The ‘What’ and ‘Why’ of Creating New Halloween Traditions
Have you ever considered creating new Halloween traditions? Growing up in a small town in the 1980s, October 31st felt like nothing but innocent fun. Dressed in homemade clown costumes, my siblings and I walked through the neighborhood collecting candy from our friends and neighbors.
Fast forward thirty years and I was eager to celebrate the costume and candy traditions with my own little family. What I didn’t anticipate was how drastically our celebration would change over the years.
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The Early Years
For the first few years before we had children, my husband and I decorated for Halloween and handed out candy to trick-or-treaters.
Later, when our children were young, we decorated for Halloween, dressed the children up in cute costumes. We handed out candy to trick-or-treaters, whose costumes were often frightening and grotesque in nature. This often ruined the evening for my children. An increasing number of trick-or-treaters, including children and teens, rudely demanded candy. They had no sense of gratitude for what was freely being given.
What and Why
It was at this point that I began to question why we were celebrating Halloween.
So often in our culture it is easy to follow the crowd without even realizing what we’re doing, or why we’re doing it. The more I thought about the ‘what’ and the ‘why’, the more I realized that I no longer wanted to follow the crowd. I desired to create new Halloween traditions.
What kinds of traditions do we have? Some of them may have come from our fathers, and now we are passing them along to our own children. Are they what we want them to be? Are they based on actions of righteousness and faith? Are they mostly material in nature, or are they eternal? Are we consciously creating righteous traditions, or is life just happening to us? Are our traditions being created in response to the loud voices of the world, or are they influenced by the still, small voice of the Spirit?
Cheryl c. lant
New Halloween Traditions
That year, instead of decorating for Halloween, I decorated with pumpkins, and candles, and garland to celebrate the fall season. On the evening of October 31st, instead of passing out candy to trick-or-treaters, we dressed our girls in their princess costumes and took them to the Temple Visitors’ Center, where we watched movies and presentations that reminded them that they really are princesses, for they are daughters of a Heavenly King. Returning home after dark, we enjoyed one of our favorite homemade desserts. We were always the only visitors in the Visitors’ Center that night, which may be why they ultimately chose to close the Center on October 31st, leaving us searching for new options.
Reformation Fair
The following year, after decorating for the fall season, we joined with many local families to celebrate the Reformation. October 31st, 1517, was the day in history when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis on the doors of a German church. That one act changed the course of history, and is still worth celebrating today.
Our celebration included:
- Medieval costumes
- Potluck dinner with traditional medieval food
- Fresh fruit for dessert (no candy, since candy did not exist during medieval times)
- Medieval dancing
- Medieval shops hosted by each family where you use fake money to purchase fun medieval items or services (sword-making, leather-working project, flower shop, art projects such as making stained glass windows, medieval games, etc.)
- Fascinating information about the Reformers
October 31st quickly became one of our favorite nights of the year! It was a night filled with history, costumes, friends, food, and fun–everything Halloween used to be made of, only much better.
If we will build righteous traditions in our families, the light of the gospel can grow ever brighter in the lives of our children from generation to generation.
l. tom perry
Truth, Light, Joy
In the early years of our family, October 31st was filled with a spirit of darkness, fear, and a growing sense of entitlement. After making some changes to our family tradition, October 31st became a day filled with truth, light, and joy.
Trading in the dark spirit of Halloween for the peace and joy-filled Spirit of God was one of the best decisions our family ever made.
Are the traditions you were raised with pointing you and your family to Christ, light, joy, and truth? If not, it’s not too late to do something about it. In fact, changing your traditions may be one of the best things you will ever do.
Elder Rafael E. Pino shared his thoughts on the topic:
“…customs and traditions may vary from country to country…No country contains the totality of what is good or admirable. … Take a moment to meditate on our customs and the way they are influencing our families.”
When it comes to celebrating holidays, our family has learned that it is fun and incredibly rewarding to think outside the box.
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Consider:
What new Halloween traditions have you and your family created in recent years?
