Christians and Halloween.

Hello, Everyone. It would be very nice to get some advice and discussion going from my fellow Christians regarding celebrating Halloween.

As a child of a very religious mother, we were not allowed to celebrate Halloween, attend parties, decorate our house, or go trick or treating. In my youth, I really resented her for it when all the other children were allowed to take part in the festivities while I was not. As an adult, in retrospect I respect her wisdom and her true devotion to be 'in the world but not of it.'

Now being a parent myself, especially one of a child who loves Halloween and will be talking about his costume months in advance, I'm stuck. I will admit my weakness and that I have taken him trick or treating the past couple of years due to fear of ridicule. But in my heart, I truly feel by celebrating it, I'm trying to live in both houses, so to speak.

Even 'Hallelujah Parties' that churches throw on Halloween in order to make Christian children not feel left out kind of feels like a cop-out compromise to me. They generally consist of Bible character costume parties and candy but it's like my spiritual discernment still tells me this is an unwise compromise.

Do other ATS Christians celebrate Halloween or allow your children to do so? Do you attend something with the church instead? Do you completely ignore it and tread it like any other day? As an adult I chose not to celebrate it but now having children, I feel the push by society to not be so rigid and to give in but it doesn't feel right.

How do you feel Christians devoted to God should address the Halloween season as we are commanded to not be of the world and I do believe Halloween has its roots in some very ungodly and dark historical practices.

reply to post by AshleyD


If I may interject as a non practicing christian ...

Aren't Christmass and Easter also pagan inspired holidays?

If it's not disrespectful, I am curious as to what the difference would be.

(don't say my avatar is the answer)


[edit on 2 Oct 2009 by schrodingers dog]

Its all in what you feel Halloween celebrates. Does it really celebrate anything? Here are some possibilities.

Demons, Devils, blah blah blah

The spirit of hedonism (Dressing how you want, acting up, indulging in sweets)

The spirit of childhood.. Laughter, Dress up, living as a different thing for a night.

I dunno. I see it as hedonism. But then, hedonism is pretty much my religion.

reply to post by schrodingers dog


LOL! No worries, I had a feeling that question would pop up. It's understandable.

Easter and Christmas is a little tricky. When I celebrate those holidays as a Christian, I am celebrating the Christian roots and meaning: Jesus' birth and Jesus' resurrection. Not the Easter eggs and Easter bunny (pagan fertility symbols) and not Santa Claus (actually inspired by a Christian saint but became too secular in modern times) or Christmas trees (pagan rebirth symbols).

It is tricky due to the fact the pagan roots and the Christian roots merged historically and continue to get blurred as we secularize those holidays. However, I don't celebrate those days concerning what secular society has transformed them into or what the Roman church merged them into. I celebrate the Christian principles behind them.

Concerning Halloween, there are no Christian principles or history behind the date. It is purely pagan in origins and even the very dark occult. We have simply 'sweetened' it by turning the dark history into 'harmless fun.'

So that is why I don't find the above comparable. It wasn't a Christian holiday I can trace to a holy source that simply later became distorted. The history itself seems against my beliefs. If Christmas and Easter had no Christian relation and had pagan origins, I'd have the same struggle with them.

[edit on 10/2/2009 by AshleyD]

reply to post by AshleyD


That actually makes sense.

So much of all these holidays has to do with commercialization these days. I also imagine it's a pretty tough thing to do to tell one's children that they can't be doing what all their friends are doing ... plus the candy, the sweet sweet candy.

What do you do?

reply to post by AshleyD


Oh, and about the living in the both houses thingie ...

I'm sure that 364.242199 days of impeccable christian parenting count for something.

Well Ashley yes I do celebrate it, but then again my parents weren't strict as yours were and allowed me to do alot of things because they were sort of lax Christians or believers.

Uh, I wouldn't go out to celebrate it considering how much it has changed. Woman dress like complete sluts, excuse my language, now. It used to be innocent fun and now it's like the prophets say about living in the end times, everything is about lust now.


I'm gonna be honest, I will still celebrate it because I always have. It never had an affect on me, it was just fun to me when younger. But, that in no way means I am right. infact I might ask a priest his thoughts on it and ask someone in a high position thinks about the holliday.


But I will celebrate it indoors as I have the last couple years. With movies and friends.


Do what's in your heart. Your mom sounds like a strict woman, which is good sometimes. She might not be wrong on this one.

peace.

Sounds like you're being too hard on yourself Ash', all the kids want is to run around with their friends and get free candy, it's all innocent to them. Evil is all in the intent. When he's old enough to really understand the true meaning, tell him about the occult origins of halloween, knowledge is power.

IMO, halloween is the least of a parents worries nowadays. You got 3/4 of the kids on the planet wanting to be witches or vampires EVERYDAY, and thinking it's cool.

Peace

Ash, life is full of compromises.
I'm not Christian, more so pagan, but even I think Halloween is a stupid idea.
You spend money on a costume to take your kids out to get free candy which makes them sick and rots their teeth..oh yeah great fun.
When we lived in the country, where the nearest house was a mile away, we had a scary movie night, and made scary treats like chocolate cupcakes with gummy worms in them, and witch fingers (pigs in a blanket..lol).
My nieces and nephew did the church halloween thing, not much fun, I agree.
The compromise should be part of what your child wants, and part of what you want..as long as you both agree and understand why it's important.
Yes even younger children understand why things are important if you explain it on their level.

If he wants to run around the neighborhood in costume and get some candy, hey it's childhood. I wish my kids were still young enough for it. We always had a blast.

Now if he wants to go into the graveyard and vivisect a squirrel by the light of the moon or something, it might be time to apply the brakes.

I'm an agnostic, but maybe have some information that is relevant to your decision.

The name Hallowe'en is thoroughly Christian. It means the eve of All Saints' Day, November 1st. All Saints' is itself the eve of All Souls Day, which commemorates and celebrates that the Church's membership comprises all the faithful, both the living and the dead.

As to the "pagan origins," bullshot. It is the harvest festival. If your conscience can tolerate Thanksgiving, another harvest festival, being celebrated in the United States and Canada, then Hallowe'en ought to be eligible for your consideration, too.

It is obvious why the harvest festival would be psychologically conjoined with a commemoration of the faithful departed. Iconic Death carries a scythe; do the math. It is equally obvious why skeletons and spectres would be associated with a commemoration of the dead.

Some contemporary Neo-Pagans have laid claim to the common heritage of all humankind, as if every traditional festival founded in the needs and desires of humanity were something peculiar to their own religion. Every human culture celebrates the harvest. Every human culture honors its dead.

There is great irony in Christians refusing to participate in a human festival because people of another religion have made a grab to appropriate it for themselves.

Please consider taking back your holiday, everybody's holiday, and celebrate Hallowe'en with righteous pride.

My advise....


Listen to your Bible trained conscience! DON'T comprimise. DON'T allow your child to be defiled (spiritually speaking). If you connect the dots, most popular holidays come straight out of ancient Babylon, and we are strongly admonished to GET OUT OF HER (Babylon the Great).

Teach your child to LOVE his creator. Explain WHY Holloween is NOT COOL. He/she will eventually take pride and joy in doing the things pleasing to his God, and will learn to avoid that which could sadden his God.

reply to post by AshleyD


Is your intent to ask your child to devil worship?
Or Is your intent to let your child be a child and play dress up and play with other kids?

YOurr a pretty good chicken Ashley D, I assume its option 2.
You have nothing to worry about here.

So how come you dont celebrate halloween?

Is it against christianity in some way?

I dont, but then again, halloween is more of an american tradition rather than an aussie one

Dressing up as spiderman and going out with friends in not compromising any religion in my opinion.

To deny a child this, is to deny a child of good fun. Period.

Again, in my opinion.

Ashley you know I'm a Christian and I don't see any problem with Halloween. Everything is in the heart and intent in my opinion. We aren't celebrating Halloween these days to practice its roots. It's all in good fun.

Kids like Halloween because they get to dress up in something that represents who they are not or who they would like to be. I don't see anything wrong with dressing up and going out to trick or treat. As long as the kids have correct intent (meaning they aren't practicing paganism which most of them in their young years don't know about anyway), I don't believe there's a conflict with Christianity.

I was raised in a Christian home. We dressed up and went out trick or treating. My child did too and neither one of us turned into pagans...LOL. Society just doesn't make the connection any longer.

But do what feels right to you...not what society dictates.

We let our kids trick or treat, we just don't let them dress up as evil characters. I know there are some bad associations with Halloween, but I think your kids will get out of it what you make of it. It's up to you what association and thoughts they will have about it.

One thing to think about. Their friends at school will be talking about it and sharing their experiences. If you don't give them an experience that you can direct, they will just learn about it through the opinions of their class mates. At the very least I think you should find some sort of Fall or Harvest festival that they can go have fun at. It's not the candy. It's the fun and experience of getting the candy that they remember.

reply to post by AshleyD


Hello Ashley

my mother in law hands out tracts to visitors.

obviously this has a mixed response

david

Here's the pagan perspective on it. (at least this pagan's perspective)

Celebrating All Hallows Eve (Samhain) isn't evil. Dressing up in costume is not devil worship.

Remember, many many Christian holidays are transfigurations of Pagan holidays.

Now I am not saying let your children go to a Pagan festival

But what's wrong with candy?

Candy + Kids = good memories.

axxaxaxa i cant belive,aleluah partyes? and i blamed muslims for being fanatic.
dont worry about this bull****. theres nothing wrong with celebrating halloween and having a good times with your friends,its just a cool day when everyone dresses and have fun..and candy.
if religion has anythng against them...screw them (: