Creating a heretage

As Easter draws ever near, I find myself contemplating our future holidays as a family. What holidays will we celebrate as a family and turn into family traditions, how will we incorporate both families? How will we celebrate them?

For the past several years I have been a part of a local play that has been done every year for years, The Crucifixion. It was written and is still directed by Colleen Noble, she wrote it as a young teen straight from the bible, and for years her husband Peter Noble has played the part of Jesus. Once I began dating my husband, he began taking part as well. This year, it will just be our new son, Jonah, and I will be in it and I find warmth and honour to take part of such a wonderful production, and I love that Jonah will grow up in such an environment, learn what Jesus has done for him, for his family, for all of us. I encourage everyone to come and see, and experience the passion!

The play is so dramatic, complete with effects, lighting, you name it and it has been an honour to be a part of it. I find myself thinking ahead to other holidays, thanksgiving, Halloween, Christmas, .... how will we celebrate it, what values do we want to impart on our children. The most challenging for me as a christian is Halloween. For obvious reasons, it is not a christian holiday and can easily be turned into a very pagan and dark holiday. The dilemma is this, both my husband and I celebrated it as children, trick or treating, the call of free candy too strong to resist. How can we not allow our children to do what we did as children? Also, so many other children, peers, will be taking part, how out of place may they feel not doing so too? It is easier today, with more and more churches having their own celebrations and instilling the bible teaching, something that was not available when I was a child. I am guessing we will take it a day at a time and a holiday at a time. We have time to decide what will happen for Halloween, with Jonah just under 3 months old, we have plenty of time...