Halloween

If you want the truth, no. It's pagan. But God made a catch 22. The source of Halloween is the same as that for Christmas. So while we rationalize Christmas, it's a tad hypocritical to not let the kids have their fun. You can let your kids stop celebrating Halloween when all the adults give up Christmas. Either that, or let them celebrate it. Can't have one and not the other.

 

We didn’t, but neither did we ignore the little ones who came to the door.

We do attempt to live at peace with all, including neighbors.

 

I haven’t a trunk, but would a good texas truck work?

 

Decades ago, I learned these words for a birthday song. It is sung to the tune of the Volga boat song.

Here is a different version to give the idea: Birthday Dirge (Happy Birthday?)

We sung,

"It's your birthday,
So happy birthday.
Misery, misery fills the air,
People dying everywhere.
But it's your birthday,
So happy birthday."

A bit of a change for your older teen.

 

Yes, we open the church to the community, pass out candy. decorate some of the rooms with a non-spooky deco.

HankD

 

Quit doing Halloween after 12 years old. And do at times either go to church Halloween Alternative. It is my least favorite holiday. Only love the candy. Tisk Tisk!

 

No Halloween activity at all either at my church or my household.

It isn't the major cultural event here in Australia as it appears in the Northern Hemisphere.
I didn't even get any kids doorknocking for treats last year.

 

There is only One Hallowed--His Name is Jehovah.

Conformity to the world has killed many churches.

Aw, come on, a little bit of sin won't hurt. It is probably not sin anyway.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Bro. James

 

In the bible, King Jeroboam created this feast day on the 15th day of the 8th month, likened to the feast in Judah (which was Tabernacles) so that the Israelites there would not celebrate in Jerusalem with the Jews. The 15th of any month is always full moon. He was afraid they would defect over to Judah and lose control. He made two rather convenient points of worship revolving around the calf which BTW, the moon was in Taurus when it was full.

Fast forward. This does not prove Halloween came from that, but I believe the coincidences are in place enough to take a second look. After all, who is credited with that holiday? The Celts which were associated with Jeroboam, and the fact we have these "full moon" themes in Halloween. I have yet to see a Halloween picture of a witch flying across a half lit moon. Maybe they sometimes use a crescent to make it look like horns. Did I say horns? Hmmmmm. A bull has horns, too. Indeed, the 8th month falls around the full moon in October. Later on the Celts and other societies as well adopted a solar calendar and fixed the day to October 31st. They have 8 Sabbaths a year (instead of the biblical 7) and the weekly Solar Sabbath (the day of the sun) is the 8th day of the week, also the first day of the week. Just sayin'.

 

So, even if it did not come from Jeroboam, the point is I likened it to his abominable holiday. So just because it did not come from him makes it any less abominable? That's my point.

As for Celts, yes there is a connection. Lost house of Israel (from Jerobaom's Kingdom) migrated ---> some became Galatians --> forerunner of the Celts. So yes I have a very straight face understanding that. This is a subject in itself but a connection to Jeroboam. The bible states Israel kept some of their abominable practices as they migrated.

BTW, I live in the Philadelphia area and made the claim that Israel is Northeast of me as the true direction and shortest distance. Were you the one who said "by no stretch of the imagination it's in that direction" as well? Well, I don't make such claims by a stretch of the imagination any more than I make claims of the Celts with tongue-in-cheek. I wish people would do more than 5 minutes of study before using catch phrases to laugh a guy like me off. I proves nothing except substitute lack of knowledge with one-liners. I did do a study of this subject.

 

No. When we were children we never heard of it
We used to go to France at that time, a few years ago. Because there was no mention of it. Then it arrived suddenly, one year we went into a store and there it was, A big black gazebo filled with Coca Cola. Pumpkins and all the other nonsense. I picked up a pair of children's slippers, and as I squeezed the toe, it said "Happy Halloween" in a terrible American accent.

The French traditionally make much more of November 1st, the "Day of the Dead" They visit the graves of their ancestors and place Chrysanthemum plants on them. Here it is quite normal to give some body a bunch of chrysanthemums, but in France you just don't It is considered that you are wishing them dead.

Some churches carry out outreach at that time handing out tracts, etc,

 

Yeah, the Nixon White House was much more corrupt than the church of Satan.

 

Church here does a "Harvest Festival" thing at the church, it is one of the bigger events of the year as far as outreach to the neighborhood with 6-7 hundred kids coming and going. The games are Fall games with little to no reference to ghosts or black cats, but the church staff does dress up in costume (and some are scary related).

We turn our lights off, but not so much because we don't care for kids getting a treat, but because kids often now days are destructive. Egging and soap are common place and hard to clean up after. I used to order glow sticks (that made bracelets, ordered in bulk were less than a dime each) but after getting hit with over 400 kids one year it became too much.