Show them a handful of reeds, and explain that Columbus discovered floating in the sea a number of weeds which did not grow in his country and therefore reasoned they must come from an unknown land.
Write on a piece of large white paper the word "AMERICA"; roll it up and hide it, and then during the meeting ask some boy or girl to pretend to be Columbus, and let him go forth to find the new world. If he fails to find the parchment let another child try. Let the fortunate child who does at last find it come back to the platform, and then give him a new name—call him the "Discoverer."
Teach the lesson that all of us are starting out in life to "find things," but the best thing to find is the truth. Place in his hands a Bible and say, This will be your guide to all truth, follow its light, and you will find the Cross which is the door to salvation and to heaven.
Hallowe'en. October 31
Read as the Scripture lesson for this service Romans 1:1-12. It announces the fact that we are all called to be saints. Every good boy and girl made good by being saved is a saint according to the New Testament.
Hallowe'en is the eve before All Saints' Day, and the term means "Holy Evening."
It does not seem much like an holy evening when we remember it is a time of unearthly noises, witches, spirits, ghosts, elfish creatures, etc., the time when fortunes are supposed to be told in many a walnut shell or in a tub with a burning candle. All of this superstition belongs to the realm of frolics.
Display some post-cards with pictures of witches on them and say, "We do not fear these witches because they don't live," but tell them of the true witches, lying, stealing, profanity, falsehood, anger, temper, etc., which are all witches that we should fear for they are real and seek to get into our hearts at all times.
Explain the "new" meaning of the decoration you use for this special season, "the black and orange." Let the black stand for the night of sin, and the orange, the color of the rising sun, for the dawn of the day of truth and the coming of the light. Darken the room, and let a child from the rear with a lighted candle represent the light that God sends into our world of darkness. This is a simple but entertaining pastime.
For the conclusion of the service have a peanut party.