blessedmom3 Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I went today to a baptist church "Fall Festival" . The organizers were wearing costumes , masks , t-shirts with "Happy Halloween" . Some of the games had skulls and other Halloween stuff. I didn't have peace anymore. I was wondering what was God thinking about all this adopted celebration of Halloween . I couldn't say it was a "Fall Festival" . Even my 6 yo kid asked why do we celebrate Halloween as Christians ... Are we the only ones feeling that way ? Where is our Church going ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newlifemom Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 You're pretty new here aren't you?:leaving: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LG Gone Wild Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 You're pretty new here aren't you?:leaving: LOL! I won't be :lurk5: this thread. Best of luck, OP. BTW, I am ambivalent. Got All Saints Day to think about. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I think you should talk to your church leaders if you're not happy. We're Christian and we celebrate Halloween as a cultural, secular holiday (carve pumpkins, dress up, go trick-or-treating, etc.). :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 ugh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 **tick, tick, tick, tick, tick**:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 We don't celebrate All Hallow's Eve and never have as a family. We have recognised Reformation Day, but only recognising it...no dressing up or any of that jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessedmom3 Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 You're pretty new here aren't you?:leaving: Yes , I am kind of new (7 yrs ago )> I married an American , but I was born in Romania . Back there the Christians are more conservative I think. I don't mean they are better , just different ways ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 (edited) Basically we celebrate Reformation Day with our children. You can find resources and link to activities on my blog if you are interested. We don't have a problem with folks choosing to celebrate Halloween or Harvest Carnival or whatever. I know that the vast majority of people are just enjoying a fun night out with the neighbors. Even though we don't dress up or go trick or treating, we do pass out candy. We have cute pumpkins and a couple of gourds turned into spiders out front. We'll be sitting inside watching, Luther, as a family and eating pizza. We aren't losing sleep over the holiday. ;-) Edited October 31, 2009 by Daisy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 We celebrate Halloween. We do not celebrate Reformation Day. We then celebrate All Saints Day. Lots of variety here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katemary63 Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I think you should talk to your church leaders if you're not happy. We're Christian and we celebrate Halloween as a cultural, secular holiday (carve pumpkins, dress up, go trick-or-treating, etc.). :) :iagree:Faithful conservative Christian here - Love Halloween, Christmas Trees, Birthday cakes and lots of other secular but fun cultural traditions that make our life interesting and fun. We stay away from anything evil looking, but other then that...Trick or Treat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I feel fine about participating in the cultural, fun, festive and playful celebration! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newlifemom Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Yes , I am kind of new (7 yrs ago )> I married an American , but I was born in Romania . Back there the Christians are more conservative I think. I don't mean they are better , just different ways ... :o Sorry, I didn't mean America. I meant the boards. Halloween is a bit of a hot topic here and threads about it typically get heated pretty quickly. That's all. FTR, we do not participate in activities surrounding this particular holiday. It is probably hypocritical, b/c we do celebrate Christmas (with a tree). It is just what we do. I am sorry if I made uncomfortable. Just being a little silly on a Friday evening.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacie Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 (edited) You're pretty new here aren't you?:leaving: Yes , I am kind of new (7 yrs ago )> I married an American , but I was born in Romania . Back there the Christians are more conservative I think. I don't mean they are better , just different ways ... ;) I think newlifemom's comment was directed to you being fairly new on the board. This question comes up every year (and sometimes in the off-season) and typically explodes into a quagmire of sorts. It's usually a sign of someone without a lot of board experience who steps into it with a totally innocent, and a very relevant, question on the matter. Don't feel as though board members are laughing at you, we're preparing for the rabbit trails this question brings out. For what it's worth, we're a Christian family and we celebrate Halloween. For my boys it's all about the costumes, the candy, and the fun. Edited October 31, 2009 by Stacie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzf242 Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Just wanted to let you know we feel the same way. We are Christians, and we do not have anything to do with Halloween. Take care, Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kari C in SC Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I think you should talk to your church leaders if you're not happy. We're Christian and we celebrate Halloween as a cultural, secular holiday (carve pumpkins, dress up, go trick-or-treating, etc.). :) :iagree: We have always had Halloween and don't equate it with having anything to do with religion. My kids think about all the stuff mentioned above and have no idea why it would be considered evil, etc. I gotta say I was pretty offended by a church sign in my town that says, "Christians don't celebrate Halloween!" I don't demand that anyone do the things I do and I certainly expect the same respect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 (edited) First of all, your church (or anyone else for that matter) should not influence you to do anything that bothers your conscience. :grouphug: That can harm your relationship with God. I think it is commendable that you are "making sure of what is acceptable to the Lord."—Ephesians 5:10. I do not believe that God is pleased when we engage in anything that is related to false worship. 2 Corinthians 6:14,16; 1 Corinthians 10:20-22; Isaiah 52:11; Revelation 18:4 The Encyclopedia Americana says: “Elements of the customs connected with Halloween can be traced to a Druid [ancient Celtic priesthood] ceremony in pre-Christian times. The Celts had festivals for two major gods—a sun god and a god of the dead . . . , whose festival was held on November 1, the beginning of the Celtic New Year. The festival of the dead was gradually incorporated into Christian ritual.” It was believed that on the festival of Samhain, the veil between the human and the supernatural worlds was parted and spirits, both good and evil, roamed the earth. The souls of the dead were thought to return to their homes, and families would put out food and drink for their ghostly visitors in hopes of appeasing them and warding off misfortune. So in addition to being traditions of false worship, Halloween also seems too close to the occult, which I have no doubts about staying far away from. Deut 18:10-12 I hope that God calls you to peace on this matter and that you grow in your relationship with him. (I am a Jehovah's Witness, and a Christian. Our official website is www.watchtower.org.) Edited October 31, 2009 by Lovedtodeath Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 To us, Halloween is a fun holiday to dress up and see lots of neighbors. I'm very big on Halloween as a community thing--everyone out being friendly and having fun. We don't do very scary stuff and we like candy. :) The church we belong to does not seem to have a problem with Halloween, and it's never really been an issue for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 All Saints Day , All Souls Day and Day of the Dead. And of course we celebrate Halloween our way with hot cross buns at the cemetery with my Anglican mother and candles lit at every gravesite for our dearly departed. We also say prayers for the dead . Here is a lovely way to pray the rosary for the dead. http://www.breviary.net/allsoulsguild/chaplet/rosary.htm We have so many traditions but this is perhaps one of my most treasured. I really love my mixed faith family as our holidays are so varied and rich in order to give respect to the traditions of all our members. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommyJo Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 :iagree:Faithful conservative Christian here - Love Halloween, Christmas Trees, Birthday cakes and lots of other secular but fun cultural traditions that make our life interesting and fun. We stay away from anything evil looking, but other then that...Trick or Treat! Oops somehow messed up that quote! :001_huh: :iagree:We are also conservative Christians but do celebrate Halloween. Like others have said we do it for the fun tradition. Our church does a Trunk or Treat where members gather in the parking lot and hand out candy from their trunks. There are also games, candy, food, etc. and a few days before there is The Great Red Pumpkin Hunt where we get clues and go all over the city (carpooling, of course) trying to be the first to get the pumpkin. IMO it is nicer since we can celebrate with our church and let our children know it is all about fun. We typically watch what the children are around though at this time of year. If it does not correlate well with our beliefs than we just try to limit exposure to it. I think since we have younger children, we try to protect the beliefs we are trying so hard to instill and it is our job to monitor what they are allowed and not allowed to be around at this time of the year (and others) so that it does not inhibit those beliefs such as the evil-type aspects that Halloween can sometimes represent. I also think it depends on how the tradition is handled at home. As of now, my children only see Halloween as a fun tradition where people dress up and go trick or treating and that is how I like to keep it at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMamaBird Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 We're conservative Christians and we enjoy H'ween. We don't do skulls, witches, ghosts, monsters and all that and I would be especially uncomfortable if those images were involved in a Church celebration. I see you have a 200+ post count, but "Welcome to the Board" a bit late! Don't feel bad about the question, it was posed innocently enough, we're big girls, we can keep it civil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiana Daniels Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 We don't have anything to do with Halloween, and don't see anything beautiful or pretty or wonderful about it to celebrate (when considering the roots of it, and the decorations that go along with it present-day.) I don't judge people who do, and have plenty of friends who go all out. It's definitely not for us, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyrooch Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 :iagree:Faithful conservative Christian here - Love Halloween, Christmas Trees, Birthday cakes and lots of other secular but fun cultural traditions that make our life interesting and fun. We stay away from anything evil looking, but other then that...Trick or Treat! This is our family in a nutshell. We are also Christians but we celebrate Halloween, Christmas, Birthdays, etc. We enjoy the fun involved with dressing up and trick or treating. We believe that Halloween is only evil if you make it evil or allow it to be evil. It is what you do with the holiday that makes it bad. Not the event itself. For us, it has always been a happy time sharing laughes with family and friends. Some of our fondest memories occured during Halloween. For us it has been always had a positive impact on our family. We look forward to it every year. The kids can't wait until tomorrow!!!! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elaine Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Audrey! Oh, Audrey! You knew it was coming! :D (Sorry OP, little inside joke.) But, to answer your question, as a Christian I celebrate Halloween. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikeBookBread Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I found two interesting and reasoned approaches to this very question on prominent Christian blogs today: "Halloween Worries, Doctrinal Apathy" over on the Stand to Reason blog (this one was linked on Tim Challies blog today in his A La Carte section) "Of Halloween and Rubber Tanks" over on the Coffee Talk blog by Professor Rick Walston, PhD of Columbia Evangelical Seminary (this one was linked from the blog of the church we attended while living up in "Nearly Canada, ND") Just for the record, our family does H-ween: it is a fun reason to get the girls a new dress-up costume for the year, give and get candy, meet the neighbors and enjoy some lighthearted fun. In no way do we "celebrate darkness". I completely understand families who have chosen not to participate. What I DON'T understand are churches holding "harvest parties"...they are holding HALLOWEEN parties and giving them a different name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 :iagree:Faithful conservative Christian here - Love Halloween, Christmas Trees, Birthday cakes and lots of other secular but fun cultural traditions that make our life interesting and fun. We stay away from anything evil looking, but other then that...Trick or Treat! :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Audrey! Oh, Audrey! You knew it was coming! :D (Sorry OP, little inside joke.) But, to answer your question, as a Christian I celebrate Halloween. :001_smile: Yep. I'm on it. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Major discussion about this topic in our house this year...fed by my ds11's desire to go trick-or-treating with his friend in our neighborhood. We did H-ween for many years, even after we became Christians. Our old church used to do a "H-ween alternative" party...but not on H-ween night (which we found ridiculous!). We stopped the trick-or-treating part when we moved to this neighborhood that is very, very dark (no street lights, houses far apart) and we don't know many of our neighbors...just those in close proximity. Call me a worry-wort, but I worry! So, our reason is mainly safety. We will take our kids to our church or friend's churches for Harvest parties, "trunk-or-treats" (the rage around here the past few years) b/c it is SAFE and b/c we KNOW the people. As for whether celebrating H-ween is wrong in God's eyes...I think God looks at our hearts. Do we participate b/c we want to engage in cultish ceremonies or worship another god? Or, is it as most have said...just for fun and candy? Trick-or-treating just scares me around my neighborhood and most...you just never know. Paranoid? Perhaps. Better safe than sorry. This year, we didn't have the money to buy 7 costumes...our kids made their own for the church party and trunk-or-treat. Around our house if it isn't a "heaven and hell" issue...we try not to make a big deal of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtoboys Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 This is the first year our family will be celebrating Halloween in any way. Background, neither I nor DH were allowed to trick-or-treat etc (or most other fun things that other kids got to do LOL) growing up. When we had kids, we did know the background of Halloween, so we decided not to celebrate, but still pass out candy to neighborhood kids. Weirdly, when we moved, we ended up at a more "traditional" church, where everyone lets their kids have fun and go trick-or-treating, etc. It's seen as not a big deal, and largely a Christian liberty issue. I mean, the other day, our pastor asked if our kids were excited about Halloween (or something to that effect). My 7 year old was dying to dress up as Spiderman and get "candy". So, long story short. . .I reconsidered our stance. One of the professors/Sunday school teachers at our church always says "stop where the Bible stops". In that light, i find that it's not inherently wrong to let my kids dress like Spiderman and go out and trick-or-treat. (We would not let them dress up as something "evil" if you KWIM.) If I'm going to tell my kids they can't, I'd better sure have a solid Biblical reason. I know some of you feel you do, and I respect that, but I can't find a good Bible reason to shut ourselves out of a cultural holiday. I don't think it means now what it meant hundreds of years ago (and yes, I am very familiar w/ the history of Halloween). We will never "celebrate" Halloween to the extent that we celebrate Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc. But we will not make our kids feel left out of a cultural celebration. So, they'll be dressing up and getting candy tonight. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inactive Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Just wanted to let you know we feel the same way. We are Christians, and we do not have anything to do with Halloween. :iagree: We do NOT celebrate Halloween in any way, shape or form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inactive Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 First of all, your church (or anyone else for that matter) should not influence you to do anything that bothers your conscience. :grouphug: That can harm your relationship with God. I think it is commendable that you are "making sure of what is acceptable to the Lord."—Ephesians 5:10. I do not believe that God is pleased when we engage in anything that is related to false worship. 2 Corinthians 6:14,16; 1 Corinthians 10:20-22; Isaiah 52:11; Revelation 18:4 :iagree: Probably going to "put my foot in it" -- please NO flames -- but I don't think that celebrating Christmas and Birthdays can be equated/compared with celebrating Halloween... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Faithful conservative Christian here - Love Halloween, Christmas Trees, Birthday cakes and lots of other secular but fun cultural traditions that make our life interesting and fun. We stay away from anything evil looking, but other then that...Trick or Treat! :iagree: And it's free candy. Gotta love the candy :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 What I DON'T understand are churches holding "harvest parties"...they are holding HALLOWEEN parties and giving them a different name. Are they all though? I would see some of those parties as an activity for people who don't want to celebrate Halloween but want something else to do that night. I do agree that some of them are Halloween parties especially when the kids dress up. Our church had one a couple years ago but there were no costumes. It was all fall veggies, apple cider and bible crafts. I guess I didn't see that as a Halloween party but as an alternate event. Maybe I saw it as a different event because we went trick or treating the next day, shhhh, don't tell my church :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I do not believe that God is pleased when we engage in anything that is related to false worship. I think that was a good point. I don't agree with it of course. :) But still, it's a reasonable concern. Whatever the roots of Halloween any aspect of worship has long since disapeared for most people engaged in it. I think that for there to be any hint of worship there needs to be intent or, at least, awareness and that's just not the case for most who celebrate Halloween. Nowadays it seems to be more about celebrating community, children and our human quirk of the love of thrill and fear. None of which I think is anti-Christian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 We are Christians and we like Halloween. But we end up doing things that are done in our community and our church. So in some areas, we ended up at the Harvest parties where the kids had a lot of fun. In the last two areas, the churches we belonged to had no Halloween problems and so the youngers went trick or treating. This isn't a religious holiday for us, just a fun one. They girls were originally going to go to a youth group Halloween party but when they heard it was at a house with two dog aggressive pit bulls, they didn't want to go. (We have a dog, cat, and hamster and don't want any pitbull deciding to go nuts from their smells). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in MD Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 As for whether celebrating H-ween is wrong in God's eyes...I think God looks at our hearts. Do we participate b/c we want to engage in cultish ceremonies or worship another god? Or, is it as most have said...just for fun and candy? :iagree: We are Christians who participate as well. We go to my in-law's house for Halloween. They make dinner and my FIL and dh take the kids trick-or-treating. It is fun for FIL because he gets to show off his grandkids to the neighbors, and it is fun for MIL because she gets to spoil them with candy for the night :) Heather in MD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Halloween is a Pagan holiday. I don't care how anyone wants to parse it. Personally, I think its premise is rather fascinating, and I find it interesting how "modern" religious and secular groups have co-opted the day and its traditions (albeit in mutated form). Then again, I find the co-option of most holidays from pagan ritual rather... convenient. a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cindie2dds Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I think you should talk to your church leaders if you're not happy. We're Christian and we celebrate Halloween as a cultural, secular holiday (carve pumpkins, dress up, go trick-or-treating, etc.). :) :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cindie2dds Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Probably going to "put my foot in it" -- please NO flames -- but I don't think that celebrating Christmas and Birthdays can be equated/compared with celebrating Halloween... No flames. I might get some myself after this. :D I'm sure you already know this, but here's a link describing *why* Christmas is December 25th. There are several more describing the foods, Yule logs, etc., and their correspondence with pagan celebrations. If you celebrate Christmas as most American's do, tree, date, food, presents, there are pagan symbols from the past, too; just like Halloween.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Halloween is a Pagan holiday. I don't care how anyone wants to parse it. Personally, I think its premise is rather fascinating, and I find it interesting how "modern" religious and secular groups have co-opted the day and its traditions (albeit in mutated form). Then again, I find the co-option of most holidays from pagan ritual rather... convenient. a :iagree: I gotta have a Mike's....this is probably one of the first times I've ever had to agree with asta:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HayesW Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 WE celebrate it like we do Christmas. It's a fun holiday, candy, costumes, and friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dooley Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I used to be rabidly anti Halloween. We lived in San Diego and knew of street kids that went missing on that night (in Tijuana) to be found dead later and all. We knew people used that night for...well...evil. I even had a neighbor whose dd was in a coven, was taken out of that coven by her folks and each year, she would flip OUT on Hween- said "they were calling to her". She was upset when she saw babies, cause she saw things happen to babies, she said. We used to turn off all the lights, hope no one came to our house, and watch movies and eat candy as a family - a family fun night. I just HATED Halloween! It was very stressful. Fast forward many years....a few years back I invited some Christian friends (I am a conservative Christian) to visit a corn maze with us. By their response, you would've thought I asked them to come to a midnight bonfire where we will dance naked for Satan, kill kitties and then tattoo pentagrams on our butts. It made me think how Christians react to this day, some - in such a knee-jerk way ( I had done it too). I started to wonder if I had been to others, like they were to me. I knew I would not be doing anything to "worship Satan", or glorify him - I was not interested in submerging my kids in death, spirits, the grave. The day - for most families - was just a fun time for the children, doing fun kid stuff, getting candy, being outside in the dark with all your buddies. Thats cool. Long story short, while I know some people use this day for bad things, most of us use this day to have fun with our children. This is where my thinking is now. For what its worth - this post is not directed at ANYONE. Just my story. God bless each of you and lets be safe out there! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysparkler Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Okay, so we don't do Halloween b/c of the whole idea behind it. Rather, Dh will be conducting a celebration concert tomorrow at church for All Saint's Day. That's just where we choose to put our celebration efforts. Anyway, besides all of that, are we the only family that thinks the whole CANDY thing about Halloween is terribly unhealthy for the kids? We don't allow our kids to have candy (except for lollypops or special treats every now and then). The whole idea of allowing your kids to have bags of candy (types chosen by strangers) to eat as they please blows my mind. When our kids do have candy (which is not very often), I prefer it to be safe for their teeth (not super chewy/hard) and jaws (no bubble gum b/c we have histry of TMJ), as well as for their little precious bodies. A holiday centered around candy is one that we would choose to forgo even if there weren't questions about holiness tied in. Am I alone in my CANDY concern? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I am a rather conservative Christian (though I think I might be becoming less conservative as I get older), and we love love love Halloween. We celebrate the fun of the holiday. And actually this year, my girls and I are dressing up as the cutest group of witches you have ever seen. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Anyway, besides all of that, are we the only family that thinks the whole CANDY thing about Halloween is terribly unhealthy for the kids? We don't allow our kids to have candy (except for lollypops or special treats every now and then). The whole idea of allowing your kids to have bags of candy (types chosen by strangers) to eat as they please blows my mind. When our kids do have candy (which is not very often), I prefer it to be safe for their teeth (not super chewy/hard) and jaws (no bubble gum b/c we have histry of TMJ), as well as for their little precious bodies. A holiday centered around candy is one that we would choose to forgo even if there weren't questions about holiness tied in. Am I alone in my CANDY concern? Eh. My kids get significant amounts of candy three times a year (Christmas, Easter, and Halloween). And they don't react to sugar like some kids I've read about. So although I'll freely admit that candy is not health food :lol:, I'm not concerned with the amount of candy in their overall diet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K&Rs Mom Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Halloween is a Pagan holiday. I don't care how anyone wants to parse it. I disagree. Samhain is a pagan holiday that happened to be around the same time as the Christian All Saints Day, and the traditions got a little mixed. The eve of All Saints Day is definitely not a pagan tradition! But throw in some of the All Souls Day imagery and the Samhain spiritualism, and it got somewhat off course over the last few hundred years.... FWIW, we let the kids dress up and collect candy but avoid the aspects that are anti-Christian (witches & devils). We also stress that the "eve" isn't really the "holiday" - what we really celebrate is all the saints and all the souls over the next 2 days, and the candy part the night before is just another fun tradition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth Conley Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I'm a devout Christian, and we celebrate Halloween with great zest. To us it's "Free-Candy-Great-Family-Fun" night. I think it's wrong that some families stay up with their kids every night in October watching horror flicks. That's clearly a bad choice. Their kids fall asleep in classes, and obsess about fictitious evils. I think it's divisive and foolish that so many Christians isolate themselves from their neighbors by sequestering themselves at their "Fall Festivals" at church, instead of joining in the communal festivities. Don't tell me "We always invite everybody!", because that's facetious drivel. "Everybody" doesn't want to be stuck in a holier-than-thou church run by killjoys when they could be enjoying genuinely inclusive community fun. It's fun to walk from house to house, cheerfully greeting neighbors and friends. It's a joy to see the entire community out on their front porches interacting in a positive way. It's fun to dress in silly costumes and collect insane quantities of absolutely bad for you candycandycandy! It's about fun folks. Remember fun? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babysparkler Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Eh. My kids get significant amounts of candy three times a year (Christmas, Easter, and Halloween). And they don't react to sugar like some kids I've read about. So although I'll freely admit that candy is not health food :lol:, I'm not concerned with the amount of candy in their overall diet. Yeah, see, we do a candy cane or two (Christmas), a candy apple (Fall), and SOMETIMES we let them split a chocolate bunny (Easter)... Am I too stingy? My kids are very appreciative of everything they are given and have never protested or questioned it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 We personally don't celebrate it. I can see the side of those who do. I don't think that is a big deal. The problem I have is,like this church, those who are going to be religiously opposed to it, but then want all the "fun" anyway: Harvest Parties that are nothing but Halloween parties, people who go trick-or-treating for candy but hand out tracts so it's okay, etc. Choose. I do think I would have left the church party if we didn't agree with it, and you should discuss this up with the church. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Yeah, see, we do a candy cane or two (Christmas), a candy apple (Fall), and SOMETIMES we let them split a chocolate bunny (Easter)... Am I too stingy? My kids are very appreciative of everything they are given and have never protested or questioned it. That's the sort of family decision I'm not going to second guess. It sounds like it works for you. Dh and I, on the other hand, come from a long line of people with a "sweet fang" ("tooth" just doesn't express the strength of the desire). We enjoy indulging a few times a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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