years of attending "Hallelujah! Night" on October 31st allowed us to not be cultural misfits, and to put off the Halloween Discussion for a time. We swayed back and forth in the years when the event was moved from 10/31 to the weekend before, and allowed the kids to still dress up, even Trick-or-Treating to a couple of neighbors' homes last year in the absence of an easy alternative.
This year is different. I feel the pull on the one hand of my culture and several decades of "Halloween Fun", but on the other hand is the consideration of how the early church incorporated such cultural what-not into the calendar just so that people would show up. Not cool. Into my quandary comes the voice of a friend's child saying, "We don't do Halloween. We go bowling. And eat candy." That voice was hot on the heels of one of my own spouting the ridiculous, "Mawwwwm--- we know it's Satan's Birthday, but it's not like that's what we are celebrating." (Otherwise intelligent child say what!?) So I told the kids to research Halloween, Sam Hain, harvest festivals, etc.
They sort of almost did (research = poll of peers), and returned with the response that the historical basis for our current Halloween traditions are based on people trying to scare off malevolent spirits or "dead souls". We added the info that people put out treats to try to bribe the same spirits in hopes of having no evil or mischief done. The children informed us that they know that stuff is fiction, and they want to dress up and eat candy.
The 13-year-old really does not need seasonal encouragement to dress in a LOTR or Star Wars costume. Those are pretty much reserved for days that end in "y". We just keep repeating our emphatic "no" for that one. The middle child was given permission to attend a Halloween theme party last night despite our reservations, and with a fair amount of discussion beforehand. She was shocked to find the level of yuck, grotesque, horror, and creepy at the McMansion where the party was held by people who really get into Halloween. There was way more talking after she returned home, and definitely more understanding of why Mom and Dad have a big thumb's down for one of the most profitable holidays of the retail year. The youngest child really doesn't care because everyday is something of a costume party for her, and as long as she gets some candy she is generally not concerned about Halloween at all. She does have a ghoulish fascination with the animatronic severed hands and ghouls that line the aisles of MegaMart and SuperSpot, but she will be equally enthralled by ice skating snowmen and dancing Santas in a few more weeks.
I am just not sure if we will be bowling, hiding out in our darkened home, at the movies, or if we will just go find a church with a "Fall Festival" on the 31st. There are likely a few more family discussions to come on this one as we hash out the latest in the series of debates on culture vs Christ.