Halloween Decorating Alternatives, Part 1
Do I dare admit when growing up that Halloween was my favorite holiday? I loved decorating with cobwebs, ghosts, and monster stuff. So what’s changed? Am I too legalistic now, or am I just depriving my kids? As believers there are varied opinions why we shouldn’t, or at what level we should, celebrate Halloween. I choose not to let our family take part in the ghoulish side, and here's why. Even though it’s a popular American tradition brought here by Irish immigrants and has some harmless and even religious roots, it has become adopted by and associated with darkness and evil. In Galatians 5:19-20, the Bible gives evidences of the sinful nature, or witchcraft. When the New Testament speaks of evil spirits, they are always causing something destructive and Jesus is casting them out and away (Example: Mark 5:8). In Romans 12:9 we are told to “Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”
So when retailers start putting out the candy, cool costumes, the latest goblin gadgets, and spooky decorations, how will you respond to begging kids? Why not explain to your children how the world’s version of Halloween isn’t really glorifying to God. Then come up with your on alternatives to celebrating fall - Harvest Time, Hallelujah Nite, or whatever you decide to call it.
Here are a few ideas to celebrate and decorate for autumn. For a centerpiece, fill a ceramic or wooden bowl with either red or green apples. Around the base, scatter fake or real leaves. Scatter the leaves in a few more groups around the room perhaps on the mantle or on the coffee table. Consider purchasing several candles to sit about in fall colors. They don’t have to match your décor. Add a pumpkin or two to the entry area and on the hearth. Mini pumpkins or small gourds make great additions to your candle and leaf groupings. Some fall colored candy in a dish is another inviting way to add the right color. Pull out or purchase a cozy blanket or throw that compliments your room. Buy an October edition of a favorite decor magazine to place on the coffee table. Now doesn’t it feel like fall already?
Decorating outside is easy! Purchase a couple of pumpkins for your doorstep. Or, go all out and buy several pumpkins and a bale or two of hay. Get the kids involved, let them shop and decorate with the fun, fall things they purchased. Growing up, I’d get my dad’s old jeans and plaid shirt and make a scarecrow. On a sign or on a pumpkin you can write Matthew 9:38, “Lord of the Harvest,” as the theme for your outdoor decor. For the front door you may want to purchase a fall wreath or get extra creative and make one of your own. A ready-made grape vine wreath, mums, Indian corn, and dried corn stalks are a few more easy ways to transform an outdoor area into an autumn celebration.
Chuck Guthrie’s heart is to present home decorating and improvement ideas with the ever-present theme of Jesus Christ’s lordship in the home.
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