Halloweanie

I took my children to a Halloween costume parade at the local nursing home today. Zaya was a bumble-bee, and Mimy was an OSU cowgirl. I'm not really sure what I feel about Halloween. I detest its origins. So many of our traditions for the holiday are based in druidic lore. Jack-o-lanterns, costumes, the frightfests; all have direct correlations to ancient cultic practices. However. . . no one that I know is actually using the holiday to attract or scare off demons. There is no other time of the year when it is socially acceptable to dress-up in costumes and show everyone, not to mention all the free candy. Should I forbid the holiday entirely, or should I allow my children to practice the aspects that I have decided are acceptable? This is something I really ought to decide before they are much older. If I choose not to allow them to dress-up etc. for Halloween, we'll have to forgo activities like the parade this morning. Then, when my young mommy friends ask me why we weren't there, I'd have to explain, and that would sound terribly judgemental of me, whether or not that was my intent. Sometimes I think it would be easier if we just had a simple black-and-white list of rules that we could follow. I don't think I have the confidence or the wisdom to make this whole free-will thing work right. I suppose that's the way it's supposed to be. If we knew exactly what was expected of us, when would we rely on God? I'll just pray about my Halloween issues, instead of griping about the confusion, and see what happens.