Celebrating At Home On Halloween

Around mid-October, parents are rushing to stores in search of the best Halloween costume. Children get the chance to dress as their favorite superhero or princess character. An outfit on Halloween is shown off to all your neighbors and friends as you go around for a trick or a treat.

Well, at least that’s what I’ve heard from friends …

The truth is that I was never allowed to celebrate any Halloween festivities. There was no going out with friends, no trick or treating and no dressing up.

Growing up in a very Christian household, like two hours of church three times a week Christian household, my parents feared the holiday. Halloween was a devil-filled day, luring children away from God and into the devil’s hands with candy. Witches came out on this day to sacrifice young souls and to my parents, that meant I stayed inside. Demons roamed the streets threatening to enter unconscious minds and have innocent victims do evil in the name of the devil.

For me, Halloween wasn’t your normal childhood activity. As soon as the sun began to descend into the horizon, my mother would call us in. My brothers and I would complain that we didn’t get to finish playing as the door closed, and it was not to be opened again until the next morning. That sounds like the beginning of a scary Halloween story all on its own.

My neighbor friends would ask, “What do you do when you go inside?” “Why don’t you guys trick or treat?” “Ask your mom if you could go with us?”

I remember helping my mother close all the curtains and turning off the porch light. I remember having to pray for all the trick or treaters and asking God to ensure they make it back to their homes safe.

I also remember getting ready to have fun. My family would camp out in the living room and watch movies and eat junk food. I remember my dad would get a hold of Rite Aid’s Thrifty ice cream (the butter pecan, of course) and finish the entire 1.66 L in one sitting. We would get pizza for dinner and even candies without the need of going door to door for it.

When I was younger, trick or treating was something that was really desired. Asking to walk down the Halloween aisles in the store just to see what my options would be if I had the chance. Now that I’m older and out of the house, celebrating Halloween is a viable option. Trick or treating can be frowned upon at my age, but I can dress up and yet I choose not too.

Every year I see my friends stressing out on what they are going to dress up as. I have friends who are only scared of being caught staying in for the night. Meanwhile, for me, I’m dressing down. I’m looking for my comfy pajamas. I still make bad decisions and stuff, like putting as much junk food into my body as possible. Also, with my roommate being my brother, we still rent movies and hang out in our living room laughing about the silly things we did growing up like and how we as a family managed to still technically celebrate Halloween.