Halloween or not?

it is dark and evil

Not, but not because any religious reasons. I just don't like it.

GEE! Should check the date on threads!

as a born again...never had a problem with halloween...our former church and our current church are having a big to-do for the kids...jumpy things, games and food and of course LOTS of candy....all FREE for the kids.....I think you have to pay for the food...

Well, i'm a christian & i love Halloween, however our minister @ our church doesn't like it & won't tolerate any celebration of it in her church. I totally disagree with her. too many people take halloween too seriously. they think it's about the devil & evil but it's really not. if more people understood the true meaning of halloween then maybe they could learn to have fun with it instead of turning their noses up to it. HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Best holiday of the year! You bet we'll be celebrating!

I'm not a great fan of Halloween but I'm always surprised by the number of adults who love it, including a couple of my DDs. We have no kids anymore around here and I do miss seeing them all dressed up.

There are a lot of organized community events in our area during this time of year. Many of the churches have trunk or treat for the kids. The downtown areas on Halloween will be full of kids going store to store early in the afternoon and the same with our mall in the evening. Our church always had something special for the kids close to Halloween when dd was growing up. We many times would have them choose costumes that were biblical. For a few years we had practically no trick or treaters at all at our house. Last year we had around 10. The kids that grew up in our neighborhood are starting to have kids of their own and bringing them by. For sure I will have our 2 nephews and I took dd's halloween candy to her last weekend along with some homemade iced brownies decorated for halloween. I filled a clear glass pumpkin with treats for her.

The church my in-laws attend,is also the place my little ones attend preschool.They arent against halloween.This year they are doing something called Trunk or Treating.The members of the church park in the church/preschool parking lot,decorate the trunks of their cars,or the back of their SUV's,and hand out candy from there.They did this last year and DMIL said they had about 60 cars.So,that's where we will be going.The kids can get their treats in one place,and still be back home and in bed at a reasonable time.

Halloween is a great time of the year for the litle ones!

NKat

also a great time of year for the horror movies which I love.

NKat

Not

I don't belong to any church that's against it, or have no "religious" reasons against it, or any festivals or Wiccan beliefs about it.

Long ago I got turned off the idea of kids supposedly needing candy (as low income person, this was an expense for me)or they'll do "tricks" to you. Whether they do or not.

I think what finally turned me against it, started with the poison/razor blades (whether this ever really happened or not) and having to "check" candy (some hospitals offered to X Ray kids candy before they ate it). then when we lived outside of Boston MA the teenagers would go wild that night. Shooting shaving cream, toilet papering things, throwing eggs.

I'd hear it on my police scanner it would be a war zone.

One time an elderly woman was screaming out a window for help because a gang of kids had ripped down her phone and electric wires, and were throwing eggs at her house calling her a WITCH. A neighbor phoned it in.

I know little kids like it, the costumes and candy, and going to neighbors, people you know (early) isn't so bad (as teenagers coming around in hooded sweatshirts, with pillowcases for candy) but I think (nowadays anyway) the parties they have at schools, churches, and one firestation (that has open house that night) is a better way.

I live in a rural area and don't have much going on, but I turn off the lights and wait it out. I had one kid come to my door banging on it and screaming TRICK OR TREAT (parent was waiting on the road in a car) and I had the house all dark.

I thought it was universal that you only went to houses with lights on?

I went to the door and said I'm not giving out candy and he said WHY NOT? (he wasn't old, maybe 8) I said to try the house up the street they had a porch light on.

It just doesn't seem like fun, or something to encourage.

Halloween YES! We are Christians, and we celebrate it enthusiastically. Each year around this time I hand out candy to THOUSANDS (yes, that's right) of kids at a community fund-raiser. On Halloween night itself, I put together gift bags that contain not only treats, but party favors and, this year, some clean Halloween jokes and riddles. I get a real kick out of the kids' reactions. For me, Halloween is a real community-builder. The Christian ideal is to fellowship with others, spread love and joy, and that's what I do.

As for worrying about the ghosts, goblins, evil things, etc., I think Halloween is a valuable lesson in dealing with those fearful things. First, by approaching these things with a lighthearted attitude, you learn that good triumphs over evil. Scary things are not so scary when you laugh at them. Facing your fears is better than denying them. You can take a scary situation, make the best of it, and maybe have some fun.

I don't go for the gross and yucky stuff, but I have no problems decorating with witches, ghosts, vampires, and the like. Nothing wrong with Halloween whimsy and fun!

if more people understood the true meaning of halloween then maybe they could learn to have fun with it instead of turning their noses up to it.
***********************************

Halloween. 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.”
Halloween has also been called All Hallows’ Eve, the eve of All Saints’ Day. This supposedly Christian name, however, hides origins that are far from hallowed. In fact, scholars say that Halloween’s roots go back to a time long before Christianity—the era when the ancient Celts inhabited Britain and Ireland. Using a lunar calendar, the Celts divided the year into two seasons—the dark winter months and the light summer months. On the full moon nearest November 1, the Celts celebrated the festival of Samhain, meaning “Summer’s End.”

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. Thus, today when children dressed as ghosts or witches go from house to house demanding a Halloween treat or threatening a mischievous trick, they unwittingly perpetuate the ancient rituals of Samhain.
~ con'd~