“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.” Psalm 77:11 ESV
I’ve been sitting on this one for a while, friends. In recent years, the Halloween debate has gotten quite horrifying among Christians. It’s crazy to me how a cultural day can cause so much division among believers. Both sides have strong opinions, reasons for their claims, and troops in their corners. And while I have my own beliefs (not a fan), I’m not going to use this article to state my case today. Maybe I will someday or maybe I won’t. But when I do, I can promise you that I will only ever point you to the Word of God.
That said, I want to provide an alternative to Halloween for those who have either decided against celebrating it or have decided they want it to look a bit different from what they see in their neighborhood, in grocery stores, or on tv. See, 13 years ago, we walked away from all of it. We realized none of it lined up with the principles we were teaching our young children from the Word, so we made the decision to be done with it.
Over the course of the last dozen years, as we’ve all been growing older and learning more about all of the incredible Church history we were never taught in school or church, we’ve added some fun celebrations to our October/November calendar little by little. And it recent years, it has grown into what we call Church History Week! This has been such a blessing to my family and my children of all ages and stages have loved it! We invite you and your family to check it out and have fun with it!
Introducing: Church History Week!
Okay, so it may not sound like much, but I promise it’s going to be fun! More than anything, children take on our perception of things. So if they think YOU think it’s lame, THEY will think it’s lame. But guess what? It’s totally not lame! It is what you make it to be, so make it fun!
As our children grow, they should see Mom and Dad excited about the things of the Lord! Things like family Bible study, family worship, attending Church, leading discipleship groups, serving our communities, etc. should not be things that bring about eye rolls, frustration, or bad attitudes. They should be things that bring about excitement! If that’s not the current mood of your family, make it a goal to model it more for your children. They will learn from you and in time will shift their perspective also. It’s never too late!
Celebrating things that God has done throughout history is a theme we see all over Scripture. Many times God commanded it from His people. While this celebration is not something God commanded us to do, it does reflect the principle of remembering His goodness and faithfulness and how His hand directs all things in all places throughout all time. And that is something we definitely want our children growing up knowing!
Church history should be a vital part of our children’s education and what better way to educate than through a whole week of celebration!
You can make this as simple or as complex as you’d like it. Perhaps you just discuss the topics over dinner each evening. But perhaps you turn it into a week-long homeschool lesson and make it a week they’ll never forget! Either way, let’s get started!
Time to Prep!
I’m sharing this early, because I want you to be able to plan ahead. Doing so will lesson stress, strengthen your convictions, and give you time to make this a really fun few days for your children! This doesn’t have to be a big thing to stress over, I promise. But planning ahead always makes everything go a little more smoothly for everyone.
It will help if you have a bit of knowledge about the origins of Halloween, Reformation Day, All Saints’ Day, basic Church history, and Jesus’ return. But don’t let any lack of knowledge stop you from otherwise celebrating! A great resource with reliable answers to questions like these is Got Questions. Take a little time to search for answers to any questions you have and get to know the things you’ll be celebrating.
A few things to start now:
- Pray about how this may benefit your family as you all seek to grow to become more like Christ. Ask God that He would use this time in a big way in the lives of your children and even in yourselves!
- Go ahead and announce the changes to your family. (See below for more help on that.)
- Do some background reading and research as mentioned above. While it doesn’t need to be burdensome, having a good understanding of the things you’re celebrating will make you more confident and less frustrated, I promise.
- Read our plans below and adjust as you see fit for your family. Keep in mind that the resources I’m recommending may include mentions or descriptions of tragic deaths. This does not mean it’s not for children. But it does mean you’ll want to look at them before giving them to your children and maybe only read portions at a time until they are old enough to understand all of it.
- Buy anything you’d like to buy ahead of time so that you’re not on the hunt at the last minute.
- Reserve books from the library or go ahead and purchase them for your home library.
- Save videos to your watchlists or purchase them as needed.
- Print any coloring pages you’d like that may tie in with the themes of the week: Martin Luther, martyrs, a family tree, the early Church, Jesus’ return
- Gather decor and maybe get yourself a designated tub to store it all in for next year.
- Make a grocery list for the week so you know exactly what you’ll need prior to October 31.
Now, let’s look at some fun ideas for the week!
October 31: Reformation Day
Church history to teach:
Martin Luther
Bible verse to read:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV
Activities to do:
Read Martin Luther- A Man Who Changed the World
Watch Torchlighters- Martin Luther
Listen to A Mighty Fortress is Our God, written by Luther
Play Pin-the-Thesis-on-the-Door by making a door from a brown pasteboard, hanging it on your wall, printing a small version of the 95 Theses, blindfolding your child, giving them a spin, and having them try to tape the theses to the door
Food to enjoy:
Dinner: German potatoes
Snack: marshmallow hammers and pretzel nails- For this treat, simply push a small, straight pretzel into the side of a marshmallow and dip the marshmallow in melted chocolate. Cool in fridge. Can serve with extra “nails” (pretzels).
Snack: gummy worms- a fun take on the “Council of Worms”
Snack: candy corn- torch fire
Snack: chocolate coins or honey roasted peanuts (which are SO yummy with candy corn, just sayin’)- “coins in the coffer”
Principles to take to heart:
When the actions of those leading the Church had veered far from the teachings of Jesus, God used Martin Luther to call out the deception, which led to a complete reformation.
We honor Martin Luther for standing up for truth in the face of persecution.
Remember:
We don’t worship Martin Luther. We simply remember him as an imperfect man (just like us) used by our perfect God.
November 1: All Saints’ Day/ Martyrs’ Day
Church history to teach:
Believers who lost their lives for following Jesus
Bible verse to read:
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:10 ESV
Activities to do:
Read Voice of the Martyrs graphic novel (Preview first and choose a selection that won’t be frightening to your child.)
Read Stephen: God’s Courageous Witness
Have your children research a martyr
Each person present what they learned, dressed as their favorite martyr (Many Bible characters such as John the Baptist, James, Peter, and Paul were martyred if you want to go that route.)
Food to enjoy:
Dinner: funeral potatoes- enough said?
Principles to take to heart:
As believers, we stand firm on a foundation of God’s Word as truth even when others disagree and treat us poorly.
We honor the people who lived and died for the Lord.
Remember:
Biblically, all followers of Jesus are saints. Those “sainted” by the Catholic Church are not to be worshipped or prayed to by Christians. We have direct access to God the Father through Jesus.
November 2: All Souls’ Day/Day of Remembrance
Church history to teach:
Followers of Christ who have gone to be with Jesus, including family or friends
Bible verse to read:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV
Activities to do:
Study your family tree to see where God worked through individuals to help bring you to faith. If there is no heritage of family faith that you know of, tell your children the story of whomever it was who helped lead you to faith, and share how their life is now impacting the lives of your children.
Read missionary biographies of those who weren’t necessarily martyred, but lived faithful lives such as something from the Trailblazer series, the Christian Heroes series, or the Do Great Things for God series.
Make a family tree of faith poster or a poster about the missionary you learned about.
Food to enjoy:
Your family member/friend’s favorite food or the culture’s food of the missionary you learned about
Principles to take to heart:
God has worked through the lives of thousands of people to bring you and your family to faith in Christ.
We honor those who lived for God.
Remember:
Purgatory isn’t real and Christians need not pray for the souls of the dead.
November 3: Church History Day
Church history to teach:
God’s plan for salvation and design for the Church, and the way He brought it into existance through Jesus
Bible verse to read:
“And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.’ And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this crooked generation.’ So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” Acts 2:38-41 ESV
Activities to do:
Read God’s Timeline: The Big Book of Church History and The World of the First Christians
Watch Drive Thru History’s Acts Through Revelation (at least Episode 1)
Make stained glass windows and hang them on yours. You can simply glue tissue paper to wax paper like we did or you can stick tissue paper on contact paper.
Food to enjoy:
Middle Eastern cuisine- naan, falafel, hummus, babba, olives, figs, couscous, veggies, shawarma, baklava, etc.
Principles to take to heart:
The Church is God’s great design and we are called to play an important part!
We honor God’s plan for our salvation.
Remember:
We are not to idolize the past, but rather learn from it. Sometimes we say we wish we were a part of the Early Church, but it was far from perfect. There has never been an ideal time or place to be a Christian.
November 4: Church Future Celebration
Church history to teach:
Jesus will return for us!
Bible verse to read:
“…so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:28 ESV
Activities to do:
Read The Awesome Super Fantastic Forever Party
Paint pictures of what heaven might be like
Take a nature walk and discuss what will be different in heaven (no thorns, no poison ivy, no dangerous animals, etc.)
Throw a party! Sing songs about Jesus’ return, decorate with white and gold, hang your heaven pictures and celebrate the fact that Jesus will return!
Food to enjoy:
Cupcakes with fruit on top- Revelation speaks of the tree of life bearing fruit for every month, so perhaps 12 different fruits (such as apples, clementines, grapes, kiwi, pears, peaches, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, and bananas)
Principles to take to heart:
Jesus hasn’t left us forever! He will return and those who choose to live according to His Word will spend eternity with Him in paradise!
We honor those who will keep the faith until Jesus’ return.
Remember:
No one knows the day or the hour of Jesus’ return. Make no promises to your children that it will be in their lifetime. We can hope, but we can’t promise.
A few words about changing traditions
Traditions of man are just that- traditions of man. Therefore there is nothing unbiblical about changing the way we celebrate various days. However, I know that many people are concerned about “pulling the rug out from under” their children when it comes to candy, costumes, and parties. I’ve been there and done that many years ago, so I’d like to offer some encouragement:
- Remember that you’re the parent. Even if your children are disappointed, you are still the authority God has placed over them. If you are convicted about what or how you’re celebrating something, you need to boldly move forward with making changes in your family.
- In that same vein, never compromise on your convictions. You are your children’s first and best example of what it means to follow God. Whether they appreciate what you’re doing right now or not, they will learn and be encouraged by your conviction to remain faithful to the truth of God’s Word. This could be a defining moment for their own faith journey, so don’t shrink back now!
- Don’t come down hard on children of any age. Make sure your heart, tone, and words all align in a spirit of joy when you explain/teach them why you’re going to be making some changes this year. Get them excited! As I said previously, more often than not, your kiddos reflect the attitude they see from you (eventually, at least). So demonstrate joy and excitement and they will follow!
- Before you state what you won’t be doing, state all the fun new things that you will be doing! Tell them what you’re learning and about the fun ways you could celebrate/remember the things that God has done throughout history. Then, explain that in order to do that, you’ll need to pull back from doing some other things.
- Give them time and grace to adjust to the changes. Maybe they’ll be 100% on board the first year or maybe they won’t. Either way, lead by example and give grace as they adjust.
- If you feel the need to explain the change to extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.), again, do so with grace. It’s not worth a debate. Simply share what you’ll be doing and why, and ask that they support you in your endeavors. Prepare yourself ahead of time as to how you’ll react if there is pushback. Be confident enough in your choices that you won’t feel the need to fight back or compromise on your convictions.
Above all
Above all, remember who you are honoring and who you’re not. In all of these fun, new traditions, we’re honoring God and how He worked through the lives of individuals for the cause of Christ. We honor godly men and women (even with faults) because the Bible says we are to give honor to whom honor is due. We never elevate man over God. And we never give an ounce of honor (intentionally or not) to the enemy of this world and the darkness that surrounds him.
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