Trunk or Treat?

by Nancy French
When we lived in Philly, we trick-or-treated in Society Hill with neighbors sitting on their stoops, handing out little envelopes of coins to the children (no tooth decay!) and plastic cups of wine to the adults. People lingered in the park for an impromptu parade of the various costumes -- Camille was Sleeping Beauty and Austin was Herman Munster. It remains one of my favorite memories of living there, perhaps because it was one of the rare moments where the entire community is simultaneously committed to hanging out, giving total strangers KitKats and a little of their time.

But since we've moved South, Halloween is so controversially dull. Churches have "Fall Festivals" as an alternative for parents who don't want their children participating in a holiday with historically suspect origins. "No scary costumes!" the fliers kindly warn. My church had a Reformation Party, to celebrate one of the world's turning-points. On Oct. 31st, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenburg Church, birthing the Protestant Reformation. People dressed like Bible characters -- amazing how versatile a brown burlap sack and a rope can be -- and ate award-winning chili. John the Baptist was cute and handed out "locusts" that looked suspiciously like Tootsie Rolls.

Which is fine.

Really.

But still.

In my neighborhood the porch lights were notably all off. They were at various church functions jumping in blow-up bouncy contraptions.

The only thing "Fall Festivals" protect us from in Columbia, Tennessee are our neighbors. Last night I missed the simplicity of the door-to-door fellowship with random people in the neighborhood you simply can't find in a self-segregating church parking lot.

http://www.evangelicalsformitt.org/front_page/the_demise_of_southern_hallowe.php