136. Should We Celebrate Halloween? What Our Family is Doing for Halloween 2022

Halloween…you might be here because you feel something is different this year, too. Or you might be like “What’s the big deal? It’s just Halloween.” Or you might be here hoping I’ll expose it for the demonic celebration you think it is. Wherever you fall on this spectrum of perspectives, I’m glad you’re here. People are super passionate about Halloween. Some love it and can hardly wait (my bestie from Episode 135 literally dresses up in 31 costumes and posts pictures of each online—one for every day of the month). And then there are those who are passionately believe Halloween is demonic with pagan origins. They see it as an invitation to invite darkness into our world unnecessarily. Some people view it as harmless and a holiday for people to just have a little fun, and there are those of us who land somewhere in the middle of all of these perspectives and aren’t sure how to feel about it or if we should take part in it. I think most of us in this middle are moms with little kids. We don’t want our kids to be scared. We don’t like them exposed to evil or grotesque imagery and Halloween takes that control out of our hands. We don’t have control over what stores put on display, what people put up in our front yards (heaven forbid our neighbors put up a Freddy image on their front door for our toddler to stare at for a month), we don’t know who is going to open the door, what they’re dressed as, or if someone is going to jump out and try to scare us. And scare us anonymously…that’s the part that gets me…the masks make pranksters anonymous. That never sat right with me even before kids. We live in a world where we tell our kids not to take candy from strangers…and then parade them around to the homes of strangers and instruct them to accept candy from them. If you’re a “crunchy” mom like me, your kids don’t even know what reeses peanut butter cups and kit kats are…we stick to the healthier options when it comes to candy and rebuke mainstream, chemical laden crap. But that’s all people hand out because that’s what Costco, Walmart, and Target sell within our budgets. And then there’s the costumes. Have you heard the term “prostitot?” It’s the kid sides prostitute worthy outfits that make most parents with any morals want to barf. Why on Earth do they sell midriff baring, mini skirt, way to adult costumes for kids (especially little girls)? They’re bad enough for the grownups (seriously…do an image search for “adult woman costumes” and tell me if anything comes up that doesn’t look like a hooker outfit with spandex, mini skirts, ruffles, boostiees, high heeled boots, and thigh high stockings)…but when they apply these same styles to outfits for children? I think a line needs to be drawn. So. Here we are. Parents acting hypocritically while often dressed as prostitutes filling ourselves up with chemical laden sugar all for the sake of “tradition” and “having a little fun.” I know that might seem harsh, but when I take a step back and actually look at the holiday…that’s what I see. And I’ve been guilty of more than one of those offenses. But we’re talking about THIS Halloween. And how many of us are feeling THIS year. 2022 is just hitting differently. It’s been over 2 years of divisiveness and 2 years of spiritual warfare being out in the open. So anything that causes division (like attitudes about a holiday) and anything that is obvious spiritual warfare (think light vs. dark…which, no one can argue that Halloween doesn’t fall into the “dark” category) is a huge turn off. FULL SHOW NOTES AT: WWW.ELEVATINGMOTHERHOOD.COM