Movie Night

Anyone who knows our family very well, knows that we don't celebrate Halloween. The origins of the event are enough to make us find something else to do. Here's a brief synopsis of the "holiday": It began as a festival when Celtic pagans would take stock of their supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores.  The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31 the boundary between the living and the deceased dissolved, and the dead became dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops.  The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, into which bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown.  Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them. 

So, there you have it. It's not something either Daniel or myself are interested in encouraging the kids to partake of. I know, I know. You don't have to give me the speech about it just being kids dressing up in cute costimes and getting lots of free candy. In my opinion, I truly believe that Satan must get even a tiny bit excited about having so many people join in an event which comes from evil origins. You don't have to agree with me, but we're very set in our Halloween avoidance ways. We don't even attend the church events. They call them safe alternatives to Halloween, but why are they called alternatives when it's the same darn thing! Kids are dressed up in costumes and getting candy on October 31! Just because it's in a church doesn't mean it's an alternative. It's just a scenery change. 

On top of that, why would I tell my kids that ghosts, spiders, witches and running around in the dark are things to be celebrated? No thanks, we can find something better to do with our time.

Abigail is fully aware of what Halloween is for other children and doesn't mind letting them know that she doesn't dress up or trick or treat. She certainly didn't mind when I told her that we would find something fun to do instead of Halloween. Daniel was working, so the kids picked out a new movie for our home collection and we hosted our own movie night.

Plenty of fun was had hanging out together in our comfy pajamas and watching Madagascar. It was so good, we watched it again on Saturday! I'll take an evening of snuggling with my babies and watching animated animals sing show tunes over Halloween any day.