Halloween

There are many who see it as a harmless diversion. I am not one of those. I used to be, and then, when my children were small, I started finding out more about it and what the history of it is, and what it actually is a celebration of. At that point we opted out entirely.

I'm not up for celebrating death, ghouls, horror, etc., no matter how innocently the children are dressed up as princesses or whatever. All that candy is terrible for them anyway!

I don't see ANY redeeming features in this 'holiday' whatsoever. The fact that the world is making it more and more a month-long 'celebration' rather than a one or two day deal should be telling us something right there.

 

I agree with Helen. Also, we do not compromise with a "Fall Festival" on that day.

 

You mean celebrating evil isn't supposed to be good clean Christian fun!!!

 

I agree with Helen. My dad would always take me trick-or-treating when i was little upto about 10-11 years old. I understand now that its a terrible holiday because Halloween is Satan's holiday and I dont want to be any part of that. Besides you never know if the candy is bad and you never know what you may be up against when you go up to a door of a house. Passing out candy is encouraging the holiday. Instead of passing out candy you should, in my opinion, pass out tracks that have God's gospel on them.

 

In Christian book stores around here they have candy with verses in them.

 

October 31st was never intended to be "satans holiday". It is the eve prior to "All Saints Day" which was intended to proclaim the Gospel over the superstitions of ghosts and goblins. "All Hallows Eve" (where we get Halloween) was intended as a Christian holiday. I believe it is harmless, if the correct intent is used. I see nothing wrong with kids dressing up and going trick or treating. It is not like they are edifying satan by doing this, regardless of the pagan origin. God uses all things for His glory, Halloween included. While we are at it, why celebrate Thanksgiving? The pilgrims were "unequally yoked" with the pagan American indians.

 

This is the day the Lord has made, it is only satans hoilday if he give it to him. And he has no right to it, Oct 31 is a day God created, it is His day, not satans. Celebrating 'halloween' is acknowledging it as satans day, but not doing anyhitng is acknowledging it as satans day also.
Are we to combat evil by doing nothing?
Is that what a solider does in battle? And we are in battle, constant spiritual battle.

 

How? It was not intended to even be regarded as "satans day".

 

I agree with all of this except for maybe "celebrating halloween is acknowledging it as satans day." That I'm not sure about and yes I've looked into the holiday many times and have gone back and forth on this in my mind.
Amen, we are in a constant spiritual battle!

 

God can use all things for His glory. Fall Festivals and celebrations can be a wonderful time to reach people that would otherwise never be reached.

Halloween is only a celebration of Satan if YOU make it such. More Christians have "spread the word" that Halloween should be viewed as a Satanic Holiday than any other group has. That is sad too.

As a child it was nothing more to me or my friends than a chance to play dress up without being mocked, and a chance to get candy.

My family works Church Harvest Festivals on this date. We give out candy wrapped in scripture, and we invite kids who would never set in foot a church to join us at church.

 

Agreed, All Hallows Eve is the day before the Christian holiday All Hallows or All Saint's Day which is like Rememberance Day for Christian Saints like the Disciples and the Early Church Fathers.

Oct 31 is also co-incidentally the eve of the Celtic/Druid new year, Samhain day, and our modern secular celebration of Halloween has many influences from this tradition as well. Samhain also marks the end of summer and the beginning of winter. Samhaim is the Irish word for November.

Satanists, a recent phenomenon, have assigned Halloween as a significant day in their religion, probably because of the focus on the dead and spirits of that day from other groups.

[ October 15, 2005, 05:26 PM: Message edited by: Gold Dragon ]

 

If we give up every holiday because someone else tries to make it less about Christ we'll have no holidays.

They've already tried to hijack Christmas and Easter.

 

Halloween is just as scriptural as Christ-massssss and Ishtar.

 

"Whatsoever is not of faith-----------is sin", Paul the apostle, circa 65 A.D.

He also wrote: "A little leaven, leavens the whole lump".

Selah,

Bro. James

 

If you folks have any doubts about the 'innocuousness' of Halloween, go look at what MOST of the costumes are of in any of the stores right now. Go look at what is being emphasized and encouraged.

That is a lot different from Christmas and Easter!

 

TexasSky, I agree!

Our church has fall festival. Everyone has lots of fun and we reach many children in the community and yes, it does bring them to church on Sunday.

It is too dangerous for children to go trick or treating in most neighborhoods anymore so the churches are offering a safe place.

It is up to us to teach our children the aspects of Halloween that are wrong.

 

Not everyone buys the scary or evil looking stuff. In fact 99% of people I know or talk to don't.

Very true.

 

Halloween is what you make, or don't make, of it.

The principle to use is the same one in "meat sacrificed to idols".

Celebrating occult symbology is wrong. Sending kids around to collect a bit of candy is not.

Christmas trees had origins in paganism too, yet many Christians have those because they have made it something else.

 

Hmmm, I was wondering when someone would ask. There are ususally several threads about it every year. This is the frst one I've seen this year, and only two weeks beforehand (usually, they're a month or so before).

Halloween as practiced in the US today no longer carries with it anything other than secular meaning. As it it practieced in current form (kids dressing up and going door to door to collect candy) is something I have no problem with, spiritual or otherwise. My youngest son will be dressing up and doing likewise. So if you see a 4 foot tall clone trooper at your door, be nice to him

Now, other Christian parents are welcome to abstain if they choose. That's their right. I won't point the righteous finger at them, so I hope they won't do the same towards me. Let each be convinced in his own mind.

BTW, a clone trooper's favorite candy is KitKat.

Thankful brings up a good point. One of the reasons I always make sure I've got candy at the door is because I will know that the kids who get candy from me are getting something safe. This will be the first in my neighborhood, since I only recently moved here. But in my last neighborhood, the kids knew which doors were trustworthy.

I think it might be wrong if it's not KitKat. The fun-size ones.