What's that, you ask?
It's Halloween spelled backwards!
Our family's church has a Halloween tradition of celebrating "Neewollah Palooza." It's their way of redeeming the holiday by taking it back and giving it new purpose and meaning. And I think that's a healthy way to think about Halloween. Some receive. Others reject. We choose to redeem.
I do understand the conflict that other believers have about the holiday, to be sure. I can understand concerns about its pagan roots. {I'm wondering if those who oppose Halloween also know of the pagan roots of many Christmas traditions that they have never questioned.} But our family has chosen to look at it this way: It's one of the few days of the year that most neighbors come out of hibernation, and it's one way to build community. It's choosing to focus on the light instead of darkness, and doesn't the Christian believe that life comes out of death? So we don't celebrate death, but we choose to celebrate life and be a light in a dark world.
I love what Justin Holcomb from the Resurgence has to say,
An informed understanding of the history of Halloween and the biblical freedom Christians have to redeem cultural practices (1 Cor. 10:23-33) leads to the conclusion that Christians can follow their conscience in choosing how to approach this holiday....For those who are still bothered by Halloween’s historical association with evil spirits, Martin Luther has some advice on how to respond to the devil: “The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him for he cannot bear scorn.” Perhaps instead of fleeing the darkness in fear, we should view Halloween as an opportunity to mock the enemy whose power over us has been broken.
{And I love this graphic. photo credit}
So, we hammed it up today! My little lady was dressed as quirky, fun-loving Pippi Longstocking, and my snake-loving boy was a member of the Venom 1 Team. {his life-long dream}
Aren't they cute?
So today, {healthy} living is trick or treating for toothbrushes, pretzels, or pencils {we need to balance out all that sugar somehow!} and healthy worldview thinking about Halloween.
I'm writing for 31 days of {Healthy} Living this month.
Join me and let's LIVE! Check out the end of Day 1 for the link to all the posts.
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