As Christians, how should we deal with Halloween?

Halloween eh? What to do. We're quite fortunate as we live down a little lane where there are few passers by, so we won't be persecuted this year by the little monsters demanding sweeties, but my heart goes out to those of you who are more accessible.

I do have a problem with Halloween, as you might expect. It's not with fantasy though, and it's not with a child being encouraged to use their imagination, or dressing up, or knocking on their neighbours' doors as a fun social activity. I'm not too concerned that a non-Christian tradition was manipulated to involve the Christian faith.

What really bothers me about Halloween brothers and sisters, is that it is nothing less than a trickle-down of a sinister adult culture. It's a gateway, an entry point, an initiation, it's part one, it's horror for beginners, it's 'My First Zombie' with a back-to-front 's'.

I have some experience of kids now, as do most of my friends, and what they are is innocent. They respond to tenderness, sweetness, love, kindness, and they remind us as adults what's really worthwhile in life. The idea that we should very selfishly attempt to infect that innocence is an idea that comes from a very deep seated need to justify ourselves I think.

Sharing the darkest parts of ourselves with our children in some way serves to make us feel that we're OK, that our darkness is innocent. I feel we are in some way using our beautiful children as scapegoats.

That, I think, is what's really happening.

Which parent among us would want to give our children an Iggle Piggle doll, then gouge out his eyes, cover him in blood and play 'Undead Iggle Piggle is coming to get you!'?

I know that sounds ridiculous, I have a taste for melodrama I know, but the point is that we're trying to bring our children up into something sinister, the adult versions of which are questionable to say the least!

Many adults enjoy horror, most adults really don't. I don't think I know any horror fans actually, most of my friends I think would consider it quite distasteful.

What about porn, very comparable I think, should we start our little ones off on it now? Should we begin to sexualise them early on?

Last year my child's nursery had images of 'alive' skeletons hanging on the walls, along with ghosts and jack-a-lanterns. She was two.

Let's be clear, children DO NOT naturally want to celebrate death, zombies, horrific wounding, vampires, or fear. AT ALL. And anyone who says they do is inflicting grief on children and hurting their spirits unnecessarily for no better reason than to bring them some comfort regarding their own distressing predicament.

I think that 'What to do on Halloween' as Christians might be a little more straightforward than we think, and I'm sure some people are already on the case, but we should simply have a different celebration. Let's have Christian Halloween, and let's just call it 'Christian Halloween', simple as that, and let's make it as real as Christmas. What a glorious distinction that would be, and what fun for the kids.

Let's make it a celebration of everything that's been good and positive about the Christian faith down the ages, in memory of the lives that have been the best examples of love, charity and self-sacrifice. Let's dress up, sing songs, play party games in bright rooms filled with joy, celebration and music, and instead of knocking on doors demanding sweeties from pensioners who just want to be left in peace, lets go round the houses putting candles through people's letterboxes, reminding them that there is a shining light nearby even in the darkest times.