What about Halloween? by Candice Watters on 10/17/2006 at 4:00 AM

I was glad to see The Point blogging about the "sluttification" of Halloween. My husband noticed it when he went to the local costume store a few weeks ago to take advantage of the pre-pre-Halloween sale on little kid costumes. At $9.99 each, it was hard not to spring for the superman and butterfly/mermaid get-ups that our kids had seen advertised in the mail (given that some well-known kid stores are selling theirs for $99, but that's another topic altogether). They're at the age when dressing up is among their favorite games and what could be more natural than pretending to be a superhero if you're a boy and a beautiful princess with wings if you're a girl?

The troubling part was that the store's display windows were so full of scary and offensive outfits that we had to re-park three times to be in a spot where the kids didn't have to keep their eyes closed to avoid the view. Steve's first comment when he came out of the store was about how the most seductive costumes now come in even the smallest sizes. "Who dresses their daughters like that?"

I was just sorry the sale didn't run closer to Christmas. I think it's unfortunate that a game so natural to childhood -- dress-up -- is becoming so linked to a pagan, and increasingly frightening, sexualized, "holiday." There's nothing "holy" about it.

So I'm trying to decide if we'll celebrate Reformation Day  (October 31st) or All Saints Day (November 1) instead.

We need to do something. While waiting in the parking lot for daddy to buy the innocent costumes amidst all the junk, our son said, "Mommy, what can we do to let these people know how bad this holiday is? Should we go in and tell them it's not a Jesus holiday?" Of course he's still too young to see the hypocrisy of our supporting the very company that makes all those vulgar outfits and blood-and-guts masks. He was just glad to be able to suit up and fly off the sofa into a pile of pillows.

I realize Halloween has never been a "Jesus holiday," but there was a day when the primary focus was the fun of carving pumpkins, roasting the seeds, dressing up like your heroes and eating too much chocolate with your family. It's sad to see the good overrun by the evil.

What about Halloween? by Candice Watters on 10/17/2006 at 4:00 AM

I was glad to see The Point blogging about the "sluttification" of Halloween. My husband noticed it when he went to the local costume store a few weeks ago to take advantage of the pre-pre-Halloween sale on little kid costumes. At $9.99 each, it was hard not to spring for the superman and butterfly/mermaid get-ups that our kids had seen advertised in the mail (given that some well-known kid stores are selling theirs for $99, but that's another topic altogether). They're at the age when dressing up is among their favorite games and what could be more natural than pretending to be a superhero if you're a boy and a beautiful princess with wings if you're a girl?

The troubling part was that the store's display windows were so full of scary and offensive outfits that we had to re-park three times to be in a spot where the kids didn't have to keep their eyes closed to avoid the view. Steve's first comment when he came out of the store was about how the most seductive costumes now come in even the smallest sizes. "Who dresses their daughters like that?"

I was just sorry the sale didn't run closer to Christmas. I think it's unfortunate that a game so natural to childhood -- dress-up -- is becoming so linked to a pagan, and increasingly frightening, sexualized, "holiday." There's nothing "holy" about it.

So I'm trying to decide if we'll celebrate Reformation Day  (October 31st) or All Saints Day (November 1) instead.

We need to do something. While waiting in the parking lot for daddy to buy the innocent costumes amidst all the junk, our son said, "Mommy, what can we do to let these people know how bad this holiday is? Should we go in and tell them it's not a Jesus holiday?" Of course he's still too young to see the hypocrisy of our supporting the very company that makes all those vulgar outfits and blood-and-guts masks. He was just glad to be able to suit up and fly off the sofa into a pile of pillows.

I realize Halloween has never been a "Jesus holiday," but there was a day when the primary focus was the fun of carving pumpkins, roasting the seeds, dressing up like your heroes and eating too much chocolate with your family. It's sad to see the good overrun by the evil.