My Halloween Experience...
I really don't like halloween but it really doesn't have anything to do with the holiday itself although a lot of folks don't mess with it due to it's origins. I was really a big fan of the holiday as a kid. I loved the candy, costumes, and special episodes of the Simpon's and Roseanne. The reason I don't like halloween is because it's the day my grandfather passed away when I was 14. On top of that it was the same year that I had moved to NC (just a few weeks earlier) so that chapter in my life put a bad taste in my mouth for both NC and the holiday. Now as I have gotten older I have let go of those feelings but I have never really gotten back into halloween especially since I hear such crazy stories about the origins nowadays.
But last night I couldn't help but reminisce about back in the day as I drove home. My biggest memory of the holiday was when I was 11 and 12 and all the guys around my age would get together (dressed in costumes of course) and went trick or treating (yes we were big as hell but who cares). The special part about this was that there were 2 brothers (Sergio and Lionel) that lived on my street that were between 17- 20 that would dress up like Freddie (glove and all) and Jason (actual goalie mask) and they spent the entire night trying to scare us to death. Chasing us thru the neighborhoods and even into our houses (to the point of reaching in the door before we slammed it but never coming in). Now I know it sounds crazy but it was THE BEST, probably because we knew who they really were. LOL
(You know, Jason was slow as hell and Freddie cracked jokes...how did we ever fear them as kids....LOL. Sergio and Lionel were a lot more scary.)
So once I got into the house and got online I read JAC and Mike's blogs about the holiday and went from laughter to deep thought about the holiday. Man I hadn't given halloween that much thought in a long time. LOL. And I came in this morning and read TC's blog and in that blog she puts up the question on whether or not we should allow our kids to celebrate the holiday.
Now this one really had me thrown for a loop because after the time spent remembering how much fun it used to be for me I really would like for my kids to have those experiences but at the same time I don't want them picking up the wrong things by celebrating the holiday also. Is this another one of those parenting things? I always seem to go back to that so I need to know if I'm the only one thinking this way. I mean if you take the time to explain things to your child and teach them the proper way to deal with what they encounter in life do you still have to shelter them? (Bet some of ya'll didn't expect it to take this turn). It's really a matter of knowing your kids and how impressionable they are but I just don't know if I can see myself preventing them from having fun with their friends....of course unless it's a halloween like last night when the opening night of the NBA begins and the Lakers are on. LOL.
Yes I am a Lakers fan (shout out to Mike for being a hater...LMAO) but that is a totally different blog that I'm pretty sure is coming soon since the season has started.
LOL
But last night I couldn't help but reminisce about back in the day as I drove home. My biggest memory of the holiday was when I was 11 and 12 and all the guys around my age would get together (dressed in costumes of course) and went trick or treating (yes we were big as hell but who cares). The special part about this was that there were 2 brothers (Sergio and Lionel) that lived on my street that were between 17- 20 that would dress up like Freddie (glove and all) and Jason (actual goalie mask) and they spent the entire night trying to scare us to death. Chasing us thru the neighborhoods and even into our houses (to the point of reaching in the door before we slammed it but never coming in). Now I know it sounds crazy but it was THE BEST, probably because we knew who they really were. LOL
(You know, Jason was slow as hell and Freddie cracked jokes...how did we ever fear them as kids....LOL. Sergio and Lionel were a lot more scary.)
So once I got into the house and got online I read JAC and Mike's blogs about the holiday and went from laughter to deep thought about the holiday. Man I hadn't given halloween that much thought in a long time. LOL. And I came in this morning and read TC's blog and in that blog she puts up the question on whether or not we should allow our kids to celebrate the holiday.
Now this one really had me thrown for a loop because after the time spent remembering how much fun it used to be for me I really would like for my kids to have those experiences but at the same time I don't want them picking up the wrong things by celebrating the holiday also. Is this another one of those parenting things? I always seem to go back to that so I need to know if I'm the only one thinking this way. I mean if you take the time to explain things to your child and teach them the proper way to deal with what they encounter in life do you still have to shelter them? (Bet some of ya'll didn't expect it to take this turn). It's really a matter of knowing your kids and how impressionable they are but I just don't know if I can see myself preventing them from having fun with their friends....of course unless it's a halloween like last night when the opening night of the NBA begins and the Lakers are on. LOL.
Yes I am a Lakers fan (shout out to Mike for being a hater...LMAO) but that is a totally different blog that I'm pretty sure is coming soon since the season has started.
LOL
posted by Daneger at 4:26 PM
4 Comments:
I don't know Dane...I just had this VERY conversation with a friend of mines last night...he was saying what you are saying, he did it as a kid, so why would he keep his kids from experiencing it...his thing was this...its nothing wrong with dressing up and things, just be mindful of what you let them do, like witches, ghosts, spirits all that stuff would be OUT...and it would be a matter of taking them to the church or an organized event or doing the "trick or treating" organized...and then explaining the origins and how that's NOT what its all about...I could totally see his point and IF I got married and my husband felt strongly about his children being able to just experience that part of being a "kid" I would more than likely be willing to compromise and let them participate in a Chrit-ween at the church or something like that...feel me...(I mean it will be TWO of us raising the kids and I just may have to digress on some things here and there, as he may have to as well) as of now, its just me, I don't and won't participate in it and we shall see what happens once the babies get here...LOL...
well ya'll know that you are asking the wrong person on this subject. as a jehovah's witness (JW) and being around witnesses for 10 years or so, there were a lot of things that I couldn't do like other kids. i remember when christmas was out, when halloween went by the wayside, when valentine's day was nixed... sure it was disappointing at first. sure i felt like i was missing out on all the fun that the other kids were having. but in retrospect, i understand the decision my parents made. it was a spiritual decision that they were making on behalf of me and my sister since we were too young to make spiritually mature ones ourselves.
in the kingdom halls, there are plenty and plenty of young children who do not celebrate halloween/christmas/easter and accept the issue. from being raised in JW spiritually minded homes, they understand and often teach other children at school or in their neighborhoods what the origins of such holidays are. that's the one thing about the children in the kingdom hall; they are VERY educated in regards to spiritual issues and moral standards. and they have to be when they are the only child in a classroom of 30 who does not get involved with the class trip to the pumpkin patch or the costume parade in the school hallways. it does take somewhat of a mature mind frame to accept, but those things can be cultivated from a young age. that's why it's important to start young with your children, in WHATEVER you decide to teach them. just like you start young with reading books and watching educational tv programs. so i say all that to point out the fact that it can be done.
keep in mind that even those who aren't JW's do it all the time with their kids. the love for a child moves a parent to say no to hanging out with certain other kids in the class because of bad associations. parents tell their children not to smoke or the engage in sexual activities. parents tell their children not to ride their bikes in the street or to stay out of the deep end of the pool at young ages. it may seem like the parents are stripping their kids of an abundance of fun, but it's all for their benefit. halloween can be looked at in the same light.
but of course, if you feel nothing is spiritually/morally wrong with halloween or other holidays (and events and tv programs and bad associations and pre-marital sex...), then there's no issue!
just some thoughts.
You know I can see where both of you are coming from. It's definitley a conflict with biblical beliefs as far as it's origin but it's definitely a decision for each individual to make.
JAC, have you always been a JW or was it a change that happened while growing up? You know it took me a lil bit to figure out why you always said Jehova and never Jesus (you do hear Jehova from time to time in other Christian denominations)...I'm a little slow some times. LOL.
It was a change. I was raised in a baptist school (Riverdale Baptist), then I attend Full Gospel A.M.E. for some years with the fam, and then we started a Bible study with JW's and the rest is history.
Yeah, I believe that Jehovah (the Father) and Jesus Christ (the Son) are not one in the same.
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