All Hallow's Eve

We just got back from a trip to the store.  It's kind of cool that we can go whenever we want and don't have to slog through the mud to get there.  I just talked to the ministry in Mexico and the rain has made a true mess for them.  If it weren't for the donation of a couple of 4 wheel-drive vehicles (old but trustworthy), they wouldn't get in or out at all.  And there's more rain and wind on the way.

About the store.  I'm still not used to all of this yet.  Supermarkets have so many things.  But what I want to know is this:  have I had my head in the sand for all these years?  When did Halloween become a major holiday?  There is a huge section of Halloween cards, special and high-priced decorations (that we used to make at home), Halloween cake, cookies, ice cream, bread.  What's up here?  Every ad flyer for every store has spooky writing and Halloween specials. 

Now I'm probably going to get in trouble here, but we don't even celebrate Halloween.  Our reasons are personal and I won't go into them.  Suffice it to say that even if I had the money right now to go to a theme park, I couldn't take my kid there.  I don't mind that others celebrate the day.  I just think a little restraint is in order.  I know I'm a humbug, but I like me that way! 

In Mexico, they celebrate the Day of the Dead and Halloween.  But at least there, the whole city isn't lit up like Halloweentown.  We never let the kids participate in either of them.  The Day of the Dead is interesting culturally, but a little tough for grade-schoolers to understand.  They cut out snowflakes, get flowers and candles and build an altar to their dead relative.  On the altar, the place all his or her favorite food and drink and wait for him to come back and eat it.  Last year, we saw a huge procession of cars go to the cemetary and lots of dinking, etc., going on.  The real die-hards even stayed after the rain started.

I guess we're lucky here.  Halloween isn't actually forced on us even if it's everywhere we look.  Andrea is home schooled, so she doesn't have to go each day into a classroom filled with witches, ghosts, goblins and skeletons. 

I like Thanksgiving, however, and do celebrate Christmas, though not with as much flair as the stores and some homes.  This will be our first Christmas away from the ministry.  It should be a bit quieter and different.  I also like Valentine's Day, Easter, 4th of July.  We're not anti-holiday, you see, just anti-commercialism.