No, it wasn’t Anna that fell.  In all actuality, the title of my blog will have several “meanings” by the end of this note. 
In the fall of 2008, it was cold and extremely windy so we opted not to do any traditional “fallish” pictures of Anna outside with Pumpkins or other fall sets. She was barely 3 months old and couldn’t sit up on her own, plus, as just stated, it was so windy I really just didn’t want to get her out in it for very long.  Anna was supposed to have a field trip day with JoyfulNoise on the 29th, so when i started seeing pumpkin patches scattered around the metro, I decided it’d be really fun to get pictures of her playing with the pumpkins along with all her little friends in her class instead of just by herself.  So I waited.  Our beautiful 1st week of October was followed by 3 weeks of mostly wet, cold muggy weather.  And the 29th was so rainy!  I drove past the “patch” they were supposed to visit, and saw all the pumpkins scattered around in the mud with pools of water all around.  All this to say I decided Friday (yesterday) I’d take Anna to a local little pumpkin patch and snap a few fun pictures of her exploring the Pumpkins (or Puh-buh as she calls it).  Only to find that the one I was thinking of was closed… so was the next one… and the next one… Apparently people think pumpkins are only made for Halloween festivities.  Quite disappointing if you ask me!  The little garden center we were originally planning to go on the fieldtrip to is still open, but it’s in Newcastle.  And Friday I had already driven all the way up to Edmond, but opted to go on out to Newcastle just for the experience for Anna.  
Pumpkins were not even originally part of what is now “Halloween”’s traditions.  The Irish originally carved scary faces into turnips and beets, but when the Potatoe famine sent immigrants to America, they started using Pumpkins when there was more of an abundance of these carve faces.  They believed they could carve demonic faces into the gourds to scare away evil spirits.  So for local stands to close only because Halloween is over was very annoying.

This recent search for a mere group of pumpkins has sent me to a soap box.  I’m not one to typically do so.  Sure I’ll join a discussion if I feel my opinion  or convictions or God-guided beliefs warrant me doing so, but typically I’m just a listener.  Or I guess in some situations, I’m an observer. None-the-less I don’t usually voice my opinion, but I want to this time.

When we were growing up (my brothers, sister, and I) we never “celebrated” Halloween.  I only remember my parents sharing that Halloween was a holiday made for Satan.  A day made up for his followers.  I don’t really remember any serious discussions about it.  Or even any of us questioning Mom & Dad’s guidance on the issue.  Just it was a day for Satan, and it was a day we wouldn’t be participating in.  Even in Middle School and High School I can remember never really having the desire to dress up or participate in the day.  (I think our youth group at church was doing a booth for the church’s “Halloword” festival my sophomore year, and I think I put on overalls and put my hair in pigtails just so I’d blend in a little and kind of look like a hillbilly, but I remember thinking the whole time I was there; “I don’t want to be here”).  In college, my roomies had a Halloween party a couple of times.  And every year I’d leave the house.  Sure it would have been nice to stay there instead of attending a UCO volleyball game by myself, but I didn’t feel the need to stay and explain myself over and over to everyone who asked where my costume was. And they were always clean parties.  And they mostly only had the party to reach out to international students in the first place, but still I’ve never felt the need or desire to participate in this holiday.

I’ve done my own research of the holiday recently.  I can not find a single positive, Christ-centered message about this day.  At least Easter and Christmas are days that acknowledge or celebrate the resurrection and birth of Jesus.  Sure, they may have also had a lot of their initial meanings clouded and may have become more of a pagan holiday to some people,  but there is at least a Christ-centered message behind the origins of these holidays.  And I can’t find that for Halloween.  There is AllSaints day on Nov. 1, the day after Halloween, which was created to honor the saints and martyrs who had lived a life for Christ.  But I don’t personally think I should necessarily “honor” these people by devoting a day to them and their works.  Yes, I’m greatful for the example they have left for generations to come, and yes, they were great men and women worthy of acknowledgement, but if they were living a life for Christ, I’m sure they were humble people, and would also not want to be a part of something that gave the credit to themselves rather than to God.  But again, there’s absolutely nothing that encourages people to seek Christ when it comes to Halloween.  In fact everything I’ve seen for the day does exactly the opposite.

A lot of churches in the area do their own little fall festivals around the same time or on the same day or weekend as October 31st, but I think even these are discouraging in a lot of ways.  I know their initial purpose is to do some outreach to the community by allowing a “safe” environment for children and families to get off the streets, and provide an alternative to some of the “scary” decor that some people display at their homes.  (for example, some people down the street put a lawn chair in an old hunting shack in their front yard- I assume they had it manned and jumped out to scare all the little “Trick or treaters” as they came up- I don’t know about you, but I hate being purposefully scared by someone)  I know the churches are attempting to do some kind of outreach to their communities when they do these functions, but what about Romans 12:2 in which Paul instructs us to “not conform to the patterns of this world”  or 1 Thessalonians 5:22 where we’re told to “abstain from all appearances of evil”.  
2 Corinthians 6 asks what righteousness and wickedness have in common. 
We are called out of darkness! God has requested that we step into His marvelous light!  I know some of you may be thinking I’m going a little overboard here.  I mean, your own kids have dressed up as princesses, or cute furry creatures, or butterflies and fairies… it’s not like their dressed like evil gobblins and witches. 

 Before you respond, think of it this way:  Let’s say you have a neighbor down the street who you really don’t see much.  They seem like nice people, a cute little family, well-kept house, etc.  You’d never think twice about them possibly being someone who was involved in witchcraft.  But let’s say the parents do.  Halloween is their day.  Their son Tommy sees that your own son Billy goes to church, and is a good kid, they have nice conversations on the school bus each day, but you and Billy celebrate the same holiday as his parents.  So, to him, there’s really nothing special about the life you lead compared to the ones his parents lead.  And since you never really see him much, there’s nothing to make Tommy step back and notice that there’s something different about your family. I truely think when Christians participate in Halloween, it sends a message to children that witchcraft, demonism, and Satanism are something fun, entertaining and harmless.  You can’t get past the decorations and acts of others.  All of the decorations for Halloween are derived from evil characters, witches, demons, jack-o-lanterns… What positive thing can you teach your children about this day?  And why overload your weekend with Halloween festivities going from location to location when it would so much more beneficial to you and your child to just spend a weekend at home, away from all the craziness, with just Mommy and Daddy.  As they get older, plan game nights, movie nights, etc .  It’s what I did growing up, and what I plan and hope to do with my children as well.
So, Thank you Mom and Dad for being such a great example.  For guiding us in a godly direction, and instilling in all of us the desire to seek God’s guidance in every situation.  It has helped me immensely to make a firm decision in the direction I’d like to lead my own child and future children. 
I’m disappointed that fall has become more and more increasingly centered around Halloween and not as much about the Harvest of the season. And I’m disappointed that so many Christians and churches partake in the festivities of Halloween