Halloween

I hate Halloween. There is absolutely nothing edifying about it spiritual or otherwise. It is the most purposeless day of the year. So when my kids were young I decided we were NOT going to celebrate "Halloween." But how do you explain that to your kids once they're old enough to realize that everyone else around them is partying and not old enough to realize they're partying for no reason. . . So in true Smith fashion we just made up our own tradition. It has evolved over the years and now looks something like this: we go to a graveyard, light a candle, eat a ton of candy, read the Bible, and tell each other all the things we like about each other.
1. We go to a graveyard. The first year we established this tradition we sat in our living room with the lights off so as not to attract any unwanted tricker-treaters. To make it "fun" we lit candles. The next year we got crazy and went somewhere outside, to the Icthus aka the kingdom park, so we could see the stars. Then we moved to urban Muncie. There is no peaceful outdoor place where we can see the stars so the first year or two we found friends' houses to hang out at. One year while visiting our neice's grave we realized the graveyard was a totally accessible, peaceful place where we could see the stars. . . hence we now go to a graveyard.
2. We light a candle. It goes along with the tradition of telling each other all the things we like about each other, it's fun and it provides just the right amount of light.
3. We eat a ton of candy. So instead of spending lots of money (or time and resources and the artistic ability I don't have) on silly costumes and sending my kids to beg (or threaten) for candy at strangers' homes where they'll get God knows what, I spend less money buying good candy that we're all really gonna like!
4. The first time we did it we obviously wanted the focus to be on God. Since Halloween seems to be about as anti-God as you can get and is VERY "me" focused we wanted to turn the focus outward. We called it "Creation Day" and we read the creation story and praised the Creator God (and His making of cocoa and sugar and fruity goodness).
5. To further turn the focus outward instead of on "me me me," we have each person take turns holding the candle (which is REALLY fun!) and then everyone speaks words of affirmation and encouragement into their life-all the things we really love about them . . .
Sooo, when my kids tell people they celebrate Halloween at a graveyard with a candle, they really mean it! And now you know why :) !