We celebrate Halloween as a fun event for the whole family; attending events around the community.

Parents and children can dress up, play games, trick or treat, or just run around in costumes for a good laugh and to have fun.

Oh, what fun we do have!!!

As Christians, we do not feel that Halloween threatens the spiritual life of our child. The custom of wearing masks or costumes was started as a way to mock evil, as Christians, evil has no real power over us.

My husband’s German heritage celebrates and views Halloween with its Christian connections to All Saints Day which is November 1st. They meet at the grave of their family and priests go around blessing the graves. My husband couldn’t really tell me why they did this, but from what I have gathered from my German students and others:

Nov. 1st: All Saints day, originally called “All Hallows” (“Hallow” coming from Holy person) is an opportunity for believers to pray and remember all Saints who have “reached the blessed land” Mark 12:26-27; Ephesians 6:18; Hebrews 12:1, Revelation 5:8 Often families will bring candles or lanterns as well as flowers and evergreen boughs to place on the graves. Candles on the burial sites are intended to help illuminate the way to God.

In the US, costumes range from traditionally "scary" –witches, mummies, ghosts, and vampires to cute costumes like princesses, superheroes, and the cartoon characters which are popular...see Elmo below!!

For my child’s other heritage, Scottish and Irish, teaching the ways of the Celtic ancestors is a life lesson in history, culture and current reality. I lived in Scotland and Ireland for several years, and I was able to attend and observe some ways in which they celebrated Halloween or rather the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (Summer’s end). From sundown on Oct. 31st to sundown Nov. 1st, loved ones would honor those who had passed, as the realm between both worlds was thinnest on this night. For this festival, there were bonfires all over where people gathered to dance, sing, drink, play instruments, and just have fun.

In the city centre of Edinburgh, a huge parade followed by an enactment of the winter and summer Gods (Witches' New Year and the Last Harvest) fighting took place (death of a season). The pictures below are, more pictures that I took, from the festival of Samhain in Scotland.

It's interesting to me how many Europeans assume Halloween to be American when their own, neighboring, European countries are actually the founders of this holiday and celebrating it much more than Americans are celebrating. Americans have just taken the holiday of All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day, All Souls Day, and combined them all into a fun week of secular, community-based, child-friendly events and activities.

Some other facts

In Mexico, people celebrate “Day of the Dead” with picnics at family gravesites as well as leaving food at the graves for their dead relatives.

Oct. 31st: The eve of All Hallows (Hallowe’en) usually for feasting before all Saints Day.

Nov. 2nd: All Souls’ Day is an opportunity for believers to pray for the souls of people who are in Purgatory.

How a Christian holiday and Pagan holiday might have mixed becoming today’s present and worldly celebrated Halloween

Some believe that the Catholic Church started the Feast of the Saints on Oct.31 to counteract the pagan feast. Man no longer needs to fear death or the dead but rejoice with the Saints and Life Everlasting.

Whether or not one believes that Halloween is compatible with the Christian faith or that it has its origin as pagan, you as a family can set the tone and meaning of Halloween for your family while teaching your children the cultural differences, as well as, meaning and way of celebration for Halloween all over the world.

Within our own home, we are starting the tradtion of praying for and thanking God for all the known and unknown Saints as well as all our loved ones passed and present. Also, I do feel close with my Scottish/Irish roots, therefore, we love good pranks, costumes, or just a good laugh and fun time.

However, we also pray that our hearts will far outshine our illuminated Jack-O-Lanterns as we celebrate Halloween in good family fun as Christians.

I remember the first time my husband, Ferdinand, then just a friend, asked me to take my shoes off after we had entered his house. I just looked at him in amazement as to why I should remove my amazing pair of adorable, red, ½ inch heeled, slip on, Italian pumps. They completed my outfit, made me feel accessorized, they were red, my favourite color for shoes because they stated “here I am.”

After some seconds of staring at him, watching him change into house slippers, and then noticing other shoes in the entryway, I asked him to clarify. He’s not a man of words or details so he just said, “ya”. Not really understanding or wanting to take my shoes off, I just started inside with my shoes on. He stopped me and repeated, “you take your shoes off.” Can you believe we ended up marrying??? I again asked for more details. He then explained, “because you leave your shoes here.” Very German with his short and direct imperative sentences, isn’t he! My son & husband below, cuties, eh! 

Germans, along with other countries such as Japan, Russia, Korea, Turkey, Thailand, India, and other Eastern countries have the custom of removing shoes in homes. The no shoe policy also carries over to Scandinavian countries, most European countries, some African countries, and a majority of the Middle East. In Germany, every party or gathering, meant leaving a pile of shoes at the entry way. Even our gym enforced taking your street shoes off and wearing different sneakers while working out.

Imagine having such a love of shoes that you own some 68 pairs (that’s 136 shoes), then you move to a country that hasn’t any real appreciation of shoes, only treating their shoes as a sole means of comfort and even exiling them from homes. Hello culture shock!

For the health of your children and family, especially babies or toddlers; 

why you shouldn’t wear shoes in the house

1. Shoes pick up and carry into your home toxins and chemicals such as pesticides, fertilizers, traces of petrol fumes, industrial pollution, human and animal waste.
2. Bacteria brought in from shoes can cause stomach and lung infections
3. EPA conducted a “door mat study” showing that 60% less lead dust and other chemicals were brought into the home by removing shoes and using a front door mat. There was also a reduction in allergens and bacteria tracked into the home. 

Further lovely reasons why to go shoeless in the home

1. Better for the growing feet of children
2. Your feet can breathe, healthier for your feet and more comfortable
3. Can create a more relaxed atmosphere in the home
4. You have to sweep and dust your home less
5. Psychologically, helps everyone to enter a frame of mind where home is comfortable and troubles are left at the door
6. By removing their shoes, guests even might feel more welcome, comfortable and a part of the family.
7. An easy and cheap way to go green, invest in a pair of slippers for you and your guests and leave shoes at the front door 

 Also, when I attended my mother-in-law’s classroom, in Germany, she is an elementary school teacher, I observed a no shoe policy at her school. All the children entered the school, and before entering classrooms or walking around the school, they immediately change into slippers which are stored in their lockers.

It took me nearly a year to understand this cultural difference. In the end, I not only understood it, appreciated it, but more than accepted it. Now that we live in the states, I have implemented the rule of no shoe wearing in our home. I even became fanatic about it after having my son. I’m a big believer in adopting different cultural practices when they are better than your own cultural norm. Personally, we love to not wear shoes around in our home. Everyone has “inside” Birks or house slippers to wear. However, while we have the no-shoe (or rather no “street shoe”) policy in the home, we don’t ask guests to take their shoes off when visiting.

Thanks to my German family for opening up this cultural awareness and the Stoops for giving me this idea to write about. Still not convinced? Then, check this reference out, Good Morning America. 

‘Wisemommies’