New traditions can transform Halloween into fun

The evening of October 31 is the date set aside to celebrate Halloween. Some of the activities include trick-or-treating, bonfires, costume parties, visiting haunted houses, viewing horror films, and going on haunted hayrides.

Halloween had its beginnings in the pagan festival "samhain," celebrated among the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain. Halloween was introduced in North America in the 19th Century by Irish and Scottish immigrants. (Wikipedia Internet Encyclopedia).

There is concern among some that Christians should not celebrate Halloween because of its connection to a pagan holiday. However, others think that whenever a pagan holiday can be converted to a holiday that is not pagan, we have accomplished a great thing. After all, some of the tunes to some of the great hymns of the Christian Faith originated from songs sung in the taverns. The words were changed to reflect the Christian message.

So, perhaps we could simply give Halloween a meaning that is not related to paganism. Let the kids and adults have an evening where they step out of their traditional roles and just have fun. Given the nature of our society, the greatest concern of some parents is the safety of their children.

Sometimes the observance takes place on a date prior to Halloween. The Pensacola Beach Community Church will have a Fall Festival on Sunday afternoon, October 28, in the parking lot of the church from 2 to 4 p.m. Activities will include a "Trunk or Treat" in which people will decorate their cars, trucks, and vans and hand out candies and assorted items to the children. Prizes will be awarded for the best decorated trunks.

In addition, there will be a haunted house, cake walk, costume contest, a moonwalk, kids games and hot dogs and drinks. The activities are free, but jars of strained baby food for the Manna Food Bank will be accepted.

The Fall Festival is open to the community.