Do you remember your costumes from Halloweens over the years?
Have you got pictures of them through the years?
What did you think of Halloween? As a kid, as a parent, and some of us as a grandparent?
I have heard it called “All Hallows’ Day” and “All Saints Day” but never explored that much. And it turns out that my history with Halloween was a whole different picture from what I learned was the true history of the holiday.
From Christianity.com I learned that it is a yearly reminder of our connectedness as Christians to the church – referenced as “All Saints Day” which is commemorated every November 1.
And they defined a “saint” as anyone who is a follower of Jesus. Referencing Acts 9:13 and other scriptures, they said God calls a “saint” those who trust in Christ alone for salvation. Now I know we are “set apart” to God and we are being made “holy” by the Holy Spirit, so I am getting a little closer to understanding it. But I just never applied the word to myself – I think the Holy Spirit still has some “saintly” training for me, for sure!
But…it set me to thinking how divergent was my history and even our current celebrations of Halloween (little or no mention of All Saints Day).
And as I thought about the photos, close behind were the stories behind the photos. So I turned to my great photo guru, Nick Kelsh, to see what he says about Halloween. As usual, he nails human nature beautifully in his blog “Why Halloween Photos are Important”.
In true Nick fashion he states “Halloween makes no sense and therein lies its charm. It’s goofy and yet everyone climbs on board….getting dressed up in some kind of Halloween disguise and collecting negative nutrition candy from the neighbors is right up there with the more serious and probably more important holidays when it comes to childhood memories.”
Along with his tips about taking Halloween photos, he shares exactly what I think comes to mind for me: “Pictures of mom or dad creating this wearable artwork will always bring back waves of memories….”
Some are painful memories for me — like sewing the Chewbacca costume from furry “heavy-duty” material nightmare. But then there is one that my boys and I remember so well….
My youngest son was 8 or 9 and as the fall was heading into October, talk of what costume he would wear was serious and determined. He wanted to be a ninja. Yes, I had to look it up and be shown a TV picture to explain it. But the hard part came as he was set on a sword that all ninjas apparently have (and strapped to their back).
We happened to go with my parents to visit my brother and his family in San Francisco about this time. Of course, I ended up with all 3 boys (my two plus their cousin) in Chinatown as we went from store to store. We got the most amazing “huh?” looks as my son asked in every one of them – “where are your ninja swords?”
Finally, there was a tall vase of wooden swords in one shop and he latched on to one that he was sure filled the bill to complete his ninja costume. Happily, it fit my meager budget. And we went merrily on our way….until….we were ready to fly home.
Of course, it was a weapon! We could not carry it on the plane. I had a hard time seeing its lethality, and my son was in tears as he was given the news, but the final decision was to box it and it would go through as baggage. Hurray!
However, as we learned upon our arrival, it did not make it to the Denver airport baggage area. More tears – paperwork –descriptions of the box and contents (no cell phones and no pictures at that time). We made our sad way home. Halloween loomed – and despair set in.
But God is good – maybe All Saints Day is more accurate than we thought. Amazingly, within 24 hours, a taxi pulled up in front of our house and actually delivered the box with the “ninja” sword in it. Joy overflowed. And just in time for Halloween. Here’s proof – although not the best photo – I didn’t know Nick Kelsh at the time nor did I have a good camera.
You can see the sword sticking up in the back – and a kid so excited and proud – ready for Halloween!
So – do you have a Halloween story or two? Have you some pictures of special ones? My challenge is to do that – pull them out, write the story, share it and bring up the smiles along with the memories. And if you have young’uns around, snap away. P.S. If you want Nick Kelsh’s blog with tips on photos at Halloween, click HERE.
