Holiday Head Butting

This blog post is a bit of a venting moment for me, I'm sorry! But I have to say, the last time I vented on our blog I didn't receive the best comments. If you recall, it was the post titled "Battle of the Holidays". I've been afraid to do a blog post like this ever since because of how some people reacted to it. If truth were told, I'm afraid to read the comments. This post is strictly to get some thoughts out that have been making me a little annoyed these days. I just really hope that if anyone disagrees with me on this subject (which I'm sure there will be) that you don't send me any hate e-mails or annonymous text messages! Those are worse than the public blog comments or facebook comments. With that said, on to the post!

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I wish it wasn't such a big deal for some people that some parents would rather take their kids trick-or-treating on a Saturday night when Halloween falls on a Sunday. I promise these parents are not trying to change the holiday or ruin it for you. If holidays such as the Fourth of July or Halloween happen to fall on Sunday (as they did this year) the festivities that go with these holidays are preferred to be celebrated the day before in some areas, such as Idaho Falls. Is there anything wrong with that? There is nothing unpatriotic about having the big firework show on Saturday night instead of Sunday. Is the Fourth of July in Idaho Falls defined by the firework show on the falls? I certainly hope not. And that's what it's starting to sound like when people complain about it. Families will still be celebrating the Fourth and Halloween with family barbecues and fun family movies. And even fireworks of their own. After church today we will be going to my parents' house for a Halloween family tradition: mom's homemade chili and corn bread. Delicious.

Parents who don't want their kids to take part in trick-or-treating on the Saturday night are more than welcome to take them on Sunday. People are still going to keep their lights on for these kids and give them candy. Sunday is a day that most people in this area prefer to set apart as their day of worship and church attendance. And I promise it's not just "a mormon thing." There are more people out there than just those who are members of the LDS church who would prefer to trick-or-treat on a night other than Sunday.

I heard someone say recently that the people in "this town" will probably be changing New Years and Christmas too. I only find humor in this comment. Christmas falling on Sunday is the most ideal thing. What better day to celebrate the birth of Christ than on a Sunday? I love the feeling of going to church on Christmas day and celebrating the one of the most important days in the history of mankind. And again to clarify, some think that those who engage in holiday festivities on a different day are trying to change the date. This isn't true at all, and I hope those people can understand this one day. Trick-or-treating is a fun activity for kids, but most people in this area would agree when I say it isn't something that is really appropriate for the sabbath. But again we are also going to be keeping our front lights on for those trick-or-treaters who are going out tonight on Halloween. There is nothing wrong with them going at all. It is a personal choice that we are all making. Why should that matter if some decide to go on Saturday? Sunday or Saturday, whatever we all decide, the holiday is still being celebrated. Everybody should just be happy about that.