Kids Alive! 29 October 2022

t’d be pretty hard for anyone not to notice that Halloween is coming. Halloween is a festival that started because people were afraid of the dark winter nights. (You can nd out more about the history of Halloween on pages 12 and 13 of this week’s issue.)

Talking of the dark, when someone is scared of the dark, what’s the best thing to do? That’s right, turn on a light. Everything seems less scary with a little bit of light. We’ve got a really powerful light that we can use whenever we’re faced with something dark or scary.

‘I am the Light of the World’ –that’s what Jesus says in the Bible (John 8:12). Even though there might be dark or scary situations we have to face, we don’t need to be afraid. Jesus is always there for us and if we choose to live his way, he’ll shine a light to guide and protect us.

So this Halloween, we’ll be choosing to celebrate the light of Jesus. Would you like to join us? You could show this week’s to your friends to help explainwhy you’re not taking part in Halloween. Or try carving a cross into a pumpkin and leave it outside your door to show others you support Jesus. If you’ve got a little more time on your hands, you could also dress up in bright, colourful costumes and have a light party. Whatever you choose to do, just make sure to shine a light!

8:12

'I am the Light of the World'Jesus said,

Be Brave!

says Cara Mott

It’s been a long month of complaining in the KA! JAM Bible series for October. However, we’ve nally made it to some Bible heroes who didn’t complain. Hooray!

King Nebuchadnezzar was cross with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, because they wouldn’t worship his statue. Even when Nebuchadnezzar threatened them with a fiery furnace, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego continued to worship God. They must have been so scared, but they stayed loyal to God and were brave. Then their courage was rewarded by God, because the re didn’t hurt them.

Around this time of year, there are plenty of scarylooking things around. The shops are full of spooky

Halloween costumes and decorations. It can also be quite a dif cult time to be a Christian who doesn’t want to celebrate Halloween. You might feel pressured by your friends to join in with celebrations, even if you don’t like them. This is the time to be brave like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

Just because everyone else if doing something, doesn’t mean you have to as well. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn’t join in with statue-worshipping. They stood out as different and showed everyone how powerful God is. You can do the same this week. Don’t feel like you have to celebrate Halloween if you don’t want to. Stand out as different and show others how powerful God is!

Pumpkin Puzzle

Lots

READ THE COMMENT BELOW ABOUT HOW GOD WANTS YOU TO BE BRAVE AND MAKE A STAND

As soon as we become friends with Jesus, God’s Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts. Each day, he helps us to become more like Jesus. As the Holy Spirit changes us, we produce good fruits so we can share the love of God with others.

Goodness

The Bible shows us just how good God really is. There are countless stories of how he looks after people, blesses them and helps them through difficult situations. Doing good things for other people isn’t always easy, but with the Holy Spirit helping us, we can do good and thoughtful

Fruits of Prayert

Dear Jesus,

KA! JAM is the coolest Bible activity clubaround. As a member you’ll go on amazingadventures through the Bible learning aboutJesus. Each activity sheet is filled with lotsof great stuff about being a Christian. You’llalso receive our mini-mag, Chatterbox,which is filled with jokes, games andmuch more. And to top it off, there areloads of awesome prizes to be won!

To join KA! JAM and complete theBible activity courses online, go tosalvationist.org.uk/kajam.

Or if you would like to receive the postal version,simply fill in the coupon below.

Name:

To join KA! JAM just ll in the application form and send it – along with two rst-class stamps – to: KA! JAM, 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN. Applicants must be between 7 and 17 years old to join.

Date of birth: Address:

Postcode:

or girl:

you attend a church, and if so, which one?

for membership of Kids Alive! Jesus And Me. I understand that joiningKA! JAM doesn’t mean I have joined The Salvation Army and that it is not a

subscription to Kids Alive!

CAPITALS.

Ho

ho,

What

Do

ha,

ha,

by Neil Locker

ha,

ha,

Ho ho,

ha,

Why did the candles quit their job?

were all burnt out!

What’s the most stressful thing for a dragon on its

ha, ha ha, ha ha!

to blow out the

on its birthday

ho, ho ho!

How many birds does it take to change a light

ho, ho ho!

How does the sun like its eggs for

he, he he!

should you never

at

a

Ho ho, ha ha, he

What did the candle say to its

when it

ho, ha ha, he he!

How many dance

does it take to change a light

six, seven,

We have a very special prize on offer this week! It’s a guide for young people on how to pray. You might think praying is cult or boring, but it doesn’t have to be. Enter this week’s competition for an opportunity to win the exciting new book, How to Pray – A Guide for Young Explorers. In this fabulous guide you’ll discover awesome activities to inspire you to pray – such as building a prayer den! The book is also jam-packed with cool cartoon-style illustrations, tips and tools for prayer, real-life stories, fun facts and ways to get creative and con dent in praying. It’s written by wellknown author on prayer, Pete Greig, and has insights and ideas from CBBC presenter, Gemma Hunt. There are also stories about prayer from children and children’s workers around the United Kingdom. For your opportunity to win How to Pray – A Guide for Young Explorers, answer the question below and email your full name, age, address and answer to kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk. Remember to put ‘How to Pray Competition’ in the subject box. Your entry needs to reach us by Friday 25 November when the winners will be chosen. You can also enter by lling in the details on the coupon below and posting it to: How to Pray Competition, Kids Alive! 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN.

‘How to Pray – A Guide for Young Explorers’ is available at St Andrews Bookshop, priced £8.99. For more info go to standrewsbookshop.co.uk/product/how-to-pray-a-guide-for-young-explorers

Tent

black

month colouring

The last of our Black History Month Colourings features footballer Jack Leslie. Jack played for Plymouth Argyle and was the only black professional footballer in England at the time. In 1925 he was selected to play for England, but was later denied this opportunity because of the colour of his skin. Jack was a shining light in a footballing world where many didn’t accept him and he’s now been recognised with a statue outside Plymouth Argyle’s Home Park stadium. Add some colour to the design below and if you’d like to share your artwork with other readers, email your colourings to: kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk. Make sure you write ‘Black History Month Colouring’ in the subject box and give us your full name, age and address. Alternatively you can post your colourings to: Your Space, Kids Alive! 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN. One last reminder, if you’re sending by post remember to ll in the details below so we know who you are. We send a gift to everyone whose colouring we publish, so don’t miss out!

Name: Age:

Address:

Postcode:

Living a healthy and an active lifestyle and caring for your physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

The History of Halloween

If you’ve read page 3 of this week’s issue you’ll already know that Kids Alive! isn’t a fan of all things spooky. However, we thought it might be helpful to explain a little bit of the history of Halloween and where it all began. Some parts of this frightful festival and its traditions have their roots in Christian celebrations. One thing’s for certain, for thousands of years people seem to have known that light always beats darkness.

Samhain

The history of Halloween goes back thousands of years to an ancient Celtic festival called Samhain. This festival marked the end of long light days of summer and the beginning of winter darkness. Celtic people believed that at this time of year the boundary between the worlds of the living and dead was blurred. So they thought at Samhain the ghosts of the dead could return to Earth. As part of the festival there were huge bon res. It’s believed that they used the light, along with costumes, to try to scare away any nasty spirits.

All Saints’ and All Souls’

As Christianity spread across the world, the early Church decided that 1 November would be All Saints’ Day. This was to celebrate all the saints and people who had died because of their Christian beliefs. All Saints’ Day was also known as All Hallows’ Day, so the day before was All Hallows’ Eve. This is where the name Halloween comes from.

The church then added another special day to the Christian calendar. All Souls’ Day takes place on 2 November and it’s a day to remember people who have died. As Christians began celebrating their new festivals, many of the old Celtic traditions got mixed in with the new to form the modern Halloween we know.

Modern Day Traditions

Trick-or-Treating

A long time ago groups of children would visit houses and ask for gifts or special cakes known as soul cakes. This was known as souling. In other places in the United Kingdom, there were similar traditions called guising. Many children would dress up in costumes and knock on neighbours’ doors. In return for gifts, they would pray for that family’s dead relatives, sing or recite poetry. This is probably the beginnings of trick-or-treating.

Apple Bobbing

The tradition of apple bobbing possibly started in Roman times. The Romans celebrated a festival for their goddess, Pomona, around the same time of year as Halloween. Pomona was the goddess of trees and fruits, so when the Romans came to Britain and celebrated this festival it’s possible that started the link of apples to Halloween.

Pumpkins

During the 19th century in Ireland, people used a turnips carved with a scary faces to try to frighten spirits away. The lit candles inside helped make the faces look scarier. These became known as jack-o’-lanterns, possibly because of an Irish legend about a man named Jack. Jack could not enter Heaven because he was a bad man. However, he couldn’t enter Hell either because he had played tricks on the devil. So instead he had to walk around Earth with his lantern.

When many Irish people moved to America they took their traditions with them. They soon discovered that pumpkins were much easier to carve. As Halloween really took off in America, it was featured more and more in TV programmes, books and movies. This is why it’s become more popular in the UK in recent years.

Love and Light

Remember there are plenty of ways to spread the love and light of Jesus at Halloween. Flip back to page 3 to read some of our suggestions!

Cool Colourings

This cool Colour-ByNumbers creation was sent to us by Finley, age 8. It looks so bright and bold!

Lauren, age 13, also sent us this super neat ColourBy-Numbers. Fantastic work, Lauren!

Mela, age 6, sent us a Cool Cycling Colouring. The weather looks perfect for a bike ride with a friend.

Here’s another Cool Cycling Colouring. This one is from Zoja, age 8. We love the choice of colours for the children’s clothes – they’re perfect for autumn!

This Tractor Dot-to-Dot was sent to us by Abigail, age 4. Well done, Abigail!

We love this ace Tennis Colouring from Amelia, age 8. The colours make us want to be outside playing tennis too!

WithJourneyJoseph

At Swindon Gorse Hill Salvation Army, Captain Theresa Torr welcomed more than 50 children for an awesome adventure. They got to journey with Joseph through Egypt and make their own technicolor dreamcoat! There was also a visit from ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra, who helped the children design their own Egyptian costumes and pyramids.

G e t I n

T o u c h !

The Kids Alive! team loves to hear from its readers. And guess what –other readers love reading your news! So why not get in touch? You can email or post your own colourings, drawings and letters. Or you could ask your Sunday school, church or corps leaders to email us or write to us with any news about the fun stuff you’ve been doing at your church or corps.

Email: kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk

Post: Kids Alive! 101 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BN

Age? 5.

Favourite colour? Pink. Favourite food? Cornish pasty. Favourite sport? Swimming. Favourite bit of Kids Alive! Colouring Corner.

Favourite Bible story and why? Zacchaeus, because Jesus can help us change. Favourite TV programme? Balamory

What do you want to be when you’re older? A vet. Pets? Mo the cat and Charlie and Harry – guinea pigs.

Hobbies? Dancing with my sisters. Tell us a joke. Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide!

What special skill or talent do you have? Making people cakes. Tell us something interesting about yourself. I am learning to surf with my dad.

Is there anything else you would like I am the youngest child in my school year.