Halloween Rebel
Because I'm sick and tired of the way the Halloween season has focused so much on fear (which God has not given us the spirit of, by the way), and because I don't feel the way it is coming to be celebrated is in harmony with Gospel living (well-meaning ward parties notwithstanding), and because my wife agreed with me (the most important of these considerations), I made some moves to change things for my family this year. Yes, our girls went out trick-or-treating to select houses, but that was more an attempt to provide contact with neighbors than anything else. Yes, we went to a couple of parties, but one was a family affair, and the other was for church, neither of which encouraged most of the things I object to most strongly.
Here's what we did. I borrowed a 6x8 rear projection screen and a 5K projector from work, as well as sound system and a few LED theatrical lights. I lit the outside of our home a bit, to create a sort of ethereal - not scary - atmosphere, and set up the screen/sound assembly in our carport. From my laptop, I played older-sounding music, mostly folkish in style, while from a DVD player I looped the simple video below, which depicts some of my ancestors with a message that is much more overbearing than I meant it to be for the simple reason that I didn't have the time to create the other elements of the video. It's nothing fancy, and its not as refined as I would like, but it was done from scratch in my spare time, and after you see it I'll describe what it should have been.
So there it is. I thought it fitting, given the history of the day, to bring in a Gospel-friendly celebration of the dead, including some visual means of introducing them. I only had time to get a few pictures together this year, but I originally intended to include names and brief biographical information on each person, as well as his or her place in the Figueira family tree. All of the faces you'll see are from my side of the family. My wife's ancestors are important, but I didn't have any pictures handy or means of getting them conveniently.
Going forward, I'm going to include the information I mentioned in a more varied visual environment, with any other fun elements I can think of and produce before next year. I would like to point out that I intentionally left out a visual reference to temple work, because I felt it was too overbearing.
One funny story associated with this: my neighbor across the street (who we have a great relationship with, by the way) saw me building the screen in the driveway and got curious. She's a big TV and movie watcher, and we can almost always see her wall-mounted flatscreen shining through the window of her front room. As soon as she saw the telltale blue rectangle of a projector without a signal, she came over to ask what was going on. I was behind the screen, and could hear, but not see her. My oldest daughter quickly answered that daddy was going to show his "Halloween Movie." My neighbor got pretty pumped up, until my wife let her down with a more accurate description of what was going on. I felt a little bad about the misunderstanding, but couldn't help but chuckle to myself.
Here's what we did. I borrowed a 6x8 rear projection screen and a 5K projector from work, as well as sound system and a few LED theatrical lights. I lit the outside of our home a bit, to create a sort of ethereal - not scary - atmosphere, and set up the screen/sound assembly in our carport. From my laptop, I played older-sounding music, mostly folkish in style, while from a DVD player I looped the simple video below, which depicts some of my ancestors with a message that is much more overbearing than I meant it to be for the simple reason that I didn't have the time to create the other elements of the video. It's nothing fancy, and its not as refined as I would like, but it was done from scratch in my spare time, and after you see it I'll describe what it should have been.
So there it is. I thought it fitting, given the history of the day, to bring in a Gospel-friendly celebration of the dead, including some visual means of introducing them. I only had time to get a few pictures together this year, but I originally intended to include names and brief biographical information on each person, as well as his or her place in the Figueira family tree. All of the faces you'll see are from my side of the family. My wife's ancestors are important, but I didn't have any pictures handy or means of getting them conveniently.
Going forward, I'm going to include the information I mentioned in a more varied visual environment, with any other fun elements I can think of and produce before next year. I would like to point out that I intentionally left out a visual reference to temple work, because I felt it was too overbearing.
One funny story associated with this: my neighbor across the street (who we have a great relationship with, by the way) saw me building the screen in the driveway and got curious. She's a big TV and movie watcher, and we can almost always see her wall-mounted flatscreen shining through the window of her front room. As soon as she saw the telltale blue rectangle of a projector without a signal, she came over to ask what was going on. I was behind the screen, and could hear, but not see her. My oldest daughter quickly answered that daddy was going to show his "Halloween Movie." My neighbor got pretty pumped up, until my wife let her down with a more accurate description of what was going on. I felt a little bad about the misunderstanding, but couldn't help but chuckle to myself.
Comments
This is a great idea. I'm no fan of fear (though I love the unsettling) and this is a great way to be on topic without indulging in things you're uncomfortable with. I'll be excited to see next year's version.
I do think that Halloween, as the last holiday that involves socializing with neighbors known and unknown, is important. And something like this could increase the means to conversation.
Th.,
Thanks. I also recognize the value of the unsettling, which is why I hope the ultimate version of this project will have a tone that, while not exactly guilt-inducing, will contain the idea that the dead are reaching out to us from beyond the grave, and it's time to reach back.
This is not necessarily meant in a temple-work way, although I would hope that such would be implied for those who have ears to hear. I'm aiming more for the sense that relationships exist and can be built with those who have gone before, and that these relationships are an essential part of our identity and help us recognize our potential, as well as enrich our lives.
Your last sentence gets right to the heart of what I hope ultimately to accomplish.