Well, it's that time of year again. Time for witches, goblins and all the other haunting decorations to line the aisles of almost every retail store on earth. Time to take a different route to aisle 8 in order to avoid Lucky nearly tearing my shirt off to hide his face and Ace colliding into a display because instead of watching where he's walking, his eyes are glued to the floor as he whispers the Jesus prayer quickly and ardently. Growing up, we celebrated Halloween like every other typical American family but when I was about 18, my parents decided we would no longer take part. I didn't really understand why, so I dressed up anyway that year, silently accusing my parents of being unreasonable and more strict than they needed to be, even though something inside of me always made me feel out of place that night. The next year, however, thanks to the sermon of a very pious priest, I finally understood for myself why we shouldn't, as Orthodox Christians, participate.Last year, Ace's first year in public school, I was sort of nervous about the whole Halloween thing. I wasn't sure Ace's teachers would cooperate and I worried that he would be uncomfortable setting himself aside while the class had their parade, party, etc.But he wasted no time informing everyone that he couldn't do any "Halloween stuff" because we don't celebrate it. Luckily, his teachers are Christian women and understood completely. They found different things for him to do instead.It's funny because, while I was so nervous about the whole thing, he was completely fine with it, like it was no big deal. And I realized that my secular way of thinking was responsible for my worrying. How many times we can learn lessons from our children! It reminded me how important it is to raise him close to the Church. I saw the difference in his boldness and my hesitation, the firmness in his faith and the wavering in my own. I was raised in the Church but I was never firmly grounded in it. Orthodoxy was a tradition in my life, instead of being the very breath of my life, and the results were undeniable.Below are several posts from the archives containing various articles and helpful links on Halloween and Orthodoxy. For those of you uncertain about your participation, I hope you sift through the following links and ask Christ to illuminate your mind and heart and you follow the path He lays before you.Should Orthodox Christians participate in Halloween?Trick or Treat?Orthodoxy vs. Halloween