Okay, perhaps I’m completely behind and everyone else is already doing this, but I just heard about a really cool idea for Halloween.
One of our professors and I were talking and she said
“oh and man those kids collecting for charities really cleaned me out this year!”
I stood there and stared at her blankly…….
….huh?
Apparently bunches of kids in her neighborhood collect for charity instead of collecting candy!
they knock on her door and yell “Trick or treat!” and then when she opens the door to give them the traditional candy they say “instead of candy, could you give us a canned good for the food bank?”
WOW !
Apparently it is a huge thing in her neighborhood. To the point where she has started buying extra canned goods just before Halloween so she is prepared for the onslaught.
What if we made it a huge trend all over the place? Talk about a way to re-claim Halloween for Jesus!
stream of continuousness 
We used to do this in my college sorority, LOL! Though we were probably a bit old for trick or treating!
you are NEVER too old for trick or treating. Especially this kind.
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Sounds like another plot by the snack-haters to lower the candy index in children’s lives.
Lamont
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Nothing personal here, but didn’t you guys already claim Christmas & Easter and retool their Pagan trappings and lore into your own? Heck, the Catholics even took Beltane and turned it into a Marian festival. Can we have one Pagan holiday out there that stays Pagan? 🙂
But I have to say it’s great to see more churches getting into the whole “Harvest Festival”around Halloween instead of the candy-fest. It brings the holiday so much closer to its Pagan roots of celebrating the beginnings of the harvest season. It’s like the Pagan holiday’s meaning is re-claiming itself within American Christian church groups.
I’m not trying to ruffle any feathers here with this post. Seriously, I’m not, but if we’re going to live in a religious society, I think it’s important to recognize & respect each others’ holy days.
To clarify. When I said “reclaim Halloween for Christ” I meant that many Christians don’t feel comfortable letting their kids participate in Halloween festivities because it is “off message” This Can collection is a way that they can let their kids dress up and participate and still be “on message” with-in their own family.
You go on ahead and dance under the moon or whatever. Doesn’t bother me a bit 😉
and no offense taken. As long as folks are polite with their opinions, no one gets censored here.
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Cool. Glad to know I didn’t ruffle feathers too much. I really am trying to be polite in my discourse on this subject.
Thanks for clarifying your meaning of “reclaiming” the holiday. Now I understand your point that heavily Christian (“actively Christian?” I don’t exactly know the best word to use) families can feel that Halloween isn’t appropriate for their kids at all but that a Can Drive brings it back to an opportunity for service. As long as nobody starts passing out tracts, I’m cool with it.
I think it’s pretty easy to put an appropriate Christian spin on Halloween by simply celebrating it as the harvest festival is was originally celebrated as – thanking the maker for a good harvest and asking for blessings and fruits of the labors we’ve already put forth during the year. That seems like an OK message for kids whether you pray to God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost or to a Divine Father and Mother.
Whether your church is a circle in a forest grove or brick and mortar with elaborate stained glass, prayers are still going to the same source, in my book. It’s a connection to the Divine that we’re seeking no matter to whom we pray.
And as for censoring – hey, it’s your space. I got no problems with you keeping house how you see fit. But thanks for approving my past post. 😉
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