Pictures of adorable children in cute and creative Halloween costumes continue to show up on Facebook today, but a big shift occurred overnight. Halloween, love it or hate it, is quickly forgotten, and all that lingers is left-over miniature candies. On Tuesday, I visited a First Grade classroom full of kids anticipating the next day’s Halloween party. Today, November 1, the students I saw had just finished making paper turkeys in art class. One little guy already had a plush Pikachu dressed in a Santa hat on his desk.
THIS Pikachu has been packed away in our basement and reappeared today.
Son Kyle has commented that Halloween is the only thing keeping “Christmas Creep” at bay. According to Wikipedia, “Christmas creep is a merchandising phenomenon in which merchants and retailers introduce Christmas-themed merchandise or decorations before the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, which in the United States is on the day after Thanksgiving.” Some folks can’t wait that long and are already anxious for Christmas music and Hallmark holiday movies. My Disney World expert (Kyle) tells me that visitors to the theme park who attended last night’s Halloween party entered a glittering place decked out for Christmas this morning. Now that’s some kind of magic!
For Kyle, holidays are opportunities for one of his favorite things – giving gifts. His coworkers found Halloween treat bags on their desks yesterday morning, and trick-or-treaters who visited our porch last evening received not only candy, but a visit with Kermit the Frog.
Kyle has already purchased Christmas gifts for his friends, not to claim bragging rights for early shopping, but because he takes great pleasure in giving. Last weekend, while we were out doing some shopping, he pulled a fluffy llama toy out of a crane game and gave it to me, no holiday needed.
Pinky sits in a prominent place, maybe until Christmas decorations come out.
Halloween has its fans, those who begin planning elaborate decorations and costumes well in advance, and Thanksgiving, despite recent criticism of its history, promotes an attitude of gratitude that can be cultivated yearlong. But Christmas gets the most votes for a holiday folks would like to see last and last. The kindness and the giving spirit, the joyfulness and the celebrations, the holiness and the peace. We wonder why they can’t last all year. Can’t they?
On Sunday morning, Pastor Dave challenged us to stop “doing church” and start “being the church.” At one point during his message, we were asked to look at the people sitting near us and consider what we have that we could give to them. The gift, of course, could be intangible, but valuable, possibly the story of how God has saved us through his son Jesus Christ. Encouragement, help, a meal, a listening ear…the possibilities are endless.
Giving us a place to start, Pastor Dave said, “Husbands, begin with your wife. Wives, begin with your husband. Students, begin with your classmates, Singles, begin with your peers.” Just begin. Begin to give into other people’s lives, and that uplifting feeling can come every day, not just on the holidays.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16