sheryl Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 We, for religious reasons some of you will understand and others won't, do not go trick/treating. Nor do we celebrate???? Halloween. What do you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philothea Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 No, we do not. No decorations, festivities etc. One of the best days of the whole year is the next day, we center and focus our celebration around All Saint's Day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 We do not celebrate it any way shape or form and never have. We do love the after halloween chocolate sales though :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 The kids do not go trick-or-treating. This year we will not be doing the fall festival thing either - just because our October has been sooo busy. I do enjoy that 2 kids were born in October and so I can easily find candy for goodie bags. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momster Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 but we do participate in a barn party held at the farm of one of our church families. There are hayrides, marshmallow roasts, pie baking contest, decorated pumpkin contest, hot cider and hot cocoa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 (edited) We do not have anything to do with Halloween. We do not even participate in church Halloween functions at all. No trick or treating No "Christian" functions to do with Halloween No decor of it No nothing nada: anything to do with it is not right for our family We do this because religious reasons. Now here is the kicker for me in my homeschool group...They decided to allow trick or treating event for charity. We will NOT be doing this either. I think there are better ways to do things for charity instead of behind the halloween thing. I was sorely disappointed in seeing this happening in our group. I didn't say anything but we will not be doing that at all. We do take advantage of sales afterwards because we make movies so we do utilize sales in costume/halloween stores. That is it! Holly Edited October 19, 2008 by Holly IN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 We completely ignore it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5knights3maidens Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 We ignore it also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela in GA Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 We don't celebrate halloween. I don't even like church festivals, but I let the kids attend if ours decides to do something. We do carve pumpkins though. Pumpkins are a fall thing to me. I try to do it before Halloween though, so the kids don't associate pumpkin carving with halloween. Silly, eh? :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 we don't celebrate it at all, we just ignore it. We used to go to our church's harvest thing, but we finally decided not to do that anymore, about 7 years ago. this year should be interesting, we have new neighbors who are just great across the street, we live on a street with mostly older owners, but the past couple of years we have gotten 2 families with kids, and now this family. I opened my blinds last Sunday to behold the new family setting up a Halloween wonderland in their yard, lights, skeletons, graves etc. we laughed, the dad and mom have big personalities, so it fits..but it is going to be real interesting...today they are adding more "stuff" to the lawn. it's probably confusing to my 6 and 8 year olds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tricia Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 Nor do we, but like Quiveroft10 we love the after holiday treats when they go on clearance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 No, we do not. No decorations, festivities etc. One of the best days of the whole year is the next day, we center and focus our celebration around All Saint's Day. Would you mind sharing what you do for All Saint's Day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CactusPair Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 There have been several years that we've totally ignored it because of serious food allergies and sensory issues. Why bother if you can't eat any of the candy and the lights, noise and crowds terrify the kids? Yesterday we put our first decorations out ever. A few happy-looking ghosts made of stuffed plastic bags. My dc were beside themselves with joy bec. it was such a novel thing. I hate how commercial Halloween is and would ignore it completely if possible. My dc want to wear costumes this year and pass out candy. I agreed, but have mixed feelings about it. I could never think of Halloween as "bad" or truly scary, though. It's my dear granny's birthday! When I was little my family celebrated her day by visiting her big old house in our costumes (cute, nice ones). Last year we went to my aunt's and had a birthday party with a cake, food and decorations. My grandma was 80, tearfully happy, and still beautiful. Orange and black colors always remind me of her.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Home'scool Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 In fact, my girls are up in Maine right now with family friends doing lots of Halloween related things. The 4 girls decided to dress up as a "family", so one daughter is the father, one is the teen-ager, and the other two girls are mother and baby. Nothing scary or controversial there. They went on a hay ride and entered a costume contest. When the actual date comes we will get together with friends for pizza and hot chocolate first (helps fill them up so they don't go candy crazy) and then they will go around the neighborhood for about an hour. It's a yearly tradition we have with our friends. Most of the candy doesn't get eaten afterwards --- we don't have big sweet tooths. All benign fun. All good memories. Pictures from previous years are always a hoot. Too soon they will be too old for this, so we are enjoying it for now, and then eventually this phase will pass and it'll be all over. We're enjoying it now and not sweating the small stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 We will not be participating in Halloween, either. Two years ago, we took our children trick or treating. I had made them costumes, Pooh and Tigger, all by myself. They were adorable. I was horrified, however, at the costumes that others were wearing. Not to mention the decorations. I just felt worse and worse with each house we went to. I didn't know how to explain to my little boys why it was ok to take a piece of candy from someone dressed as a witch. So last year, we went to a 'Christian' Halloween alternative thingy at a church building down the road. Same bad costumes worn by others, same problem. We will no longer be doing anything for Halloween. I just can't reconcile it with what we are teaching our children. Oh, and I REALLY dislike having to see all the Halloween junk at every single store we go to. The only positive I can find from that is it gives me another opportunity to talk with my children about our beliefs, about what is right and wrong, good and evil. Just my opinion, of course, I'm SURE other's will think differently. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 For religious reasons we don't celebrate All Hallow's Eve, Christmass, or Easter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motherofjoy Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 There have been several years that we've totally ignored it because of serious food allergies and sensory issues. Why bother if you can't eat any of the candy and the lights, noise and crowds terrify the kids? We ignore it for similar reasons, nothing to do with religion because we aren't religious. I'm not sure if the trick or treating tradition is considered "celebrating" halloween, most people don't consider it a holiday, just a fun time to go get candy. I don't want my kids begging for candy, they're sensitive to scary things, have food issues, and we live out in the country with few neighbors and that makes trick or treating difficult. I feel sorry for the people in the subdivisions close to the edge of town because they get tons of kids from the more rural areas hitting them up. Doesn't seem fair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tibbyl Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 We, for religious reasons some of you will understand and others won't, do not go trick/treating. Nor do we celebrate???? Halloween. What do you do? We celebrate it thoroughly and happily since it is one of our favorite holidays. For handing out, we purchase only coveted candies, none of the cheap throwaway stuff. Usually we decorate both indoors and outdoors and enjoy walking or driving around area to see other houses' decor. Of course, costuming is the climax of the holiday. Other things we do are visit local corn maze or haunted house and watch scary movies as appropriate for children's ages. Oh, there's almost always a party/get-together with Halloween themed music and treats. For us, it is nothing more than a secular holiday with an autumn harvest theme. I understand that many choose not to participate due to religious beliefs. I do not mind if they wish to explain why they forego Halloween. It is within their prerogative to sit out Halloween and not be pestered or ridiculed for doing so. All is well. What rubs me wrong way is when certain of those people foist their religious beliefs upon others by attempting to persuade others not to celebrate because of their perceived spiritual danger. Typically this is in the form of a supposedly concern-based innocent warning to all other parents on the board. This has happened a few times over the years on our local board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philothea Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 Would you mind sharing what you do for All Saint's Day? We go to mass, and have a special dinner with a dessert. If we are invited to an All Saint's party, it depends on the host. There are usually games, like naming or guessing a saint based on clues. We pray the rosary, have a special dinner. If there are kids there, they usually dress up as a saint and give a report about their life. Some times we might even sing. Last year I made a bunch of mini cupcakes and wrote Christian symbols, such as a lily for purity or an arrow for martyrdom, on them in icing. The next day is All Soul's Day so we also do all of the things that go with it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love2read Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 No, but we celebrate All Saints day with a party and saints costumes. The earliest form of All Saints' (or "All Hallows'") was first celebrated in the 300s, but originally took place on 13 May, as it still does in some Eastern Churches. The Feast first commemorated only the martyrs, but came to include all of the Saints by 741. It was transferred to 1 November in 844 when Pope Gregory III consecrated a chapel in St. Peter's Basilica to All Saints (so much for the theory that the day was fixed on 1 November because of a bunch of Irish pagans had harvest festivals at that time). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 Are you Jewish then? For religious reasons we don't celebrate All Hallow's Eve, Christmass, or Easter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in KY Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 We don't celebrate, no. However, we go to the store the day after Halloween and let the kids get a bag of reduced candy. That's what they miss most by not celebrating it, imho, so we let them get what they want and eat all they want for a few days, then toss the rest. Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faline Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 We don't do anything for Halloween. Never have, explained our religious reasons along the way, and the kids are fine with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 Are you Jewish then? No, I'm a Confessionally Reformed Christian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 For religious reasons we don't celebrate All Hallow's Eve, Christmass, or Easter. Same here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 We ignore it for similar reasons, nothing to do with religion because we aren't religious. I'm not sure if the trick or treating tradition is considered "celebrating" halloween, most people don't consider it a holiday, just a fun time to go get candy. I don't want my kids begging for candy, they're sensitive to scary things, have food issues, and we live out in the country with few neighbors and that makes trick or treating difficult. I feel sorry for the people in the subdivisions close to the edge of town because they get tons of kids from the more rural areas hitting them up. Doesn't seem fair. In our town, most of the people live on rural roads and so don't get trick-or-treaters. Everyone goes to the village center to trick-or-treat. (They even close the village roads to traffic to make it safer.) To off-set the unfair candy burden, the school and town offices both accept candy donations that are then distributed to the families who live in the village for them to hand out on Halloween. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 (edited) Because of our religious convictions, we do not acknowledge Halloween. However, we are taught our children to be gracious when responding to others. For example, the librarian invited them to the library Halloween party and my children responded with, "Thank you, but we do not celebrate Halloween." The librarian was very sweet about it (which is sooo nice). Edited October 19, 2008 by Daisy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 Because of our religious convictions, we do not acknowledge Halloween. However, we are taught our children to be gracious when responding to otheres. For example, the librarian invited them to the library Halloween party and my children responded with, "Thank you, but we do not celebrate Halloween." The librarian was very sweet about it (which is sooo nice). This is very important...to be gracious to others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie in NE Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 No. We've never "celebrated" Halloween. I just tell the kids "I can't see one redeeming thing about Halloween, and I don't believe it glorifies God". They're fine with it. That said..... We have always lived on remote ranches where it's easy to ignore all the festivities. This will be our first Halloween living in town. My 6 yr. old ds is ABSOLUTELY CAPTIVATED by all the ghoulish "stuff" everywhere. I told the kids that we would rent a good family movie on Halloween, and enjoy a little popcorn. I'm just hoping that with most of the lights off, we won't be perpetually bothered by the doorbell!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted October 19, 2008 Author Share Posted October 19, 2008 As my Aunt always said, "It takes nothing to be kind." :001_smile: This is very important...to be gracious to others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in VA Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 We completely ignore it. We ignore it as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedfamily Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 I have taken dd to church harvest party. Otherwise we ignore it in our house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cin Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 (edited) We do not celebrate it any way shape or form and never have. We do love the after halloween chocolate sales though :D Same Here :001_smile: ETA: And, I have to be totally honest, my children don't WANT to have anything to do with halloween. They are totally freaked by all the stuff in the stores. And we haven't taught them to hate it. We have tried to keep them from seeing the more ghoulish stuff. And the other reason they HATE halloween is because we can't go to most stores without having to somehow, work our way around the scary stuff so they don't see it, so we just don't go out much from Sept through December. For example, I was out the other day, I think it was Michael's, though I'm not real sure, and there stood a Bride and Groom Skeleton. The bride was HOLDING her HEAD. And of course, there were voices and movement as you walked by. I could see me trying to carry BOTH of my kids out of the store as they were screaming. Oh, and let's not forget the fog machine. Edited October 19, 2008 by cin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 (edited) Since you didn't specifically ask for only Christian replies, we celebrate Samhain instead of Halloween. Edited October 20, 2008 by Karen in CO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qanda Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 We do not celebrate Halloween. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 we sit on the front lawn if the weather is nice and dh usually plays praise music on his guitar. We have candy to give out, but we also give out tons of gospel tracks. We have some really cute ones that are interactive and great with kids. We usually do those under the "trick or treat" theme - kids who might not listen otherwise think it is a cute thing that night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NevadaRabbit Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 For example, I was out the other day, I think it was Michael's, though I'm not real sure, and there stood a Bride and Groom Skeleton. The bride was HOLDING her HEAD. And of course, there were voices and movement as you walked by. I could see me trying to carry BOTH of my kids out of the store as they were screaming. Oh, and let's not forget the fog machine. That stuff freaks my kids out, too. We do a very benign Halloween, no violent costumes or undead at the door, and these shock-n-freak displays in the stores certainly shock and freak us. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 We celebrate Reformation Day. We have a family tradition of turning off the porch light, getting a fun family movie and having pizza and popcorn. It is the only time that we all watch an entire movie together - even Daddy. Last year ds11 asked if we could also do a "reader's theater" of an "interview" that he wrote with Martin Luther. I was the interviewer, ds11 was Martin Luther. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill- OK Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 We, for religious reasons some of you will understand and others won't, do not go trick/treating. Nor do we celebrate???? Halloween. What do you do? We love Fall, and decorate for the season. We're also looking forward/counting down to Thanksgiving during October. (And celebrating Littlest Guy's birthday!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tibbyl Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 we sit on the front lawn if the weather is nice and dh usually plays praise music on his guitar. We have candy to give out, but we also give out tons of gospel tracks. We have some really cute ones that are interactive and great with kids. We usually do those under the "trick or treat" theme - kids who might not listen otherwise think it is a cute thing that night. It is not at all a "cute thing" to hand out proselytizing tracts to children, especially without the parents' express permission. Would you have a problem with a parent stuffing a tract from another proselytizing faith, say Islam, in your kid's hand at a party in their home without getting permission from you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in VA Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 It is not at all a "cute thing" to hand out proselytizing tracts to children, especially without the parents' express permission. Would you have a problem with a parent stuffing a tract from another proselytizing faith, say Islam, in your kid's hand at a party in their home without getting permission from you? Well, I think if parents are worried about their children receiving anything without their permission they may want to re-think the entire act of going up to a stranger's house in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Well, I think if parents are worried about their children receiving anything without their permission they may want to re-think the entire act of going up to a stranger's house in the first place. :iagree: You can't go to somebody else's house for any reason and expect them to go by your rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 :iagree: You can't go to somebody else's house for any reason and expect them to go by your rules. And actually, it wouldn't bother me at all for someone of another faith to give some kind of tract thing to my kids. We already get stuff from Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and other places we disagree with in the mail quite often. We actually read through it and compare it with the Bible to see where they differ and why we believe them to be wrong. We do not fear other religions, but we do not participate in their holy days because it does not honor Jesus Christ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Uh-oh, here we go... :001_smile: I totally agree. If you don't want someone handing your child a tract, or anything else for that matter, don't walk up to their house, ring their bell, and let your children accept whatever that stranger hands them. For example, I don't want my child receiving candy from someone dressed as a witch. Should I then become upset when I take my child trick-or-treating and that exact thing happens? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Uh-oh, here we go... :001_smile: I totally agree. If you don't want someone handing your child a tract, or anything else for that matter, don't walk up to their house, ring their bell, and let your children accept whatever that stranger hands them. For example, I don't want my child receiving candy from someone dressed as a witch. Should I then become upset when I take my child trick-or-treating and that exact thing happens? Like it or not, trick-or-treating is a Halloween tradition in the United States. If I take my child trick-or-treating and a house has its lights on/someone sitting outside handing things out to kids, I expect if I take my child up to the door, they will get candy or possibly a sticker or something. I do not expect my child will be handed a religious tract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Like it or not, trick-or-treating is a Halloween tradition in the United States. If I take my child trick-or-treating and a house has its lights on/someone sitting outside handing things out to kids, I expect if I take my child up to the door, they will get candy or possibly a sticker or something. I do not expect my child will be handed a religious tract. Like it or not, it is their house, and they can hand out anything they want, provided it is legal. Not to mention, that there are also evil people and perverts out there who might just hand out something illegal. Just like public school. You send your child there, you might not get what you "expect." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
********* Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Like it or not, trick-or-treating is a Halloween tradition in the United States. If I take my child trick-or-treating and a house has its lights on/someone sitting outside handing things out to kids, I expect if I take my child up to the door, they will get candy or possibly a sticker or something. I do not expect my child will be handed a religious tract. Perhaps, then, you should change your expectations, since some people DO hand out tracts? It's just a fact. Some people do it, therefore we should expect that perhaps it will be done? I'm, of course, not saying you have to like it, but then, that's the beauty of it all, isn't it? I don't like participating in Halloween, so I don't. We all have that choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Like it or not, it is their house, and they can hand out anything they want, provided it is legal. Not to mention, that there are also evil people and perverts out there who might just hand out something illegal. Just like public school. You send your child there, you might not get what you "expect." Oh, I agree they *can* hand out anything they want. They have the legal right. And yes, it's my responsibility to check over my kids' stuff. I agree with you there. It just doesn't seem very neighborly to me to hand out religious tracts to kids. And doing it on Halloween seems like bait-and-switch. It would definitely make me skip over that house the next year. (Maybe that's the desired result.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Perhaps, then, you should change your expectations, since some people DO hand out tracts? It's just a fact. Some people do it, therefore we should expect that perhaps it will be done? I'm, of course, not saying you have to like it, but then, that's the beauty of it all, isn't it? I don't like participating in Halloween, so I don't. We all have that choice. That's a good point. I've never seen tracts handed out at Halloween, so it's unexpected to me. I guess now I'll be prepared if it happens to us. (Or maybe I'll forget this conversation and still be surprised.:tongue_smilie:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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