we don't pass out candy, and we've decided to not have our kids go trick-or-treating. we, too, struggled with the question, and i don't think we feel passionatly enough to really argue with anyone about it, but that's the choice for us. we're just going to tell our kids that we don't celebrate halloween because it doesn't reflect jesus. maybe when they are older they can learn all the "evil" stuff, but i don't think we'll start there.

also, mike is sooooooo with you on how our holidays are pagan. he doesn't even want to dye eggs... we are at an impass with this one.
 

well, you know how i feel about not wanting to celebrate any holidays...but as Ms. Bah humbug I've felt this for many years and I still end up being forced to celebrate so if anyone is going to argue about about not good holidays are Halloween is the least disguised and the easiest to rid of of. Now, here's something for you to think about...has there ever been a Halloween that you have not celebrated? No probably not. There's always been some costume party you've gone to so why change this year? Why not continue to practice a super fun holiday under the veil of ignorance?
 

u know, i commented more lengthily :) on donna's site....but i REALLY like your question: Can halloween be stopped? i've never heard a God-loving believer express such hope and optimism about the holiday....that is really cool.....also, can't wait for your next post on pagan holidays...i've wrestled with this one and i think i've come up with an understanding that is my own, but i'd like to hear yours.....
 

oh, also, whenever i click on your site, i have to scroll way down to get to the latest post....why is that?
 

I found this to be helpful:

http://www.godandscience.org/
doctrine/halloween.html

- Ken
 

So many holidays have been transformed away from their original meaning. I don't see why you can't teach and educate your kids away from the dark and evil stuff and turn halloween into a fun night where they get to dress up in costume (many for the only time in their lives) and get candy, and meet neighbors many otherwise will never meet.

Ok, nice run on sentence. Anyway, we choose to decorate our home for fall, for harvest. We've been invited to a costume party, which we don't really want to go to, but will anyway. We'll dress up for fun. We won't be celebrating the dead, or the bad. We'll be having a good time with friends.

Oh the fine line between not being uptight and being a moral relativist.
 

I think most people have an auto-block feature any time Hiduism or Buddism or Muslim/Islam are mentioned.
 

And for the record, I think Jason either needs to go as a slutty girl for Halloween, or reinvent the blue bunny suit.
 

Ok, I hereby remove myself from the "Pagans rule" crowd. I had nothing to do with that.
 

The drive-by egging? That I could do.
 

somehow when i imagine jason as a clown i picture what he would like like if he were me. hmmm... ?
 

we don't pass out candy either, however, I do tend to lean on the side of grace when it comes to things like this, as long as I don't see any red flags nearby. And I should mention here that Kimber and I do not meet eye-to-eye on this. As Christ followers I believe we're free to do what's right out of gratitude - not "have to's". I also feel that God does not fear any evil holidays, and nor should we. In fact, I'd love to see Halloween become a costume party of good fellowship and community activities - hmmm. And if I could write the script to get us there, I'd begin by changing the meaning of why we gather on Halloween from something with evil intent to something of fun. In that regard, I feel we're already on our way. Most Americans don't know or care how Halloween started, but see it now as a chance to dress up and have a party together. So where are the real Halloweeners celebrating the TRUE evil meanings of the holiday? They're probably out there, but not in my neighborhood. My neighbors want there kids to get dressed up for a night and have fun laughing at each others costumes, and sharing some candy - and I'd like that idea of Halloween to continue spreading until the occult, yuck stuff is all gone. I'm thinking that's what redemption is about: the restoration of something that went sour, back to something of value to God. Good fellowship, appropriate fun, some games and activities, a party with friends. On any other day, we'd instantly consider these things worthwhile for our relationships. Doing those exact same things on Halloween doesn't suddenly make it evil, does it? So what's the big hoopla about? Well, it's not WHOLLY redeemed yet. So personally, I watch out for red flags. Truly evil activities, and there are those that go on - more than on most days which is one reason we tend to opt out of the day altogether. But do I think there's anything wrong with passing out candy? Nope. Do I think there's anything wrong with my son dressing up as the "Thing" from Fantastic Four, and going to a parent-supervised neighborhood party where we eat a little, laugh a little, talk a little, and go home? Nope. If I'd do it on any other day, I'm not afraid of doing it on Halloween. You won't find me sitting around a Ouiji board, or engaging in anything that actually practices an occult activity, but to go to a party? I'm OK with that, but I must stress that it's taken me a LONG time to get here. Only last year did I even allow my children to go to anything remotely Halloween looking (a neighborhood party), and I've still never passed out any candy. I'm still very selective with what we participate in (again, keeping an eye out for red flags), but I'm much more comfortable with the redemption idea. Jason asked if Halloween can be stopped. I think that Halloween in its evil origins has already begun to fade away - again, not completely yet, but going, going... hopefully someday, gone! You know, if this were a holy holiday, say celebrating Pentacost (the coming of the Holy Spirit in power). If the true meaning of that holy day were sapped from it, and it transformed into a day when we simply dressed up to have fun, we as Christians would probably feel the holiday has lost all purpose and meaning, and that just by participating in the dress up and fun part isn't giving any honor or commemorating Pentacost at all. By that same logic, then participating in a comstume party on Halloween doesn't make us guilty of all the evil origins of the day of the dead, does it? I mean, we're not really attempting to bring dead souls out of the grave by performing rituals in costume? Anyway, here's a list of my red flags (on Halloween or any other day):
Haunted Houses - because they try to instil fear.
Scary movies for the same reason.
Any occult practice like fortune telling, Ouiji board games, casting spells (yes, even just as jokes)
Revealing dress
Drinking parties
Parties where the language becomes inappropriate for little ears. My general guideline is if I don't want my kids to hear it, then I usually don't participate either.
Anyway, this was probably way too much rambling.
 

Holy guacamole. Kelmo just lost her title for Worst Paragraph Ever.

And if Jason goes as a clown, I have a feeling he'll go as that clown-guy that started Krumping in LA.
 

aw! Dang it!
 

I think James helped to save the comments from Sammon.

I'll let everybody know that I'm still processing my decision...but I definitely have not teeter-tottered to either side completely.
 

But you ARE teeter-tottering! Oh, Jason, why must you resort to alcohol to help you make your decisions?


Ok yeah, I know that didn't make sense. How was the cavs game?
 

?
 

Do Weebles not wobble or not fall down?
 

Jason gets mowed down, but he gets up again, you're never gonna keep him down.

Pissin' the night away...
Pissin' the night away...
 

And the verdict is...


drumroll, please...
 

Jason attended the pants party this halloween weekend. The sad thing is that he only invited himself.
 

One last word on Halloween: Whatever you choose to do about tonight, stick with where you're faith is. Since this isn't a straight forward "Thou shalt not..." issue, and it's easy to see you're motivated to please Him, I don't think you can go wrong either way. Have a great evening, and God bless!
 

This comment has been removed by the author.
 

Halloween's "evil-ness" has very little to do with the fact that it has pagan origins. The two biggest christian holidays, Christmas and Easter, follow the exact same pattern as Halloween in that they are the infusion of christian rituals into a preexisting pagan festivals.

The question is, why do people tend to ignore the church version of Halloween, but tend to follow a more bible-centered version of Christmas and Easter?

I think there are many reasons, all mutually reinforcing. First, Halloween is FUN. Remembering mass-murdering, anti-semite Saints as proscribed by the corrupt papacies of the past is a hypocritical drudgery that cannot compete with the sheer joy that one derives from the festivities of Halloween. Costumes bring out creativity, mystery, and give us a chance to see the world from a new perspective while also being looked on in a novel way by our peers.

There is also the fact that the pagan rituals in honoring the dead simply resonate much more with the human psyche than the mind-numbing 'don't-think-about-death-just-believe-and-go-to-heaven' ideology of biblethumping mind-control advocates.

Finally, there is also the simple fact that the pagan-ness of Halloween is simply more noticeable, like a tiny bread crumb stuck in the corner of someone's mouth. It's no big deal until someone draws attention to it, but then, you can't stop worrying about it. Christmas and Easter (especially Easter) are embarassingly full of pagan symbols and rituals. Only Jerry Fallwell rarely got his panties in a wad talking about the evils of Easter Eggs and Christmas Trees. Skeletons and Devils and all things related to death are more easily demonized.

So if you are thinking about whether to pass out candy on Halloween, just be fully aware that the thought processes that have induced such an unease are entirely a result of the actions of very powerful men who sought to expand empires, gain power, and achieve personal glory. They achieved this by MURDERING pagans, USURPING their religious festivals, and DEMONIZING the rituals and beliefs that allowed people who were around long before Christians to make sense of the world.

If you truly follow Jesus, you should worry more about taking responsiblity for the long history of war, intolerance and genocide that the christianized version of pagan holidays represents. Pass out some candy. Leave some milk outside the door for the restless dead. Wear a mask and go to a party. The amount of evil that you can possibly do by reenacting these ancient rituals is ZERO, especially next to the unrelenting and continuing evil that has been done in the name of christianity by exactly the same individuals and institutions that redefined Halloween as a day to commemorate "saints".

If Jesus' ideas about compassion and love are too much for you, go ahead and follow the example of Constantine, making rules for others to obey in order to help produce a like-minded, diversity-intolerant society. Constantine, a pagan, author of the Apostle's Creed and the one who decided that a device of torture should serve as the primary symbol of the christian religion. Constantine, whose twisted version of christianity he used not as a tool for fellowship, but as a weapon of oppression and war.

If you are really worried about engaging in immoral rites, go directly to your church and take down the cross hanging over the altar. Start questioning the "truth" as proscribed by a pagan Roman emperor (Rome was Jesus' primary enemy, remember), stop obsessing over Jesus' death and alleged virgin birth and start celebrating his life and teachings. And, dammit, buy a costume and celebrate Halloween! Think of it as the first step in atoning for the sins of the church against our now extict pagan brothers.