Halloween, Horror, and Our Response

Since we got married, my husband and I have been really scrutinizing the holidays we celebrate--starting from Scripture. Halloween...Thanksgiving...Christmas...should we celebrate them, and if so, how?

To be honest, we haven't actually talked much about Halloween, because neither of us have celebrated it since we were very young. I can remember one Halloween dressing up as a fairy princess, and the next year Mom and Dad were all set to dress my brother and I as Thing One and Thing Two, when they decided that Halloween wasn't something they felt comfortable celebrating any longer. For Caleb, he was six when he moved to Romania as a missionary kid, and when you're living in a place where contact with demon-possessed people happens, you really don't want to join into the yearly celebration of them.

But is there a place in a Christian's life for scary stuff, or do we need to shy away from anything considered "dark?" We've been tossing that one around for the last couple of weeks, and I was very excited to find a post on one of my favorite blogs which laid out the exact conclusion we'd come to. Here it is: http://www.rabbitroom.com/2011/10/righteous-horro/

And if you like reading books set in your current season of the year, try out one of my very favorites: The Perilous Gard, by Elizabeth Marie Pope.(You can get it used for a penny on Amazon, plus shipping...) In my opinion, she brings a beautifully Christ-centered perspective to All-Hallows Eve in a very skillful way.