This year is our fist year not "celebrating" Halloween. Since my daughter is on the GAPS/SCD diet, we just can't. But let me tell you, for the last number of years, I hated everything about it and wished we could get out of this Halloween tradition!
Well we did it! It feels great! No crazy Halloween stress over costumes, knowing that it will be cold with no chance of wearing warm enough clothes so the kids don't get sick, but now we know it's the candy that truly made us all sick. November 1 until Christmas we are always stuffy, cranky, tired, sinus infections, and just general yuckiness all over. But we still ate the candy until about Thanksgiving, when I would finally throw it out.
What a relief. My husband always said the candy is the devil! I truly believe that. It always made my children's behavior less than great too. This year, we talked about what kind of alternative we will do, we are going to go rock climbing and then to my in-laws for a wonderful dinner at their house, where they don't get trick or treaters. I am really proud of my kids, they are 10 and 12, and they are being really great about it. I am so thankful!
Dawn:
October 30th, 2010 at 2:33 PM
First, I wish to applaud you (not that you were looking for applause) for the way you handled this sometimes-delicate topic. It is so tricky these days to be able to take your stand without utterly offending someone else's sensitivities. I think you did very well.
And secondly, in answer to your question, we are not celebrating the "holiday." For me it's more about where the "holiday" came from than the junk food. Like you, I realize it's not celebrated the same way now that it was way back, but there are plenty of terrifying features out there still. My 2.5 year old buries her head in my leg and clings to me when we walk into a store that has a Halloween display up. She knows by sight which stores have the "scary man" and pleads with me not to go in them. It almost makes me want to avoid those stores during the rest of the year, too, for scaring my daughter so terribly, you know?
And from my own personal reflections, if I may be so bold as to share them here: The "holiday" has so many components comprised of death and decay and the spirit world, all the decorations prove it, even if someone doesn't celebrate those parts. How is it appropriate for us to be participating in any part of a "holiday" based on such things, when our LORD and Savior gave his life to conquer them?
Shannon:
October 30th, 2010 at 2:57 PM
No, we don't celebrate either, primarily because of your first reason. However, I only have a baby, LOL, so it's fairly easy this year. And, we live in the country so no trick or treaters. However, a few people when they've asked if I was taking the baby trick or treating acting like we would be neglecting him if we don't. I know we aren't, of course. But I was wondering if you do something different for Halloween or treat it as a regular day? Thanks!
Erin:
October 30th, 2010 at 3:00 PM
The idea of "It's just once a year" is the most irritating comment we get about our parenting and food choices. For instance, my aunt makes "special" cookies with food coloring icing and box mix cookies. She was bringing them for… wait for it… Halloween, Thankgiving, Christmas, Valentines' Day, Easter, and often Fourth of July. Then, my daughter, who reacts behaviorly to food coloring, was given unlimited access to these cookies, and I was pooh-poohed b/c…it's just "once a year''!
The same thing for children's birthday parties, of which we attend about 20-30 per year, between siblings and such.
Even if you avoid trick-or-treating, many parents bring TONS of candy to each celebration party that's at this time of year. It's just a landmine until after Christmas, I fear.
Care:
October 30th, 2010 at 4:04 PM
We do, but we're a Pagan/Agnostic home, so there you go.
I did want to offer a point, though – for those who do Trick-or-Treat, but don't want the candy (for whatever reason). My son is allergic to dairy, so all those lovely milk chocolate bars? Yeah, even if it was only once a year, he still can't have them. So, instead, we're having the Sugar Sprites come visit us. Harmless sprites (akin to Tooth Fairy, if you please) come after Hallowe'en and they take away the candy, and leave presents in its place! So, no matter how much Trick-or-Treating we might do, I know that my son will come out of this with a new coloring book and a felt board dinosaur set. No cavities, no sugar overload… Still the colloquial tradition.
Rebecca:
October 30th, 2010 at 4:48 PM
We do not participate in Halloween, just as we don't any other pagan holidays. Should Christians be celebrating Muslim, Hindu, etc. holidays? I see celebrating Halloween as no different. We have many examples in God's word about what He thinks of His people partaking in pagan worship, which is exactly what Halloween is, as sweet and innocent (not), as it may seem. There is also no distinction in God's word that it is ok for one Christian to disobey and not another. In our home our children must all obey the same rules, God is no different. There are divisions due to sin, not because the Holy Spirit led us each to our own set of convictions.
ModernAMama:
October 30th, 2010 at 4:58 PM
Shannon,
At this point we don't do anything. They don't know what's going on yet (oldest is not quite 3). And thankfully she is the type of person who doesn't care what others are doing anyway. But when they are older and notice that others are celebrating, we will celebrate "Reformation Day." Martin Luther just happened to start the Protestant church on Oct. 31 and I think that deserves celebrating!
Sarah:
October 30th, 2010 at 5:07 PM
Hello, It might help you and/or your readers to now that the citric acid in the Vitamin C tablet is likely what caused your son's bleeding soars. My daughter gets them horribly from the tiniest bite of pineapple/peaches/plums any acidic fruit.
Kelsi:
October 30th, 2010 at 6:03 PM
I was so shocked to see your post heading…not because I disagree, but because I feel the SAME way and there don't seem to be many people that share my family's convictions. I was raised in a Christian home, my dad is a Pastor, and both of my parents are deeply involved in counseling. From the time I was 10 or 11, I remember seeing people come in and out of our home who were involved in Satanism, the occult, Wicca, etc. These were a reality to me. In our little town in Northern Indiana, these people had been involved in animal and human sacrifices (yes, both) and now they were coming to my parents for deliverance, wanting Jesus, and begging to find freedom from their torment. Then, when I was 12, I spent a year living in Port-au-Price Haiti. I had first hand experience with the little demons that people are currently hanging in their yard. I saw the possessed walking down the roads, maiming themselves. I know these are not pleasant things to think about, and seem to have no bearing on our sheltered world of candy and costumes, but there is another side that very few WANT to think about. These are the very memories I have and the reality that I came to understand that keep me from celebrating this holiday. As you mentioned, this is not to judge anyone elses conviction on the matter. Personally, I've seen too much and been involved in too many things to believe that it is simply "harmless"…SO all that to say, THANK YOU for being so willing to share your convictions. it is much appreciated to find a fellow Believer that shares your convictions….Blessings!!!
Thank you for this post. I grew up not celebrating Halloween (along with most other mainstream holidays) for religious beliefs. Most holidays on our calendars are based on pagan holidays, yet most people don't realize (and even if they do, they might not really care). I appreciate knowing that there are other people out there who feel the same way as me for the same reasons. Thanks for the post!
a mom:
October 30th, 2010 at 6:55 PM
Wow. I'm a new reader to this blog and I was very excited about it until I read this post. Everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinions, but the fact that you use satanic and pagan as interchangeable words is very troubling since they are not interchangeable. That combined with the fact that you only mention the pagan roots of the holiday and skip right over the (albeit more modern) Christian roots of the holiday is also upsetting. Also the implication that a person actually practicing their Christian faith would never celebrate this holiday is downright judgmental. I'm taking this blog off my reader and if I could get a refund for the ebook I bought the other day I would. I had no idea that I was supporting this kind of mentality.
ModernAMama:
October 30th, 2010 at 7:04 PM
A mom — No, it was never my intention to say that "pagan" and "Satanic" are the same. Only that they both celebrate the holiday. I also never said at all that other Christians should, in any way, share my convictions. Only that they are MY convictions and others should do what they feel is right. I was very clear on that point. I, personally, don't feel comfortable celebrating the holiday, and that's the bottom line. The rest is all stuff you've read between the lines and not what I intended at all.
I feel the same way. We're going to TOT our immediate neighbors only and then go to an indoor play gym (which will be Halloween decked out, but it's moving in the right direction at least). Both my kids have spend 2 years in preschool so they're quite indoctrinated to the Halloween culture. If we have both kids homeschooling next year, there won't be a Halloween!
Jen:
October 30th, 2010 at 8:13 PM
I can't wait to read the book your kids are going to write someday.
Nikki:
October 30th, 2010 at 11:25 PM
I never celebrated Halloween with my daugther, who is now 22, for the same reasons, although a couple of times friends did drag her out against my will. I know there are satanic rituals and even sacrifices made on this night and as harmless as it may seems, in principal it is not.
I also did not give my daughter candy as a child and found the custom of trick or treating sickening and teaching them that the only "treats" in life are in food/sugar.
You must have known some people would attack you for standing up for this. Be strong.
sammy:
October 30th, 2010 at 11:50 PM
"Halloween began as a celebration of wickedness and Satan worship. It is rooted in pagan tradition."
halloween did not originate as a pagan holiday. it originated as a catholic holiday which celebrated all the saints and thoes who passed in the year. it was a religious holiday up untill the 1920-1930s
ModernAMama:
October 31st, 2010 at 1:13 AM
Sammy,
You're describing "All Soul's Day," which occurs on Nov. 1. It is separate from Halloween.
I am completely baffled by this post, modern alternative mama. Last week you allowed a guest poster write about how similar her child-rearing philosophy is to Christian mothers and AP mothering, effectively giving credence to paganism. Today you write about not allowing Halloween because it is a pagan holiday. Huh? Perhaps you should consider this. It seems a bit hypocritical to post both of these in the same blog. Don't you think?
ModernAMama:
October 31st, 2010 at 2:48 AM
Elizabeth,
I am a Christian. I don't celebrate Pagan holidays or participate in any pagan rituals. Christie guest posted on HER personal beliefs, on both religion and parenting. The entire point of THAT article was to celebrate that despite our religious differences, we agree on the way we are raising our children in many ways. It was posted to help with unity, so that we can find commonalities instead of trying to fight with people about the ways we're different. I was not in any way promotion a pagan agenda.
In the Bible, the Pharisees tried to tell Jesus that he was a sinner because of the company he kept. And he rose above it, telling them that he met the people where they were. He, himself, was perfect! And yet he spent much of his time with people most "decent" people wouldn't give the time of day. Mark 2:15 – 17: "While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” 17On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus didn't participate in the sinning; but he spent a lot of time with the sinners! He also didn't spend that time pointing out all their mistakes and criticizing their lifestyle…. He reached out to them and spoke positively to them, loved them and taught them to love others. That's the goal, right? So it's not hypocritical at all. I share and work with people who are different from me, which can bridge the gap between us; and I share about my personal beliefs and convictions. That is the goal of my blog, to share myself and to share with others.
Hopefully you understand why I do this. I hope all commentors carefully consider their words before hitting the "send" button. It is fine to have differences of opinion but we need to be respectful of other points of view.
Nicola:
October 31st, 2010 at 3:59 PM
We do not celebrate halloween in this house either. Actually, we don't celebrate most mainstream holidays. I grew up not celebrating them & my husband grew up not celebrating them which is great because we get support from both sides of the family. We do not celebrate these holidays mainly for the first reason you mentioned.
Junk food would now be an issue for us if we did celebrate but we don't so it's fine.
I must say I am very troubled by some of the comments left on this post. The implication that your children are somehow going to be badly affected by not celebrating halloween is absurd. And also, the accusation that you are intolerate to others is also unfounded, the poster would see the opposite if she had read the rest of your blog.
I find it interesting, Kate, that you'd say pagan/satanic. Pagans don't believe in the devil… at all… in fact, we find that Christianity would have to be closer to Satanism than our beliefs, because Christians already believe in the devil, so are a step ahead of us even! I mean that partially in jest, but the point is, they're not the same… not even close. Satanism has no place in Pagan beliefs whatsoever and isn't even related… in fact it's almost like saying "Christianity/Darwin Worshipper"… it's actually contradictory because the second half actually contradicts the beliefs of the first. The Catholic Church did a really good job of convincing people that "witches" and Pagans were intrinsically intertwined with the Devil, when actually, that was a new concept for them, and was done just to discredit and slander. I do realize though, that they also included that anyone who doesn't believe in God is automatically OF the Devil, and not believing in him just means he's blinded us, so in general, even if I point out I don't believe in Satan at ALL, never have and never will, they've set up a system just like the Salem Witch Trials where no matter what I say, their description of me is more important.
But alas, I'm rambling. We don't celebrate Christian holidays much for similar reasons (though I'm actually pretty educated in Christian history), and mostly because a lot of them would be repetitive partially in nature, as well, like you pointed out, the celebrations I do came first.
I'm actually pleased to see someone who is a little more concerned with actual religious practice in regards to holidays.
Elizabeth… so she can't personally not celebrate or agree with someone and still be friends with and share someone's view? You know I posted a post from her on my blog, right? Despite the fact none of DailyMomtra's writers are Christian? It would probably behoove you not to just "tolerate" other beliefs (which you obviously can't even do) but maybe take time to LEARN a little, and become a better, nicer person. As of right now, you're displaying the attitude that pushes many people away from Christianity and God… Jesus would NOT be pleased with you, and I know that even as someone who doesn't care what he thinks, but still understands his message. Christians are not called to scream condemnation at the top of their lungs as if it's approved by God — because it's NOT.
L. Hobbie:
October 31st, 2010 at 7:51 PM
We do celebrate Halloween and have tried a lot of different ways of celebrating from trick-or-treating to harvest parties, and various other approaches as opportunities presented themselves year to year. Although I am a follower of Christ, I have not been particularly bothered by this holiday as a cultural celebration any more than I am bothered by celebrating the 4th of July. My children are older and I suspect that this was probably the last year that even my youngest will ask to go trick or treating. One thing I have noticed is that the Christian families in my area who have chosen not to celebrate this holiday, for a variety of reasons similar to the ones you stated, seem to have unwittingly drawn a lot of attention to the very things they are trying to shun. As their children have become teens and young adults the fascination with vampires, witchcraft, "gothic" paraphenalia, and so on has grown. Our family has always enjoyed "dress up" games, theater and drama and none of them have been confused about the difference between fantasy and reality. As young kids they liked Halloween and simply grew out of it. It was no big deal. As young adults my two oldest are involved in interenational mission work, are responsible, hard-working, contributing citizens while some of their peers who grew up in MUCH stricter Christian homes than ours are spending their days shopping for "costumes," dyeing their hair and coming up with ever more outlandish make-up…something they were done with a decade ago. Every family has to decide for themselves what works for them. As I look back over the past two+ decades of parenting, most of my regrets revolve around being overly serious and stressed about details that years later turned out to insignificant. BTW, one of my kids does have a "sweet tooth"…I even craved fruit non-stop the entire pregnancy. But the other three could care less about candy. They used to eat one or two pieces after trick or treating and take the rest to church on Sunday and place it in a bowl to share in the fellowship hall after service. But even my child who loves sugar freely shares her bounty and is not a hoarder. I have hopes and prayers that she will grow out of her obsession with sugar because the world is not going to conveniently eliminate it for her. I really liked reading your perspective and reasons and just wanted to share another one.
Lena:
November 1st, 2010 at 1:00 AM
Thank you for an interesting post. It takes a lot of guts to stand up to your beliefs. We as a family dont celebrate Halloween too, we dont like all the spirit/dead people/grave yard/blood/gorry/scary things that are attached to this holiday. A lot of people still celebrate this holiday comparing it to the 4th of July for instance, which I cant really compare. No resemlence at all. But if they dont see anything bad with this holiday, I guess its ok for them to celebrate it. I mean as long as we follow the bible and live according to Jesus, I am sure we will be just fine. For it says "be holy like I am holy.." 1 Peter 1:16, As long as you live for God, there is nothing for you to worry or get upset about..
Kelly:
November 1st, 2010 at 2:09 AM
Good post, thanks for sharing your views! I watched a video presentation on the occult and the things that happen on halloween. I know the vast majority of people that celebrate this holiday are either clueless to the origins or just don't believe it's evil. Without having a well thought out response, it's a challenge to even respond to those who wish "happy halloween" or ask my son what he's going to be, etc. I don't want to offend those that do celebrate, but I also don't want my son to think it's OK.
On the flip side, I see families doing something together (minus the scary aspect) and think we need MORE reasons for fathers to be outside playing with their children and families making memories for their kids.
As a Christian, I have no desire to partake in the evil, but will also not hide in the dark on this day that the Lord has made.
Love, love, LOVE!!! I'm with you 100%! Happy reformation day! Happy all souls day! And tomorrow, happy all saints day! And the junk food drives me CRAZY!!!! To throw it out is so wasteful, so I'd rather never have it in my house.
Christie and MAM- I gotta say that posting on these types of things is like dealing with the media. One item is taken out of an entire post and twisted around and not understood. Maybe it is the general "whatever floats your boat is great" mentality that permeates our culture that causes everyone to get up at arms just because you give your honest opiion instead of sugar coating it all the time. But please read on. I'll explain my position further and perhaps you will see that I am not a "bad" person, just one voicing an opinion just like everyone else. As you can tell, I am a Christian. I love Jesus. I love what he stood for. I love what He did for me and every other person on the face of the earth. We are all equals in the eyes of God and I believe this. I am not any better or any less of a sinner than anyone else just because I believe. The only difference between myself and a non-believer is that I have accepted the grace that Jesus extended to us. That's it. I am just as imperfect as the next guy. At least half of my friends are non-believers. Or questionable ones at best. We have great conversations about what they believe or don't believe and vice/versa. We love each other through our differences. I love them as much as my "church" friends. I go out to bars with my friends because my husband plays in a band and I like to go listen and sing with them. I listen to both Christian and non-Christian music. I have friends who are homosexual. I have dressed up and gone trick or treating with my kids, if for no other reason than to have a fun activity to do with them and visit the neighbors in my mother's neighborhood. Sure, there are things I won't do because I am a Christian (like use the Lord's name in vain), and things I try not to do (like use foul language), but in my everyday life I don't walk around with a sign that says "I am a Christian, Hear me Roar!" However, I believe that if you have a public forum, such as this blog, you have an opportunity to stand up for what you believe in. MAM -you have many posts about your faith, including the details of the courtship with your husband. You make it clear that you are a follower of Christ and I am happy to hear of another sister. And if your blog was simply about attachment parenting and the many ways this is carried out, I probably would not have made any reply at all. But when you say you are a Christian, you are an example to others and if others view your blog and see a post about "witches" being AP parents too, they might get the impression that you are supporting "witches." Whether that is true or not. Christie- I am well aware that pagans are not satanists or even "witches." I most certainly have looked into paganism, druidism, and wicca during a time when I was seeking the truth in life. At one point I was studying to be a bard, as I am sure you might be amazed to hear. There are some really nice elements to the ideas of paganism, such as respecting the land we live on although I believe there are different reasons for doing so. I would love world peace and for people to stop harming each other because then my brother could come home from Afghanistan and we wouldn't have to worry about him being killed anymore. But, having studied Islam also, and having some insight into the culture (of radical fundamentalists, not necessarily typical muslims) through my muslim friends (yep I have those too) I know that is not likely to happen in our lifetime. Unless of course the antichrist comes to power and brings his 3 1/2 year reign of peace. But, that's an aside. I am not screaming condemnation from the tops of my lungs. I am asking some discernment from someone who says she is a Christian. If anything I thought that the tone of this article on Halloween held a tone of condemnation against Christians who allow their children to participate, whether it was outright stated or not. Just asking, "what do you think" does not take away from that tone. I personally think that each family needs to prayerfully make that decision for themselves. What is right for one Christian family isn't always what is right for another. After this entire experience on this blog, I can assure you that I will be praying fervently for God to examine my heart and to show me just how I can love others more and better. I don't want to push anyone away from Christ because they are offended by what I say. I can't not speak the truth when I know it, but perhaps I need to learn to convey this with more of an attitude of love and understanding. I will also pray for both of you. For healthy happy families and prosperity (in a spiritual sense-I don't believe in praying to be rich!) I hope this explanation helps you understand me better. Personally, I love to debate if someone is willing. Obviously no one was up for that and instead some were offended. I apologize for that. But I also had many supporters contact me. So I can't be all wrong, can I?
Gracie:
November 1st, 2010 at 1:15 PM
Not much to add – but I wanted to say that I LOVE the Sugar Sprite concept! I am doing that next year!!
this is my first visit here. i appreciate your stand. any time you take a stand, you will be persecuted. it is to be expected, you don't have to defend yourself when you stand on the Truth. interesting reading this afternoon!
Brittany:
November 1st, 2010 at 7:59 PM
We do celebrate Halloween at our house, although it never includes trick-or-treating because of my extreme dislike for candy! Our Halloween "celebration" usually includes making costumes and taking the kiddos to both sets of grandparents to show them off. But all of their grandparents are extremely respectful of our "no-candy" rules and will either give the boys healthy snacks (this year they each got a banana and a box of raisins) or small non-food things like a balloon or pencil. We usually carve jack-o-lanterns too. This year we went to a community event several days before Halloween and they got to jump in inflatables, sit on a police motorcycle, tour an ambulance, etc. They dressed up and we had a great time. They did get candy at that event, but they traded it all in for some mama-made pumpkin scones.
We are followers of Jesus Christ, and I know that many brothers and sisters feel differently that we do about Halloween, which I respect. But my take on it is this: As a family, we have other holiday traditions we partake in that are rooted in paganism. We decorate a Christmas tree, hunt for eggs at Easter (Resurrection eggs, NOT candy!), and get excited about the longest and shortest days of the year. With all of these, we aren't focusing on the "pagan" aspects, but are in a sense redeeming them. They are special family times where we can bond with our children and point them to Jesus. Yes, Halloween also has pagan roots, but we aren't focusing on those. (We even had a great conversation about death and the Gospel on the way home from our parents' last night, praise the Lord!) We're simply looking to build relationships and create fun memories with our family.
So there's my two cents (or three or four!) on why we don't feel guilty participating in Halloween, "despite Christian beliefs."
Heidi:
November 2nd, 2010 at 2:41 AM
Just throwing in my two cents as a Catholic (one who, incidentally, was raised Protestant). We trick-or-treated when I was little, then went the route of "harvest parties" with other Christian families, and then stopped acknowledging Halloween at all. I think my parents made good decisions along the way.
Understanding the Catholic background, though, really shifted my perspective a bit. November 1, today, is All Saints' Day on the Catholic calendar. Tomorrow, Nov. 2, is All Souls' Day. All Saints' Day is the day that the Catholic Church acknowledges all of the holy men and women, known and unknown, who have died over the centuries and are right now glorifying God in heaven.
The name "Halloween" is an abbreviation for "All Hallows' Eve" – "All Holies' Eve" – the Eve of All Saints' Day. The Catholic Church has a tradition of celebrating the night before a big feast as basically part of the feast – it's called the "vigil." Think of the excitement and anticipation of Christmas Eve (and the fact that even many Protestant churches have Christmas Eve services that night). That's the idea of the vigil. Easter was the first feast with a vigil – the lighting of the Easter candle that night represents the restoration of the Light of the World to us in His Resurrection. Historically, some of the vigils were more about beginning the celebration; some of them were more about fasting and preparing for the feast – but either way, the night (or whole day) before the feast was in some way anticipating the feast to come.
There's no question that I find the ghoulishness of the way Halloween is celebrated these days disturbing. But the fear and loathing I attached to the day – and particularly Halloween night – evaporated as I realized that the feast celebrating the lives of countless holy men and women – prophets, apostles, martyrs; mothers and fathers of holy families – was, in fact, already underway. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot comprehend it.
Robin:
November 2nd, 2010 at 5:17 PM
I agree with you that every family has to do what works for them, but I think saying that Halloween is a satanic celebration is inaccurate. I was just reading an article about the history of Halloween that said "the modern holiday of Halloween is a combination of The Celtic holiday of Samhain, the Catholic Hallowmas period of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day and the Roman festival of Feralia." Even trick-or-treating/beggars night evolved from the All Souls' Day practice of poor people going door to door offering prayers for souls in purgatory in exchange for small cakes or bread. Like many holidays, even Halloween has roots in the church. Personally, I don't celebrate Halloween, but I do hand out small boxes of crayons to the trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood. I agree with you about there being far too much junky candy out there!
Nikki:
November 2nd, 2010 at 8:19 PM
After all these posts of people saying "Haloween has it roots in Christianity", I had to go research it for myself. No where does it say it is rooted in Christianity, it merely says that the church picked up on it and used it for it's purposes (catholic). I think people are missing the fact that what Satanists do with this special day of theirs is not common knowledge. You either have to know someone who was involved in it or have some sort of education of its practices.
Each person has to decide for themselves based on their knowledge and convictions but as the following says, "We will not believe more than we know, And we will not live higher than our beliefs.” -R. Albert Mohler Jr.
Taking a firm but loving stand on this will only raise children who are conscious of the present world of evil and discourage them from participating in also other seemingly harmless practices of the occult. We don't have to be radical to be strong in our beliefs.
I did not believe in celebrating Halloween, did not allow her to read Harry Potter as a child or participate in anything that could lead away from the truth of the bible, but I had a knowledge of the occult from my experience with it before I became a Christian. I know that evil masquerades as light and it's intent is to deceive. If we don't teach our children to recognize the difference between the spirit of God and the spirit of evil then we may lose our chance to impact them for life.
My daughter is now 22 and she is a highly successful 4.0 college student with three jobs. She doesn't drink or do drugs and is still a virgin even though she is highly popular, talented and beautiful. And she is armed with the knowledge of the truth so she can test things in her world on her own now, as an adult, and see for herself with at least the knowledge of the truth as her guide. Because I didn't shove these things down her throat, but instead made a loving stand for what I believe she doesn't resent me for my choices at all. She sees it as a shelter of my love for her.
M Led:
November 26th, 2010 at 7:55 PM
To trick-or-treat or not, that is a personal choice and I have no issue with however a person wants to celebrate or not celebrate. I myself do not celebrate my own birthday, for reasons that are not important to this forum. What I do take issue with, however, is the spreading of error and false information. Halloween is a pagan holiday, but not a Satanic holiday. I do not agree with the point of view that anything not Jehovah-centric is automatically Satanic. That is an ignorant view of the world.
Also, ALL Christian holidays are based on ancient religious celebrations. This has been proven without exception. Christmas has its roots in the Roman Winter Solstice celebration called Saturnalia, honoring Saturn, the God of Agriculture, which represented the triumph of life over death. This whole season was called Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. It is also the origin of groups of costumed singers traveling from house to house entertaining the neighbors. This is the Christmas tradition of caroling.
In 350, Pope Julius I declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25. He was trying to make it easy for pagan Romans to convert to Christianity. The new religion was accepted knowing that their feasts would not be taken away from them.
Easter is also of pagan origin. The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE.) a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." 1 Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre."
Wiccans and other Neopagans continue to celebrate the Spring Equinox as one of their 8 yearly Sabbats (holy days of celebration). Near the Mediterranean, this is a time of sprouting of the summer's crop; farther north, it is the time for seeding. Their rituals at the Spring Equinox are related primarily to the fertility of the crops and to the balance of the day and night times. In those places where Wiccans can safely celebrate the Sabbat out of doors without threat of religious persecution, they often incorporate a bonfire into their rituals, jumping over the dying embers is believed to assure fertility of people and crops.
Celebrate whatever you like. Just know that by slapping Jesus' face on a holiday doesnt make it Christian, and contrarywise, putting Satans face on it doesnt make it Satanic!
I completely respect your views and reasons for not celebrating Halloween, but I really feel that I must correct you.
Halloween was originally a pagan holiday, in that you are correct, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with anything with satan or devil worshipping. You stated that it is a "pagan/satanic holiday", as if you believe that the two are interchangeable, and they are not. Pagan beliefs have nothing to do with a Satan or a belief in Satan. Pagan's believed in many gods, but did not believe in a devil or satan, nor do they worship any evil gods or deities.
You are also very incorrect in believing that Halloween is steeped in "wickedness" and that "Halloween began as a celebration of wickedness and Satan worship. It is rooted in pagan tradition." The original roots of Halloween have absoloutely nothing whatsoever to do with anything wicked or evil. It also never had anything to do with any type of worship of any evil being ie: "Satan".
I am not Pagan, but I have studied many religions, and so felt the need to comment. )
So, I just found your blog tonight and already commented on another post. I LOVE YOU! Lol. I'm only 27, married for 5 years this summer and have 3 little ones with a fourth on the way, a sooner than expected surprise blessing you might say. We are not strict WAP but we're members and love the ideals, we love Jesus, and grace and totally agree with you on Halloween! I should be sleeping now but I'm looking forward to reading more of you posts!
Jana:
January 27th, 2012 at 12:34 AM
I know this is an old post, but thought I’d add a comment. It seems to me that two key attributes are missing here: kindness and compassion for fellow human beings. As Christians, our job is not to cloister ourselves off from the world but to get out there in it and show love and kindness and compassion for those our lives touch. How can we hope to change anything about the world if we don’t engage with it? I’ve heard many pros and cons for celebrating Halloween as Christians, and truthfully, it is every person’s individual choice to celebrate it or not, and all of us should respect others’ decisions (and the original post seemed to make this very clear).
But, food for thought might be thinking about the contrast between cloistering ourselves up in our houses with the lights off so no trick-or-treaters come to the door, and opening our doors gladly to any trick-or-treaters who might drop by, handing out healthful treats with a smile and kind word. Isn’t that what Jesus was all about? Kindness, love, compassion, and RELATIONSHIP. He engaged with the world rather than hiding Himself away from it. He changed the world through His love.
I agree with you ModernMama~ she took this WAY out of context. Just like many can “make” the bible read “what they WANT to hear”~we humans have a tremendous ability to munipulate things to “fit” what we want, wheather we admit it or not. Sometimes, we don’t even realize I bias opinions that lead us in that direction. I cannot thank you enough for sharing all your thoughts, ideas, recipes, and taking the time to help others in areas we SO need the help in. Society has us all in a place that we don’t need to be. Especially when it comes to nutrition. I have six kids and I’m JUST starting to wake up to see we’ve been walking zombies in this world. We cannot depend or trust our government any longer to keep us safe and healthy. Our foods, meds, cosmetics, etc, are slowing killing us, but at the same time, keeping our government operating. If everyone in American stopped the nonsence HANDS DOWN , cold turkey ~right now~ our government would sink~ think about it, all the giant food companies, all the drug companies, all the cosmetic companies~they ALL depend our US~ where would America’s government be finacially without these huge companies?
Nice post. I understand where you are coming from. However, I have a different take on why I do celebrate Halloween even being a Christian. I have also written a post about Halloween: I compared how it is “generally” celebrated in the US, Germany (more Catholic celebration) and Scotland (founding country of the pagan Halloween celebration). I also wrote how the Catholic celebration and Scottish celebration might have gotten mixed forming todays Halloween as it is celebrated. However, in other countries it is still celebrated closer to its roots. I have some pictures showing examples as well. http://wisemommies.com/index.php/cultural-differences/46-cultural-differences/133-no-no-halloween-celebrations-and-meaning.html
PS. I forgot to add, I really like that you are against the candy…We try to attend trick/treating places that give away creative toys rather than candy!
Margaret Hunter:
February 21st, 2012 at 7:23 AM
Good for you……all of you who hold to a higher belief. We gave up celebrating Halloween in the late 1970s. For both of the reasons you did plus one. I dislike hearing children be selfish and squabbling over things. Two of mine were close in age. The post Halloween battles over candy were epic.. There was so much candy…..too much. But they did battle over every aspic of it.
Over the years we did many things depending on age and opportunity. Church parties, parties with like minded friends during the years when it was hard to go to school the day after Halloween and face the masses of school friends. Sometimes we have gone to movies or bowling……entertainment that didnt serve candy or dress up. There were years when we just went to visit someone who lived in the country, mostly to avoid answering the door. Now its easier I dont pass out candy I just stay at home as a Halloween scrooge. Not many children go door to door anymore so its pretty easy. Every year I am saddened by the way this holiday grows bigger and bigger. I should know that is the way of satanic things its just sad to me that more christians dont see and know the truth of it
Darlene:
February 28th, 2012 at 4:45 PM
I really enjoy your blog and found your views about why you choose to not celebrate Halloween very interesting. However, I needed to point out a very important fact that Halloween is not rooted in Satanism, and Paganism is not rooted in evil.
Darlene Owen:
February 28th, 2012 at 4:48 PM
I enjoy your blog, and found your reasons for not celebrating Halloween very interesting. I feel that I must point out however that Halloween and it’s origins are not rooted in Satanism, and Paganism is not rooted in evil.
Ash:
May 15th, 2012 at 9:07 AM
Christmas and Easter are also rooted in pagan tradition
Kate Tietje:
May 15th, 2012 at 9:47 AM
Yes. But Halloween has no current Christian meaning. It is not a celebration of the church. Whereas Christmas, though parts of it borrow from Paganism (like the use of evergreen trees), celebrates the birth of Christ. And Easter, is the celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ. We don’t really participate in the egg-dyeing, Easter-bunny, candy sort of thing anyway, we focus on Christ’s sacrifice. The ultimate difference for me, though, is that modern Christmas and Easter are clearly celebrating an important event in church history, whereas Halloween has nothing to do with the church.
We don’t have kids yet, but I think we won’t celebrate Halloween for the reasons you stated. The holiday has always given me an eerie feeling. Neither my husband nor I are comfortable with the “feel” of the day.
I might do Harvest Parties around that general time but I don’t think those are the same at all (celebrating God’s creation, learning about changing seasons/harvest, making home-made crafts/goodies, etc.).
We didn’t celebrate Halloween growing up and I was definitely not scarred by it. I wanted to dress up, but my parents usually gave us other opportunities for that at other times (plays, costume parties, etc.). By the way, I appreciate the grace with which you express your opinions.
Katya:
June 17th, 2012 at 3:31 PM
I grew up not celebrating anything except New Year’s and birthdays. That’s just the way my family was.
I do not celebrate Haloween…. or Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and most (if not all) commercial holidays. Why? I do not need a reason to _not_ celebrate something, – I need a reason to do so. I am not Christian, so December 25th is not a special day for me. Neither is Oct.31, Feb.14, and so on. In fact, I think celebrating Christmas would be hypocritical of me. I respect Christians who celebrate it (not as the frantic useless gift buying, but as the birth of Christ and all the good things that Christianity teaches), but I don’t see why anybody else should. The same goes for Halloween.
As I’m not a member of any organized religion, that sounds like I have very little to celebrate. Not at all. We celebrate family. My husband and I live in a different city than my parents, and a different continent than his parents. We do not get together to celebrate a holiday created by a religion we don’t subscribe to or politicians or the commercial establishment. We get together because of love, and we celebrate the fact that we are together.
Kellan:
June 18th, 2012 at 8:29 AM
I celebrate Halloween and I’m a Christian. Mostly, it’s because of the fond memories I have of the tradition of TOT. You’re right about the candy overload, though. Methinks I should look into healthier/more creative treats for this year.
I have never been convicted to not celebrate Oct. 31st; to me, the holiday is harmless. As long as we each know our beliefs and teach them to our children, and they aren’t stumbling because of anything we do (or don’t do), I see no reason to change up tradition.
Love that you posted this – we all need to stand up for our beliefs, be they pagan, Christian, Muslim, Bahai, etc…. Thanks for your take on this!
We stand with and for all the same reasons you listed
jeanne preslar:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:58 PM
I agree with the citrus…my daughter had horrible sores as a baby….it was an awful time for both of us! She later got fever blisters often…around the christmas holidays. I noticed she always had a fever bilster at the time of her birthday pics…dec 19….found out it was oranges and walnuts. she avoids them like the plague now…funny…she can have sprite, pineapple and kiwi…go figure.
I completely agree with Robin, M led, Darlene, and many others.
I can absolutely respect your personal beliefs and your decision not to celebrate with your family. We choose not to celebrate easter. To each their own.
The part I have a problem with is this:
“Halloween began as a celebration of wickedness and Satan worship. It is rooted in pagan tradition.”
While it certainly has pagan roots it also carries a lot of other traditions as well, and the biggest thing… it was never a celebration of wickedness and satan worship… I’m not even sure where you’d get that idea. In fact if you have a reference for that I’d love to read more on it.
Rose:
October 9th, 2012 at 6:50 PM
Satanism and Paganism are not interchangeable. Halloween is *not* rooted in wickedness or evil and was not at all involved in Satanic worship, it is rooted in Samhain, which is celebrated on the eve of Oct. 31 but is actually Nov. 1. It was thought to be the time where the living and the dead were closest, that the so-called “veil” was lifted and our ancestors were honored. This took place with great feast. I would appreciate some references to what you call “Satanic” rituals, because as a Pagan I have never, ever come across anyone who performs Satanic rituals and/or Satanic worship…it is extremely different from Paganism; Pagans do not believ in the “devil”. Along lines of M Led’s post, slapping “Satanic” on anything you consider heathen doesn’t make it actually Satanic just as slapping “Christanity” on Christmas, Easter, All Soul’s Day, etc doesn’t make it Christian in origin. In the Bible God even recognizes that other Gods exist, and that he is a jealous god and forbids Christians from worshiping them. Nothing about Satanism there.
Being such a stickler for evidence and proper information, I’d have thought that this would be one thing you’d want to be accurate on regardless of your personal views of Halloween.
A seasoned homeschooler told me recently (last week) that they incorporate the dressing up part with the study of creation. The children can dress up as any creature created by God.
Not sure where or what they do after that my thought was a Light the Night Safe Zone type activity. Our son is only 2 and last year we didn’t do anything…this year we don’t plan on doing anything either.
Kayla:
October 9th, 2012 at 7:05 PM
I thought the same thing, my daughter gets HORRIBLE HORRIBLE rashes EVERY time she eats anything citrusy
Rebecca:
October 9th, 2012 at 7:37 PM
Paganism and Satanism are two very different things. I have no issue with your beliefs – to each their own. But I would encourage your readers to research the roots of Halloween as a Pagan harvest celebration combined with Christian All Hollows Eve before declaring it a Satanic holiday. (Still love your blog!)
Tawnya:
October 9th, 2012 at 7:38 PM
Dawn, this is such a great perspective. You put into words exactly how i feel. Would you mind if I quoted you on this. A friend and I were discussing why I don’t celebrate. She is on the border of doing it or not and I’d love to tell her that reasoning.
Amy S:
October 9th, 2012 at 7:41 PM
We do do Halloween. I hate to say celebrate because I’d prefer to use that word for Christ’s birthday, our birthdays, Anniversary’s, etc. I am a Christian but I’m also a working Mom whose kids go to “school” and learn about Halloween and Santa so I go with the flow. I struggle with issues like these but I feel as if I implant some good knowledge into the minds of my kids then I don’t have to worry too much. I was raised as a Christian child (sadly we only really went church on Sundays and didn’t do too much else) but I never felt as if Halloween was a bad thing to be doing. I also was raised in a junk food household so that is a big concern of mine. I’m really torn at how we are going to address that issue. A local dentist takes extra candy which is likely what we’ll do with most candy our kids get. I don’t want to compromise our food standard so I think we will be giving out pencils/stickers/etc
Rachel:
October 9th, 2012 at 7:52 PM
Our church has a harvest party every year and that is the extent to what my kids know about the holiday. We make homemade costumes amd they do get candy but not in massive amounts. As a church we offer a fun alternative to the chaos of the holiday. My daughter, 4, doesn’t know the word Halloween. I was raised with this same tradtion at the chrurch I grew up in and never trick or treated or got into the scary stuff centered around the day. As a Christian the conviction is yours as you said, Kate.
Monica:
October 9th, 2012 at 8:36 PM
We never did Halloween growing up, at least not consistently, for the same reasons I assume. We dressed up for the parties at school and did trick or treat a couple times. I felt the same way about celebrating Halloween as you do, until I learned that Christmas is also rooted in pagan traditions, and includes many sugary treats too! I’m sorry I don’t remember the details off the top of my head, but my baby is ready for bed so I can’t research it right now. She’s only 4 months old, so I have a while to plan. Just some food for thought. If I remember correctly, Easter is the same way too.
Crissi:
October 10th, 2012 at 7:46 AM
We quit celebrating Halloween several years back for the whole pagan ideology reason as well. Instead we turned it into a fun, family night that we celebrate in the back of the house with all the lights in the front of the house turned off. I will admit, we still do candy. *blush* We allow the kids to pick out a bag of candy and they can have a couple of pieces that night and then those bags will last us MONTHS (with 7 kids, I figure that’s not too bad, right?) as they only get a piece occasionally after that. I’m toying with the idea of convincing them that homemade candies would be SO much better than nasty store bought ones…. But first I need to find some good recipes!
Lilah:
October 10th, 2012 at 5:48 PM
I hope I am not being offensive to you in any way and I agree with many of your reasons for not celebrating, however I would like to correct you on a few minor details. You seem to put Pagans and Satan worship in the same category; They are two entirely different things. Paganism is a very, very broad term. The ancient Greeks had a religion within a branch of Paganism, they for example didn’t practice evil rituals that encourage sin and hate. Witches, who are nothing like the Greeks, also are Pagans. “Pagan”- a follower of a polytheistic religion, or a religion that follows more than one god and or goddess (“Pagan”, Def. 1). There are hundreds, if not thousands, of beliefs that are considered Pagan. Wicca, one of the best known Pagan religions today, has a famous saying that can be thought of as something similar to a loose Christian commandment; It is called the Wiccan Rede and it basically goes something like this: Do what ye shall, and it harm none. This is a fundament of Wicca and translates simply into: Live your life and no matter what happens, do nothing to harm anyone. Also, Pagans don’t sacrifice or harm animals or people in any rituals. Now onto Satanism or Satan Worship. Satan is a Christian figure, not a Pagan idea. Satan worshipers are Monotheists like every other Christian because they believe in God, but follow Beelzebub. None of the many Pagan religions even acknowledge the devil because he is A) Not a God in the first place. And B) A Christian idea. Truly, Satan worshippers of today for the most part don’t even really follow Lucifer; Many people claim to be Satan worshippers for plenty of different reasons like wanting to be “different” or to be rebellious. I won’t even try to get into explaining the whole deal of Satan worship because it’s kind of rare and frankly just a mess.
I don’t care if you want to dislike Pagans, that’s for you to decide. Just don’t confuse them for Satanists. In fact one of the many unspoken rules of Wicca has been to never attempt to convert or push their beliefs on anybody else, so you don’t have to worry about them trying to convert you or your children. What you really should be looking out for is Satanic-Witches which are nothing like Pagan witches.
Sara:
October 12th, 2012 at 11:10 PM
I have nothing good to say about halloween. I understand why some celebrate other holidays, although out family does not..but I see no redeeming qualities in halloween. I hate it with a passion and it just seems to get more popular every year, which I pretty much chalk up to the influence of satan and the demons. Yes, I said it.
I don’t want to come off sounding too “know it all” but I actually have done a TON of research on holidays because of my convictions. Personally I don’t like the majority of holidays celebrated in this day and age, but that having been said I need to clarify my thoughts for you.
Halloween interestingly enough is THE ONLY widespread major holiday celebrated in the western world that actually has christian roots. Thanksgiving arguably could have been “christian” but it mostly celebrated the harvest of the America’s not the Lord. Christmas and Easter are definitely pagan holidays and New Years resembles many cultures celebrations.
Halloween has it’s roots in the early church as to celebrate and bless the recently departed as they enter heaven. Now while this notion of purgatory in my mind is false, that is where it originates, from the church not understanding the word. Now we have more knowledge and understand that absent from the body equals present with the Lord, but then that didn’t make sense because they were still stuck on the notion of “Abraham’s Bosom” and it was hard to translate for a lot of new Christians that Abraham’s bosom no longer existed and now you go straight to the throne room. Confused people into thinking up a purgatory. Anyways, the idea was that saints that died throughout the year would stay in purgatory until All Hallow’s Eve (Oct. 31st) every year and then they would move on to heaven. The day was to honor and bless the recently departed as they entered the throne room. Now here’s where it gets ugly. The world, gotta love the worldliness of it, took this idea that the souls don’t move into heaven yet and ran with it. They ditched the idea of purgatory, let’s face it the devil knew it was bunk, and said oh the bodies roam around earth that night and have one final shot at revenge. At this point people were frightened, so they donned masks and costumes to hide themselves from the potential of revenge. (Creepy, but it’s the truth) So even though the holiday is disturbing and disgusting. You will at least know why where and how it got that way.
Personally we choose to ‘celebrate’ Halloween, but not traditionally. I think kids love dress up (adults do too) and make believe is a big way to spur on a child’s imagination, which in turn spurs learning, etc. etc. etc. However, we will not be celebrating it by the traditions that the world does. I will let my kids dress up and enjoy pretending for the day, but we will feast and celebrate the Lord’s blessing in that we know what happens to us. We know what the future holds. (and we might go to a harvest carnival during the day, who knows) But what we will not be doing is:
1. Gory costumes- I’m sorry no. that is not spurring imagination that’s being gross and it’s never ok to try and demonize yourself.
2. Trick or Treating- During this time we will be eating a “feast” of sorts of good healthy foods and discussing what Jesus means for the saints. Candy and gut rot is one thing we avoid! (and the primary reason my in laws hate being grandparents to our kids)
On another note, we do this for all of the majorly celebrated holidays(this god centering thing), but I think what is more important are the feasts that the Lord ordained for us to celebrate that I haven’t seen a lot of Christians celebrate. Passover is one of the most fascinating displays of the resurrection story that I think I’ve seen. There are seven feasts to the Lord and when you follow tradition and then back it with bible knowledge it’s way cool! I think the better question is what high holy days (holidays) are we not celebrating that we should be?
Stephie N
SimplyBEEcause.blogspot.com
Lenore:
October 29th, 2012 at 6:01 PM
Hi Lilah. While I understand your beliefs on differentiating the definitions of pagan vs satanist, please understand that everything that is outside of God – all thoughts and beliefs that do not recognize the only one true Triune God – is satanic (evil). Paganism and satanism are the same because all of it comes from the same source – Satan – who is the “Father of Lies” and the ultimate deceiver. The whole world is actually blinded to Satan’s many deceptions, which is why God calls everyone to Him, to the Light, so that they can see this truth. His Holy Spirit reveals this truth to everyone and people choose to accept or reject it. All good things come from God; the ability for anyone to do good at anytime comes from Him and no other higher power. Blessings and favor come from God, not from anyone else. People following any and all beliefs that don’t acknowledge and worship God are actually worshiping Satan – whether or not they call it that. God (God the Father (Jehovah), Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit are one) created everything – not just the world but all of the universe. The nature of male and female are in Him, so God is not just masculine or feminine; He’s both and He “is”. Satan can’t create, but he can pervert God’s creation and has done so by giving numerous ideas to mankind to effectively have them think of all the different ways they should NOT acknowledge the only true and living God. The reason why Satan is able to do this, to decieve people, is because we, as mankind, gave our earthly dominion to Him when the earth was first created. This is why the original writer of this post placed pagan/satanic in the same sentence. I hope I have not offended you with this post.
Carolyn:
October 30th, 2012 at 5:44 PM
Wow -I so enjoyed and agree with your post! We should be celebrating more feasts. My understanding of Halloween is that it is also a celebration of the harvest. We could all benefit from “getting back to the Earth”. If we could instill in our children a respect for the Earth and a responsibility to care for it and celebrate the wonder of nature (created by God) our children might have a better chance at healthy, balanced lives.
Amy Todd:
October 30th, 2010 at 1:32 PM
This year is our fist year not "celebrating" Halloween. Since my daughter is on the GAPS/SCD diet, we just can't. But let me tell you, for the last number of years, I hated everything about it and wished we could get out of this Halloween tradition!
Well we did it! It feels great! No crazy Halloween stress over costumes, knowing that it will be cold with no chance of wearing warm enough clothes so the kids don't get sick, but now we know it's the candy that truly made us all sick. November 1 until Christmas we are always stuffy, cranky, tired, sinus infections, and just general yuckiness all over. But we still ate the candy until about Thanksgiving, when I would finally throw it out.
What a relief. My husband always said the candy is the devil! I truly believe that. It always made my children's behavior less than great too. This year, we talked about what kind of alternative we will do, we are going to go rock climbing and then to my in-laws for a wonderful dinner at their house, where they don't get trick or treaters. I am really proud of my kids, they are 10 and 12, and they are being really great about it. I am so thankful!
Dawn:
October 30th, 2010 at 2:33 PM
First, I wish to applaud you (not that you were looking for applause) for the way you handled this sometimes-delicate topic. It is so tricky these days to be able to take your stand without utterly offending someone else's sensitivities. I think you did very well.
And secondly, in answer to your question, we are not celebrating the "holiday." For me it's more about where the "holiday" came from than the junk food. Like you, I realize it's not celebrated the same way now that it was way back, but there are plenty of terrifying features out there still. My 2.5 year old buries her head in my leg and clings to me when we walk into a store that has a Halloween display up. She knows by sight which stores have the "scary man" and pleads with me not to go in them. It almost makes me want to avoid those stores during the rest of the year, too, for scaring my daughter so terribly, you know?
And from my own personal reflections, if I may be so bold as to share them here: The "holiday" has so many components comprised of death and decay and the spirit world, all the decorations prove it, even if someone doesn't celebrate those parts. How is it appropriate for us to be participating in any part of a "holiday" based on such things, when our LORD and Savior gave his life to conquer them?
Shannon:
October 30th, 2010 at 2:57 PM
No, we don't celebrate either, primarily because of your first reason. However, I only have a baby, LOL, so it's fairly easy this year. And, we live in the country so no trick or treaters. However, a few people when they've asked if I was taking the baby trick or treating acting like we would be neglecting him if we don't. I know we aren't, of course. But I was wondering if you do something different for Halloween or treat it as a regular day? Thanks!
Erin:
October 30th, 2010 at 3:00 PM
The idea of "It's just once a year" is the most irritating comment we get about our parenting and food choices. For instance, my aunt makes "special" cookies with food coloring icing and box mix cookies. She was bringing them for… wait for it… Halloween, Thankgiving, Christmas, Valentines' Day, Easter, and often Fourth of July. Then, my daughter, who reacts behaviorly to food coloring, was given unlimited access to these cookies, and I was pooh-poohed b/c…it's just "once a year''!
The same thing for children's birthday parties, of which we attend about 20-30 per year, between siblings and such.
Even if you avoid trick-or-treating, many parents bring TONS of candy to each celebration party that's at this time of year. It's just a landmine until after Christmas, I fear.
Care:
October 30th, 2010 at 4:04 PM
We do, but we're a Pagan/Agnostic home, so there you go.
I did want to offer a point, though – for those who do Trick-or-Treat, but don't want the candy (for whatever reason). My son is allergic to dairy, so all those lovely milk chocolate bars? Yeah, even if it was only once a year, he still can't have them. So, instead, we're having the Sugar Sprites come visit us. Harmless sprites (akin to Tooth Fairy, if you please) come after Hallowe'en and they take away the candy, and leave presents in its place! So, no matter how much Trick-or-Treating we might do, I know that my son will come out of this with a new coloring book and a felt board dinosaur set. No cavities, no sugar overload… Still the colloquial tradition.
Rebecca:
October 30th, 2010 at 4:48 PM
We do not participate in Halloween, just as we don't any other pagan holidays. Should Christians be celebrating Muslim, Hindu, etc. holidays? I see celebrating Halloween as no different.
We have many examples in God's word about what He thinks of His people partaking in pagan worship, which is exactly what Halloween is, as sweet and innocent (not), as it may seem.
There is also no distinction in God's word that it is ok for one Christian to disobey and not another. In our home our children must all obey the same rules, God is no different. There are divisions due to sin, not because the Holy Spirit led us each to our own set of convictions.
ModernAMama:
October 30th, 2010 at 4:58 PM
Shannon,
At this point we don't do anything. They don't know what's going on yet (oldest is not quite 3). And thankfully she is the type of person who doesn't care what others are doing anyway. But when they are older and notice that others are celebrating, we will celebrate "Reformation Day." Martin Luther just happened to start the Protestant church on Oct. 31 and I think that deserves celebrating!
Sarah:
October 30th, 2010 at 5:07 PM
Hello, It might help you and/or your readers to now that the citric acid in the Vitamin C tablet is likely what caused your son's bleeding soars. My daughter gets them horribly from the tiniest bite of pineapple/peaches/plums any acidic fruit.
Kelsi:
October 30th, 2010 at 6:03 PM
I was so shocked to see your post heading…not because I disagree, but because I feel the SAME way and there don't seem to be many people that share my family's convictions. I was raised in a Christian home, my dad is a Pastor, and both of my parents are deeply involved in counseling. From the time I was 10 or 11, I remember seeing people come in and out of our home who were involved in Satanism, the occult, Wicca, etc. These were a reality to me. In our little town in Northern Indiana, these people had been involved in animal and human sacrifices (yes, both) and now they were coming to my parents for deliverance, wanting Jesus, and begging to find freedom from their torment. Then, when I was 12, I spent a year living in Port-au-Price Haiti. I had first hand experience with the little demons that people are currently hanging in their yard. I saw the possessed walking down the roads, maiming themselves. I know these are not pleasant things to think about, and seem to have no bearing on our sheltered world of candy and costumes, but there is another side that very few WANT to think about. These are the very memories I have and the reality that I came to understand that keep me from celebrating this holiday. As you mentioned, this is not to judge anyone elses conviction on the matter. Personally, I've seen too much and been involved in too many things to believe that it is simply "harmless"…SO all that to say, THANK YOU for being so willing to share your convictions. it is much appreciated to find a fellow Believer that shares your convictions….Blessings!!!
Jessica:
October 30th, 2010 at 6:39 PM
Thank you for this post. I grew up not celebrating Halloween (along with most other mainstream holidays) for religious beliefs. Most holidays on our calendars are based on pagan holidays, yet most people don't realize (and even if they do, they might not really care). I appreciate knowing that there are other people out there who feel the same way as me for the same reasons. Thanks for the post!
a mom:
October 30th, 2010 at 6:55 PM
Wow. I'm a new reader to this blog and I was very excited about it until I read this post. Everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinions, but the fact that you use satanic and pagan as interchangeable words is very troubling since they are not interchangeable. That combined with the fact that you only mention the pagan roots of the holiday and skip right over the (albeit more modern) Christian roots of the holiday is also upsetting. Also the implication that a person actually practicing their Christian faith would never celebrate this holiday is downright judgmental. I'm taking this blog off my reader and if I could get a refund for the ebook I bought the other day I would. I had no idea that I was supporting this kind of mentality.
ModernAMama:
October 30th, 2010 at 7:04 PM
A mom — No, it was never my intention to say that "pagan" and "Satanic" are the same. Only that they both celebrate the holiday. I also never said at all that other Christians should, in any way, share my convictions. Only that they are MY convictions and others should do what they feel is right. I was very clear on that point. I, personally, don't feel comfortable celebrating the holiday, and that's the bottom line. The rest is all stuff you've read between the lines and not what I intended at all.
Virginia:
October 30th, 2010 at 7:13 PM
I feel the same way. We're going to TOT our immediate neighbors only and then go to an indoor play gym (which will be Halloween decked out, but it's moving in the right direction at least). Both my kids have spend 2 years in preschool so they're quite indoctrinated to the Halloween culture. If we have both kids homeschooling next year, there won't be a Halloween!
Jen:
October 30th, 2010 at 8:13 PM
I can't wait to read the book your kids are going to write someday.
Nikki:
October 30th, 2010 at 11:25 PM
I never celebrated Halloween with my daugther, who is now 22, for the same reasons, although a couple of times friends did drag her out against my will. I know there are satanic rituals and even sacrifices made on this night and as harmless as it may seems, in principal it is not.
I also did not give my daughter candy as a child and found the custom of trick or treating sickening and teaching them that the only "treats" in life are in food/sugar.
You must have known some people would attack you for standing up for this. Be strong.
sammy:
October 30th, 2010 at 11:50 PM
"Halloween began as a celebration of wickedness and Satan worship. It is rooted in pagan tradition."
halloween did not originate as a pagan holiday. it originated as a catholic holiday which celebrated all the saints and thoes who passed in the year. it was a religious holiday up untill the 1920-1930s
ModernAMama:
October 31st, 2010 at 1:13 AM
Sammy,
You're describing "All Soul's Day," which occurs on Nov. 1. It is separate from Halloween.
Elizabeth:
October 31st, 2010 at 2:22 AM
I am completely baffled by this post, modern alternative mama. Last week you allowed a guest poster write about how similar her child-rearing philosophy is to Christian mothers and AP mothering, effectively giving credence to paganism. Today you write about not allowing Halloween because it is a pagan holiday. Huh? Perhaps you should consider this. It seems a bit hypocritical to post both of these in the same blog. Don't you think?
ModernAMama:
October 31st, 2010 at 2:48 AM
Elizabeth,
I am a Christian. I don't celebrate Pagan holidays or participate in any pagan rituals. Christie guest posted on HER personal beliefs, on both religion and parenting. The entire point of THAT article was to celebrate that despite our religious differences, we agree on the way we are raising our children in many ways. It was posted to help with unity, so that we can find commonalities instead of trying to fight with people about the ways we're different. I was not in any way promotion a pagan agenda.
In the Bible, the Pharisees tried to tell Jesus that he was a sinner because of the company he kept. And he rose above it, telling them that he met the people where they were. He, himself, was perfect! And yet he spent much of his time with people most "decent" people wouldn't give the time of day. Mark 2:15 – 17: "While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” 17On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus didn't participate in the sinning; but he spent a lot of time with the sinners! He also didn't spend that time pointing out all their mistakes and criticizing their lifestyle…. He reached out to them and spoke positively to them, loved them and taught them to love others. That's the goal, right? So it's not hypocritical at all. I share and work with people who are different from me, which can bridge the gap between us; and I share about my personal beliefs and convictions. That is the goal of my blog, to share myself and to share with others.
Hopefully you understand why I do this. I hope all commentors carefully consider their words before hitting the "send" button. It is fine to have differences of opinion but we need to be respectful of other points of view.
Nicola:
October 31st, 2010 at 3:59 PM
We do not celebrate halloween in this house either. Actually, we don't celebrate most mainstream holidays. I grew up not celebrating them & my husband grew up not celebrating them which is great because we get support from both sides of the family. We do not celebrate these holidays mainly for the first reason you mentioned.
Junk food would now be an issue for us if we did celebrate but we don't so it's fine.
I must say I am very troubled by some of the comments left on this post. The implication that your children are somehow going to be badly affected by not celebrating halloween is absurd. And also, the accusation that you are intolerate to others is also unfounded, the poster would see the opposite if she had read the rest of your blog.
Christie Haskell:
October 31st, 2010 at 5:07 PM
I find it interesting, Kate, that you'd say pagan/satanic.
Pagans don't believe in the devil… at all… in fact, we find that Christianity would have to be closer to Satanism than our beliefs, because Christians already believe in the devil, so are a step ahead of us even! I mean that partially in jest, but the point is, they're not the same… not even close. Satanism has no place in Pagan beliefs whatsoever and isn't even related… in fact it's almost like saying "Christianity/Darwin Worshipper"… it's actually contradictory because the second half actually contradicts the beliefs of the first. The Catholic Church did a really good job of convincing people that "witches" and Pagans were intrinsically intertwined with the Devil, when actually, that was a new concept for them, and was done just to discredit and slander. I do realize though, that they also included that anyone who doesn't believe in God is automatically OF the Devil, and not believing in him just means he's blinded us, so in general, even if I point out I don't believe in Satan at ALL, never have and never will, they've set up a system just like the Salem Witch Trials where no matter what I say, their description of me is more important.
But alas, I'm rambling. We don't celebrate Christian holidays much for similar reasons (though I'm actually pretty educated in Christian history), and mostly because a lot of them would be repetitive partially in nature, as well, like you pointed out, the celebrations I do came first.
I'm actually pleased to see someone who is a little more concerned with actual religious practice in regards to holidays.
Elizabeth… so she can't personally not celebrate or agree with someone and still be friends with and share someone's view? You know I posted a post from her on my blog, right? Despite the fact none of DailyMomtra's writers are Christian? It would probably behoove you not to just "tolerate" other beliefs (which you obviously can't even do) but maybe take time to LEARN a little, and become a better, nicer person. As of right now, you're displaying the attitude that pushes many people away from Christianity and God… Jesus would NOT be pleased with you, and I know that even as someone who doesn't care what he thinks, but still understands his message. Christians are not called to scream condemnation at the top of their lungs as if it's approved by God — because it's NOT.
L. Hobbie:
October 31st, 2010 at 7:51 PM
We do celebrate Halloween and have tried a lot of different ways of celebrating from trick-or-treating to harvest parties, and various other approaches as opportunities presented themselves year to year. Although I am a follower of Christ, I have not been particularly bothered by this holiday as a cultural celebration any more than I am bothered by celebrating the 4th of July. My children are older and I suspect that this was probably the last year that even my youngest will ask to go trick or treating. One thing I have noticed is that the Christian families in my area who have chosen not to celebrate this holiday, for a variety of reasons similar to the ones you stated, seem to have unwittingly drawn a lot of attention to the very things they are trying to shun. As their children have become teens and young adults the fascination with vampires, witchcraft, "gothic" paraphenalia, and so on has grown. Our family has always enjoyed "dress up" games, theater and drama and none of them have been confused about the difference between fantasy and reality. As young kids they liked Halloween and simply grew out of it. It was no big deal. As young adults my two oldest are involved in interenational mission work, are responsible, hard-working, contributing citizens while some of their peers who grew up in MUCH stricter Christian homes than ours are spending their days shopping for "costumes," dyeing their hair and coming up with ever more outlandish make-up…something they were done with a decade ago. Every family has to decide for themselves what works for them. As I look back over the past two+ decades of parenting, most of my regrets revolve around being overly serious and stressed about details that years later turned out to insignificant. BTW, one of my kids does have a "sweet tooth"…I even craved fruit non-stop the entire pregnancy. But the other three could care less about candy. They used to eat one or two pieces after trick or treating and take the rest to church on Sunday and place it in a bowl to share in the fellowship hall after service. But even my child who loves sugar freely shares her bounty and is not a hoarder. I have hopes and prayers that she will grow out of her obsession with sugar because the world is not going to conveniently eliminate it for her. I really liked reading your perspective and reasons and just wanted to share another one.
Lena:
November 1st, 2010 at 1:00 AM
Thank you for an interesting post. It takes a lot of guts to stand up to your beliefs. We as a family dont celebrate Halloween too, we dont like all the spirit/dead people/grave yard/blood/gorry/scary things that are attached to this holiday. A lot of people still celebrate this holiday comparing it to the 4th of July for instance, which I cant really compare. No resemlence at all. But if they dont see anything bad with this holiday, I guess its ok for them to celebrate it. I mean as long as we follow the bible and live according to Jesus, I am sure we will be just fine. For it says "be holy like I am holy.." 1 Peter 1:16, As long as you live for God, there is nothing for you to worry or get upset about..
Kelly:
November 1st, 2010 at 2:09 AM
Good post, thanks for sharing your views! I watched a video presentation on the occult and the things that happen on halloween. I know the vast majority of people that celebrate this holiday are either clueless to the origins or just don't believe it's evil. Without having a well thought out response, it's a challenge to even respond to those who wish "happy halloween" or ask my son what he's going to be, etc. I don't want to offend those that do celebrate, but I also don't want my son to think it's OK.
On the flip side, I see families doing something together (minus the scary aspect) and think we need MORE reasons for fathers to be outside playing with their children and families making memories for their kids.
As a Christian, I have no desire to partake in the evil, but will also not hide in the dark on this day that the Lord has made.
Katie @ Riddlelove:
November 1st, 2010 at 2:15 AM
Love, love, LOVE!!! I'm with you 100%! Happy reformation day! Happy all souls day! And tomorrow, happy all saints day!
And the junk food drives me CRAZY!!!! To throw it out is so wasteful, so I'd rather never have it in my house.
Elizabeth:
November 1st, 2010 at 4:00 AM
Christie and MAM-
I gotta say that posting on these types of things is like dealing with the media. One item is taken out of an entire post and twisted around and not understood. Maybe it is the general "whatever floats your boat is great" mentality that permeates our culture that causes everyone to get up at arms just because you give your honest opiion instead of sugar coating it all the time. But please read on. I'll explain my position further and perhaps you will see that I am not a "bad" person, just one voicing an opinion just like everyone else.
As you can tell, I am a Christian. I love Jesus. I love what he stood for. I love what He did for me and every other person on the face of the earth. We are all equals in the eyes of God and I believe this. I am not any better or any less of a sinner than anyone else just because I believe. The only difference between myself and a non-believer is that I have accepted the grace that Jesus extended to us. That's it. I am just as imperfect as the next guy.
At least half of my friends are non-believers. Or questionable ones at best. We have great conversations about what they believe or don't believe and vice/versa. We love each other through our differences. I love them as much as my "church" friends. I go out to bars with my friends because my husband plays in a band and I like to go listen and sing with them. I listen to both Christian and non-Christian music. I have friends who are homosexual. I have dressed up and gone trick or treating with my kids, if for no other reason than to have a fun activity to do with them and visit the neighbors in my mother's neighborhood.
Sure, there are things I won't do because I am a Christian (like use the Lord's name in vain), and things I try not to do (like use foul language), but in my everyday life I don't walk around with a sign that says "I am a Christian, Hear me Roar!"
However, I believe that if you have a public forum, such as this blog, you have an opportunity to stand up for what you believe in. MAM -you have many posts about your faith, including the details of the courtship with your husband. You make it clear that you are a follower of Christ and I am happy to hear of another sister. And if your blog was simply about attachment parenting and the many ways this is carried out, I probably would not have made any reply at all. But when you say you are a Christian, you are an example to others and if others view your blog and see a post about "witches" being AP parents too, they might get the impression that you are supporting "witches." Whether that is true or not.
Christie- I am well aware that pagans are not satanists or even "witches." I most certainly have looked into paganism, druidism, and wicca during a time when I was seeking the truth in life. At one point I was studying to be a bard, as I am sure you might be amazed to hear. There are some really nice elements to the ideas of paganism, such as respecting the land we live on although I believe there are different reasons for doing so. I would love world peace and for people to stop harming each other because then my brother could come home from Afghanistan and we wouldn't have to worry about him being killed anymore. But, having studied Islam also, and having some insight into the culture (of radical fundamentalists, not necessarily typical muslims) through my muslim friends (yep I have those too) I know that is not likely to happen in our lifetime. Unless of course the antichrist comes to power and brings his 3 1/2 year reign of peace. But, that's an aside.
I am not screaming condemnation from the tops of my lungs. I am asking some discernment from someone who says she is a Christian. If anything I thought that the tone of this article on Halloween held a tone of condemnation against Christians who allow their children to participate, whether it was outright stated or not. Just asking, "what do you think" does not take away from that tone. I personally think that each family needs to prayerfully make that decision for themselves. What is right for one Christian family isn't always what is right for another.
After this entire experience on this blog, I can assure you that I will be praying fervently for God to examine my heart and to show me just how I can love others more and better. I don't want to push anyone away from Christ because they are offended by what I say. I can't not speak the truth when I know it, but perhaps I need to learn to convey this with more of an attitude of love and understanding. I will also pray for both of you. For healthy happy families and prosperity (in a spiritual sense-I don't believe in praying to be rich!)
I hope this explanation helps you understand me better. Personally, I love to debate if someone is willing. Obviously no one was up for that and instead some were offended. I apologize for that. But I also had many supporters contact me. So I can't be all wrong, can I?
Gracie:
November 1st, 2010 at 1:15 PM
Not much to add – but I wanted to say that I LOVE the Sugar Sprite concept! I am doing that next year!!
mzzterry:
November 1st, 2010 at 6:37 PM
this is my first visit here. i appreciate your stand. any time you take a stand, you will be persecuted. it is to be expected, you don't have to defend yourself when you stand on the Truth. interesting reading this afternoon!
Brittany:
November 1st, 2010 at 7:59 PM
We do celebrate Halloween at our house, although it never includes trick-or-treating because of my extreme dislike for candy!
Our Halloween "celebration" usually includes making costumes and taking the kiddos to both sets of grandparents to show them off. But all of their grandparents are extremely respectful of our "no-candy" rules and will either give the boys healthy snacks (this year they each got a banana and a box of raisins) or small non-food things like a balloon or pencil. We usually carve jack-o-lanterns too. This year we went to a community event several days before Halloween and they got to jump in inflatables, sit on a police motorcycle, tour an ambulance, etc. They dressed up and we had a great time. They did get candy at that event, but they traded it all in for some mama-made pumpkin scones.
We are followers of Jesus Christ, and I know that many brothers and sisters feel differently that we do about Halloween, which I respect. But my take on it is this: As a family, we have other holiday traditions we partake in that are rooted in paganism. We decorate a Christmas tree, hunt for eggs at Easter (Resurrection eggs, NOT candy!), and get excited about the longest and shortest days of the year. With all of these, we aren't focusing on the "pagan" aspects, but are in a sense redeeming them. They are special family times where we can bond with our children and point them to Jesus. Yes, Halloween also has pagan roots, but we aren't focusing on those. (We even had a great conversation about death and the Gospel on the way home from our parents' last night, praise the Lord!) We're simply looking to build relationships and create fun memories with our family.
So there's my two cents (or three or four!) on why we don't feel guilty participating in Halloween, "despite Christian beliefs."
Heidi:
November 2nd, 2010 at 2:41 AM
Just throwing in my two cents as a Catholic (one who, incidentally, was raised Protestant). We trick-or-treated when I was little, then went the route of "harvest parties" with other Christian families, and then stopped acknowledging Halloween at all. I think my parents made good decisions along the way.
Understanding the Catholic background, though, really shifted my perspective a bit. November 1, today, is All Saints' Day on the Catholic calendar. Tomorrow, Nov. 2, is All Souls' Day. All Saints' Day is the day that the Catholic Church acknowledges all of the holy men and women, known and unknown, who have died over the centuries and are right now glorifying God in heaven.
The name "Halloween" is an abbreviation for "All Hallows' Eve" – "All Holies' Eve" – the Eve of All Saints' Day. The Catholic Church has a tradition of celebrating the night before a big feast as basically part of the feast – it's called the "vigil." Think of the excitement and anticipation of Christmas Eve (and the fact that even many Protestant churches have Christmas Eve services that night). That's the idea of the vigil. Easter was the first feast with a vigil – the lighting of the Easter candle that night represents the restoration of the Light of the World to us in His Resurrection. Historically, some of the vigils were more about beginning the celebration; some of them were more about fasting and preparing for the feast – but either way, the night (or whole day) before the feast was in some way anticipating the feast to come.
There's no question that I find the ghoulishness of the way Halloween is celebrated these days disturbing. But the fear and loathing I attached to the day – and particularly Halloween night – evaporated as I realized that the feast celebrating the lives of countless holy men and women – prophets, apostles, martyrs; mothers and fathers of holy families – was, in fact, already underway. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot comprehend it.
Robin:
November 2nd, 2010 at 5:17 PM
I agree with you that every family has to do what works for them, but I think saying that Halloween is a satanic celebration is inaccurate. I was just reading an article about the history of Halloween that said "the modern holiday of Halloween is a combination of The Celtic holiday of Samhain, the Catholic Hallowmas period of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day and the Roman festival of Feralia." Even trick-or-treating/beggars night evolved from the All Souls' Day practice of poor people going door to door offering prayers for souls in purgatory in exchange for small cakes or bread. Like many holidays, even Halloween has roots in the church.
Personally, I don't celebrate Halloween, but I do hand out small boxes of crayons to the trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood. I agree with you about there being far too much junky candy out there!
Nikki:
November 2nd, 2010 at 8:19 PM
After all these posts of people saying "Haloween has it roots in Christianity", I had to go research it for myself. No where does it say it is rooted in Christianity, it merely says that the church picked up on it and used it for it's purposes (catholic). I think people are missing the fact that what Satanists do with this special day of theirs is not common knowledge. You either have to know someone who was involved in it or have some sort of education of its practices.
Each person has to decide for themselves based on their knowledge and convictions but as the following says, "We will not believe more than we know, And we will not live higher than our beliefs.”
-R. Albert Mohler Jr.
Taking a firm but loving stand on this will only raise children who are conscious of the present world of evil and discourage them from participating in also other seemingly harmless practices of the occult. We don't have to be radical to be strong in our beliefs.
I did not believe in celebrating Halloween, did not allow her to read Harry Potter as a child or participate in anything that could lead away from the truth of the bible, but I had a knowledge of the occult from my experience with it before I became a Christian. I know that evil masquerades as light and it's intent is to deceive. If we don't teach our children to recognize the difference between the spirit of God and the spirit of evil then we may lose our chance to impact them for life.
My daughter is now 22 and she is a highly successful 4.0 college student with three jobs. She doesn't drink or do drugs and is still a virgin even though she is highly popular, talented and beautiful. And she is armed with the knowledge of the truth so she can test things in her world on her own now, as an adult, and see for herself with at least the knowledge of the truth as her guide. Because I didn't shove these things down her throat, but instead made a loving stand for what I believe she doesn't resent me for my choices at all. She sees it as a shelter of my love for her.
M Led:
November 26th, 2010 at 7:55 PM
To trick-or-treat or not, that is a personal choice and I have no issue with however a person wants to celebrate or not celebrate. I myself do not celebrate my own birthday, for reasons that are not important to this forum. What I do take issue with, however, is the spreading of error and false information. Halloween is a pagan holiday, but not a Satanic holiday. I do not agree with the point of view that anything not Jehovah-centric is automatically Satanic. That is an ignorant view of the world.
Also, ALL Christian holidays are based on ancient religious celebrations. This has been proven without exception. Christmas has its roots in the Roman Winter Solstice celebration called Saturnalia, honoring Saturn, the God of Agriculture, which represented the triumph of life over death. This whole season was called Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. It is also the origin of groups of costumed singers traveling from house to house entertaining the neighbors. This is the Christmas tradition of caroling.
In 350, Pope Julius I declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25. He was trying to make it easy for pagan Romans to convert to Christianity. The new religion was accepted knowing that their feasts would not be taken away from them.
Easter is also of pagan origin. The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE.) a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." 1 Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre."
Wiccans and other Neopagans continue to celebrate the Spring Equinox as one of their 8 yearly Sabbats (holy days of celebration). Near the Mediterranean, this is a time of sprouting of the summer's crop; farther north, it is the time for seeding. Their rituals at the Spring Equinox are related primarily to the fertility of the crops and to the balance of the day and night times. In those places where Wiccans can safely celebrate the Sabbat out of doors without threat of religious persecution, they often incorporate a bonfire into their rituals, jumping over the dying embers is believed to assure fertility of people and crops.
Celebrate whatever you like. Just know that by slapping Jesus' face on a holiday doesnt make it Christian, and contrarywise, putting Satans face on it doesnt make it Satanic!
Darlene:
March 30th, 2011 at 2:46 PM
I completely respect your views and reasons for not celebrating Halloween, but I really feel that I must correct you.
Halloween was originally a pagan holiday, in that you are correct, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with anything with satan or devil worshipping. You stated that it is a "pagan/satanic holiday", as if you believe that the two are interchangeable, and they are not. Pagan beliefs have nothing to do with a Satan or a belief in Satan. Pagan's believed in many gods, but did not believe in a devil or satan, nor do they worship any evil gods or deities.
You are also very incorrect in believing that Halloween is steeped in "wickedness" and that "Halloween began as a celebration of wickedness and Satan worship. It is rooted in pagan tradition." The original roots of Halloween have absoloutely nothing whatsoever to do with anything wicked or evil. It also never had anything to do with any type of worship of any evil being ie: "Satan".
I am not Pagan, but I have studied many religions, and so felt the need to comment.
)
Jen:
August 4th, 2011 at 4:05 AM
So, I just found your blog tonight and already commented on another post. I LOVE YOU! Lol. I'm only 27, married for 5 years this summer and have 3 little ones with a fourth on the way, a sooner than expected surprise blessing you might say. We are not strict WAP but we're members and love the ideals, we love Jesus, and grace and totally agree with you on Halloween! I should be sleeping now but I'm looking forward to reading more of you posts!
Jana:
January 27th, 2012 at 12:34 AM
I know this is an old post, but thought I’d add a comment. It seems to me that two key attributes are missing here: kindness and compassion for fellow human beings. As Christians, our job is not to cloister ourselves off from the world but to get out there in it and show love and kindness and compassion for those our lives touch. How can we hope to change anything about the world if we don’t engage with it? I’ve heard many pros and cons for celebrating Halloween as Christians, and truthfully, it is every person’s individual choice to celebrate it or not, and all of us should respect others’ decisions (and the original post seemed to make this very clear).
But, food for thought might be thinking about the contrast between cloistering ourselves up in our houses with the lights off so no trick-or-treaters come to the door, and opening our doors gladly to any trick-or-treaters who might drop by, handing out healthful treats with a smile and kind word. Isn’t that what Jesus was all about? Kindness, love, compassion, and RELATIONSHIP. He engaged with the world rather than hiding Himself away from it. He changed the world through His love.
Cathy Harrelson:
February 6th, 2012 at 7:17 AM
I agree with you ModernMama~ she took this WAY out of context. Just like many can “make” the bible read “what they WANT to hear”~we humans have a tremendous ability to munipulate things to “fit” what we want, wheather we admit it or not. Sometimes, we don’t even realize I bias opinions that lead us in that direction. I cannot thank you enough for sharing all your thoughts, ideas, recipes, and taking the time to help others in areas we SO need the help in. Society has us all in a place that we don’t need to be. Especially when it comes to nutrition. I have six kids and I’m JUST starting to wake up to see we’ve been walking zombies in this world. We cannot depend or trust our government any longer to keep us safe and healthy. Our foods, meds, cosmetics, etc, are slowing killing us, but at the same time, keeping our government operating. If everyone in American stopped the nonsence HANDS DOWN , cold turkey ~right now~ our government would sink~ think about it, all the giant food companies, all the drug companies, all the cosmetic companies~they ALL depend our US~ where would America’s government be finacially without these huge companies?
Wisemommies:
February 9th, 2012 at 9:53 PM
Nice post. I understand where you are coming from. However, I have a different take on why I do celebrate Halloween even being a Christian. I have also written a post about Halloween: I compared how it is “generally” celebrated in the US, Germany (more Catholic celebration) and Scotland (founding country of the pagan Halloween celebration). I also wrote how the Catholic celebration and Scottish celebration might have gotten mixed forming todays Halloween as it is celebrated. However, in other countries it is still celebrated closer to its roots. I have some pictures showing examples as well. http://wisemommies.com/index.php/cultural-differences/46-cultural-differences/133-no-no-halloween-celebrations-and-meaning.html
Wisemommies:
February 9th, 2012 at 10:00 PM
PS. I forgot to add, I really like that you are against the candy…We try to attend trick/treating places that give away creative toys rather than candy!
Margaret Hunter:
February 21st, 2012 at 7:23 AM
Good for you……all of you who hold to a higher belief. We gave up celebrating Halloween in the late 1970s. For both of the reasons you did plus one. I dislike hearing children be selfish and squabbling over things. Two of mine were close in age. The post Halloween battles over candy were epic.. There was so much candy…..too much. But they did battle over every aspic of it.
Over the years we did many things depending on age and opportunity. Church parties, parties with like minded friends during the years when it was hard to go to school the day after Halloween and face the masses of school friends. Sometimes we have gone to movies or bowling……entertainment that didnt serve candy or dress up. There were years when we just went to visit someone who lived in the country, mostly to avoid answering the door. Now its easier I dont pass out candy I just stay at home as a Halloween scrooge. Not many children go door to door anymore so its pretty easy. Every year I am saddened by the way this holiday grows bigger and bigger. I should know that is the way of satanic things its just sad to me that more christians dont see and know the truth of it
Darlene:
February 28th, 2012 at 4:45 PM
I really enjoy your blog and found your views about why you choose to not celebrate Halloween very interesting. However, I needed to point out a very important fact that Halloween is not rooted in Satanism, and Paganism is not rooted in evil.
Darlene Owen:
February 28th, 2012 at 4:48 PM
I enjoy your blog, and found your reasons for not celebrating Halloween very interesting. I feel that I must point out however that Halloween and it’s origins are not rooted in Satanism, and Paganism is not rooted in evil.
Ash:
May 15th, 2012 at 9:07 AM
Christmas and Easter are also rooted in pagan tradition
Kate Tietje:
May 15th, 2012 at 9:47 AM
Yes. But Halloween has no current Christian meaning. It is not a celebration of the church. Whereas Christmas, though parts of it borrow from Paganism (like the use of evergreen trees), celebrates the birth of Christ. And Easter, is the celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ. We don’t really participate in the egg-dyeing, Easter-bunny, candy sort of thing anyway, we focus on Christ’s sacrifice. The ultimate difference for me, though, is that modern Christmas and Easter are clearly celebrating an important event in church history, whereas Halloween has nothing to do with the church.
Sarah F.:
May 24th, 2012 at 10:17 AM
We don’t have kids yet, but I think we won’t celebrate Halloween for the reasons you stated. The holiday has always given me an eerie feeling. Neither my husband nor I are comfortable with the “feel” of the day.
I might do Harvest Parties around that general time but I don’t think those are the same at all (celebrating God’s creation, learning about changing seasons/harvest, making home-made crafts/goodies, etc.).
We didn’t celebrate Halloween growing up and I was definitely not scarred by it. I wanted to dress up, but my parents usually gave us other opportunities for that at other times (plays, costume parties, etc.). By the way, I appreciate the grace with which you express your opinions.
Katya:
June 17th, 2012 at 3:31 PM
I grew up not celebrating anything except New Year’s and birthdays. That’s just the way my family was.
I do not celebrate Haloween…. or Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and most (if not all) commercial holidays. Why? I do not need a reason to _not_ celebrate something, – I need a reason to do so. I am not Christian, so December 25th is not a special day for me. Neither is Oct.31, Feb.14, and so on. In fact, I think celebrating Christmas would be hypocritical of me. I respect Christians who celebrate it (not as the frantic useless gift buying, but as the birth of Christ and all the good things that Christianity teaches), but I don’t see why anybody else should. The same goes for Halloween.
As I’m not a member of any organized religion, that sounds like I have very little to celebrate. Not at all. We celebrate family. My husband and I live in a different city than my parents, and a different continent than his parents. We do not get together to celebrate a holiday created by a religion we don’t subscribe to or politicians or the commercial establishment. We get together because of love, and we celebrate the fact that we are together.
Kellan:
June 18th, 2012 at 8:29 AM
I celebrate Halloween and I’m a Christian. Mostly, it’s because of the fond memories I have of the tradition of TOT. You’re right about the candy overload, though. Methinks I should look into healthier/more creative treats for this year.
I have never been convicted to not celebrate Oct. 31st; to me, the holiday is harmless. As long as we each know our beliefs and teach them to our children, and they aren’t stumbling because of anything we do (or don’t do), I see no reason to change up tradition.
Love that you posted this – we all need to stand up for our beliefs, be they pagan, Christian, Muslim, Bahai, etc…. Thanks for your take on this!
Kristin:
June 21st, 2012 at 7:54 AM
I love this idea.
Tina:
August 26th, 2012 at 10:12 AM
We stand with and for all the same reasons you listed
jeanne preslar:
October 2nd, 2012 at 12:58 PM
I agree with the citrus…my daughter had horrible sores as a baby….it was an awful time for both of us! She later got fever blisters often…around the christmas holidays. I noticed she always had a fever bilster at the time of her birthday pics…dec 19….found out it was oranges and walnuts. she avoids them like the plague now…funny…she can have sprite, pineapple and kiwi…go figure.
Kory:
October 5th, 2012 at 1:15 AM
I completely agree with Robin, M led, Darlene, and many others.
I can absolutely respect your personal beliefs and your decision not to celebrate with your family. We choose not to celebrate easter. To each their own.
The part I have a problem with is this:
“Halloween began as a celebration of wickedness and Satan worship. It is rooted in pagan tradition.”
While it certainly has pagan roots it also carries a lot of other traditions as well, and the biggest thing… it was never a celebration of wickedness and satan worship… I’m not even sure where you’d get that idea. In fact if you have a reference for that I’d love to read more on it.
Rose:
October 9th, 2012 at 6:50 PM
Satanism and Paganism are not interchangeable. Halloween is *not* rooted in wickedness or evil and was not at all involved in Satanic worship, it is rooted in Samhain, which is celebrated on the eve of Oct. 31 but is actually Nov. 1. It was thought to be the time where the living and the dead were closest, that the so-called “veil” was lifted and our ancestors were honored. This took place with great feast. I would appreciate some references to what you call “Satanic” rituals, because as a Pagan I have never, ever come across anyone who performs Satanic rituals and/or Satanic worship…it is extremely different from Paganism; Pagans do not believ in the “devil”. Along lines of M Led’s post, slapping “Satanic” on anything you consider heathen doesn’t make it actually Satanic just as slapping “Christanity” on Christmas, Easter, All Soul’s Day, etc doesn’t make it Christian in origin. In the Bible God even recognizes that other Gods exist, and that he is a jealous god and forbids Christians from worshiping them. Nothing about Satanism there.
Being such a stickler for evidence and proper information, I’d have thought that this would be one thing you’d want to be accurate on regardless of your personal views of Halloween.
Danielle Tate:
October 9th, 2012 at 6:52 PM
A seasoned homeschooler told me recently (last week) that they incorporate the dressing up part with the study of creation. The children can dress up as any creature created by God.
Not sure where or what they do after that my thought was a Light the Night Safe Zone type activity. Our son is only 2 and last year we didn’t do anything…this year we don’t plan on doing anything either.
Kayla:
October 9th, 2012 at 7:05 PM
I thought the same thing, my daughter gets HORRIBLE HORRIBLE rashes EVERY time she eats anything citrusy
Rebecca:
October 9th, 2012 at 7:37 PM
Paganism and Satanism are two very different things. I have no issue with your beliefs – to each their own. But I would encourage your readers to research the roots of Halloween as a Pagan harvest celebration combined with Christian All Hollows Eve before declaring it a Satanic holiday. (Still love your blog!)
Tawnya:
October 9th, 2012 at 7:38 PM
Dawn, this is such a great perspective. You put into words exactly how i feel. Would you mind if I quoted you on this. A friend and I were discussing why I don’t celebrate. She is on the border of doing it or not and I’d love to tell her that reasoning.
Amy S:
October 9th, 2012 at 7:41 PM
We do do Halloween. I hate to say celebrate because I’d prefer to use that word for Christ’s birthday, our birthdays, Anniversary’s, etc. I am a Christian but I’m also a working Mom whose kids go to “school” and learn about Halloween and Santa so I go with the flow. I struggle with issues like these but I feel as if I implant some good knowledge into the minds of my kids then I don’t have to worry too much. I was raised as a Christian child (sadly we only really went church on Sundays and didn’t do too much else) but I never felt as if Halloween was a bad thing to be doing. I also was raised in a junk food household so that is a big concern of mine. I’m really torn at how we are going to address that issue. A local dentist takes extra candy which is likely what we’ll do with most candy our kids get. I don’t want to compromise our food standard so I think we will be giving out pencils/stickers/etc
Rachel:
October 9th, 2012 at 7:52 PM
Our church has a harvest party every year and that is the extent to what my kids know about the holiday. We make homemade costumes amd they do get candy but not in massive amounts. As a church we offer a fun alternative to the chaos of the holiday. My daughter, 4, doesn’t know the word Halloween. I was raised with this same tradtion at the chrurch I grew up in and never trick or treated or got into the scary stuff centered around the day. As a Christian the conviction is yours as you said, Kate.
Monica:
October 9th, 2012 at 8:36 PM
We never did Halloween growing up, at least not consistently, for the same reasons I assume. We dressed up for the parties at school and did trick or treat a couple times. I felt the same way about celebrating Halloween as you do, until I learned that Christmas is also rooted in pagan traditions, and includes many sugary treats too! I’m sorry I don’t remember the details off the top of my head, but my baby is ready for bed so I can’t research it right now. She’s only 4 months old, so I have a while to plan.
Just some food for thought. If I remember correctly, Easter is the same way too.
Crissi:
October 10th, 2012 at 7:46 AM
We quit celebrating Halloween several years back for the whole pagan ideology reason as well. Instead we turned it into a fun, family night that we celebrate in the back of the house with all the lights in the front of the house turned off.
I will admit, we still do candy. *blush* We allow the kids to pick out a bag of candy and they can have a couple of pieces that night and then those bags will last us MONTHS (with 7 kids, I figure that’s not too bad, right?) as they only get a piece occasionally after that. I’m toying with the idea of convincing them that homemade candies would be SO much better than nasty store bought ones…. But first I need to find some good recipes!
Lilah:
October 10th, 2012 at 5:48 PM
I hope I am not being offensive to you in any way and I agree with many of your reasons for not celebrating, however I would like to correct you on a few minor details. You seem to put Pagans and Satan worship in the same category; They are two entirely different things. Paganism is a very, very broad term. The ancient Greeks had a religion within a branch of Paganism, they for example didn’t practice evil rituals that encourage sin and hate. Witches, who are nothing like the Greeks, also are Pagans. “Pagan”- a follower of a polytheistic religion, or a religion that follows more than one god and or goddess (“Pagan”, Def. 1). There are hundreds, if not thousands, of beliefs that are considered Pagan. Wicca, one of the best known Pagan religions today, has a famous saying that can be thought of as something similar to a loose Christian commandment; It is called the Wiccan Rede and it basically goes something like this: Do what ye shall, and it harm none. This is a fundament of Wicca and translates simply into: Live your life and no matter what happens, do nothing to harm anyone. Also, Pagans don’t sacrifice or harm animals or people in any rituals. Now onto Satanism or Satan Worship. Satan is a Christian figure, not a Pagan idea. Satan worshipers are Monotheists like every other Christian because they believe in God, but follow Beelzebub. None of the many Pagan religions even acknowledge the devil because he is A) Not a God in the first place. And B) A Christian idea. Truly, Satan worshippers of today for the most part don’t even really follow Lucifer; Many people claim to be Satan worshippers for plenty of different reasons like wanting to be “different” or to be rebellious. I won’t even try to get into explaining the whole deal of Satan worship because it’s kind of rare and frankly just a mess.
I don’t care if you want to dislike Pagans, that’s for you to decide. Just don’t confuse them for Satanists. In fact one of the many unspoken rules of Wicca has been to never attempt to convert or push their beliefs on anybody else, so you don’t have to worry about them trying to convert you or your children. What you really should be looking out for is Satanic-Witches which are nothing like Pagan witches.
Sara:
October 12th, 2012 at 11:10 PM
I have nothing good to say about halloween. I understand why some celebrate other holidays, although out family does not..but I see no redeeming qualities in halloween. I hate it with a passion and it just seems to get more popular every year, which I pretty much chalk up to the influence of satan and the demons. Yes, I said it.
Stephie N:
October 20th, 2012 at 3:14 PM
I don’t want to come off sounding too “know it all” but I actually have done a TON of research on holidays because of my convictions. Personally I don’t like the majority of holidays celebrated in this day and age, but that having been said I need to clarify my thoughts for you.
Halloween interestingly enough is THE ONLY widespread major holiday celebrated in the western world that actually has christian roots. Thanksgiving arguably could have been “christian” but it mostly celebrated the harvest of the America’s not the Lord. Christmas and Easter are definitely pagan holidays and New Years resembles many cultures celebrations.
Halloween has it’s roots in the early church as to celebrate and bless the recently departed as they enter heaven. Now while this notion of purgatory in my mind is false, that is where it originates, from the church not understanding the word. Now we have more knowledge and understand that absent from the body equals present with the Lord, but then that didn’t make sense because they were still stuck on the notion of “Abraham’s Bosom” and it was hard to translate for a lot of new Christians that Abraham’s bosom no longer existed and now you go straight to the throne room. Confused people into thinking up a purgatory. Anyways, the idea was that saints that died throughout the year would stay in purgatory until All Hallow’s Eve (Oct. 31st) every year and then they would move on to heaven. The day was to honor and bless the recently departed as they entered the throne room. Now here’s where it gets ugly. The world, gotta love the worldliness of it, took this idea that the souls don’t move into heaven yet and ran with it. They ditched the idea of purgatory, let’s face it the devil knew it was bunk, and said oh the bodies roam around earth that night and have one final shot at revenge. At this point people were frightened, so they donned masks and costumes to hide themselves from the potential of revenge. (Creepy, but it’s the truth) So even though the holiday is disturbing and disgusting. You will at least know why where and how it got that way.
Personally we choose to ‘celebrate’ Halloween, but not traditionally. I think kids love dress up (adults do too) and make believe is a big way to spur on a child’s imagination, which in turn spurs learning, etc. etc. etc. However, we will not be celebrating it by the traditions that the world does. I will let my kids dress up and enjoy pretending for the day, but we will feast and celebrate the Lord’s blessing in that we know what happens to us. We know what the future holds. (and we might go to a harvest carnival during the day, who knows) But what we will not be doing is:
1. Gory costumes- I’m sorry no. that is not spurring imagination that’s being gross and it’s never ok to try and demonize yourself.
2. Trick or Treating- During this time we will be eating a “feast” of sorts of good healthy foods and discussing what Jesus means for the saints. Candy and gut rot is one thing we avoid! (and the primary reason my in laws hate being grandparents to our kids)
On another note, we do this for all of the majorly celebrated holidays(this god centering thing), but I think what is more important are the feasts that the Lord ordained for us to celebrate that I haven’t seen a lot of Christians celebrate. Passover is one of the most fascinating displays of the resurrection story that I think I’ve seen. There are seven feasts to the Lord and when you follow tradition and then back it with bible knowledge it’s way cool! I think the better question is what high holy days (holidays) are we not celebrating that we should be?
Stephie N
SimplyBEEcause.blogspot.com
Lenore:
October 29th, 2012 at 6:01 PM
Hi Lilah. While I understand your beliefs on differentiating the definitions of pagan vs satanist, please understand that everything that is outside of God – all thoughts and beliefs that do not recognize the only one true Triune God – is satanic (evil). Paganism and satanism are the same because all of it comes from the same source – Satan – who is the “Father of Lies” and the ultimate deceiver. The whole world is actually blinded to Satan’s many deceptions, which is why God calls everyone to Him, to the Light, so that they can see this truth. His Holy Spirit reveals this truth to everyone and people choose to accept or reject it. All good things come from God; the ability for anyone to do good at anytime comes from Him and no other higher power. Blessings and favor come from God, not from anyone else. People following any and all beliefs that don’t acknowledge and worship God are actually worshiping Satan – whether or not they call it that. God (God the Father (Jehovah), Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit are one) created everything – not just the world but all of the universe. The nature of male and female are in Him, so God is not just masculine or feminine; He’s both and He “is”. Satan can’t create, but he can pervert God’s creation and has done so by giving numerous ideas to mankind to effectively have them think of all the different ways they should NOT acknowledge the only true and living God. The reason why Satan is able to do this, to decieve people, is because we, as mankind, gave our earthly dominion to Him when the earth was first created. This is why the original writer of this post placed pagan/satanic in the same sentence. I hope I have not offended you with this post.
Carolyn:
October 30th, 2012 at 5:44 PM
Wow -I so enjoyed and agree with your post! We should be celebrating more feasts. My understanding of Halloween is that it is also a celebration of the harvest. We could all benefit from “getting back to the Earth”. If we could instill in our children a respect for the Earth and a responsibility to care for it and celebrate the wonder of nature (created by God) our children might have a better chance at healthy, balanced lives.