Posted on 10/29/2014 6:06:11 PM PDT by lifeofgrace
Every year, my family and I face the same dilemma. The last time either of us participated in Halloween has to be at least 10 years ago. We have made a decision to abstain from Halloween celebrations, including all the TV specials, candy, and trick-or-treat associated with it. I’m not against dressing up in costumes, or candy, or fun. I and my wife simply oppose the values that go along with Halloween—the celebration of darkness, horror, fear, and mayhem.
I wrote a rather long piece about Halloween and why we believe what we believe, and posted it on my blog in three parts (it’s almost 4,000 words)…scroll to the bottom of this post for the inks. I got quite a bit of feedback on the blog and on social media, most of it negative. Here’s the general theme of the comments: Halloween is fun, therefore my being against Halloween is being against fun. The conclusion: if I am against Halloween fun, then I must be against all kinds of fun and therefore no fun to be around.
That’s a leap across a logical crevice too wide for me to safely arrive at the conclusion.
To be clear: Halloween is fun. In my posts, I never said it wasn't. So is gambling, sex with strangers, getting drunk (not necessarily being drunk), telling filthy jokes, swearing every other word, and lighting bags of dog poop on your worst enemy's doorstep then ringing the doorbell.
There are all kinds of fun, and each kind of fun has consequences. Fun has a price. Halloween celebrates darkness, death, fear, and mayhem. Those things might be fun to some, and in our culture which has been so inoculated to these values they seem harmless.
Every 'R' rated movie features all the kinds of fun I listed above, and though we might find them abhorrent when we put ourselves in the picture, we accept them perfectly well when others are doing it on the big screen. Our kids grow up baptized in this stuff, so Halloween seems like quaint good old fashioned fun in comparison.
If you separate yourself from the 'R' (and even 'PG13') rated culture, it takes a while for the garbage to wash off, and even longer for the smell to go away. But once there, you see how far we've slipped into the mound of filth every day.
Halloween is fun, alright, but if you take a step back and look at what values we're teaching our kids, you'll see how ruinous our path is. The only option is to turn around. I love fun. I love good clean fun. The beach, the sun, picnics in the mountains, going to the mall, even going to movies. But most movies are too debased for me to sit through. You might say that's because I'm a fun-hating prude, but I say it's because I've had a chance to wash the stink off me for a while, and if you don't realize it, you may be so surrounded by that stench that you can't even smell it anymore.
Halloween ruins children. It's not the only thing that ruins children, and in fact it's pretty minor compared with the tidal wave of filth in which most of us wallow. Sometimes it's more effective to look at the quaint little bad habits than the life-controlling ones, because it's easier to break those little bad habits, and so it is with Halloween.
Many churches replace the Halloween celebration with their own “trunk or treat” or “harvest festival”. As an evangelistic tool, it’s great to reach people for Christ in any way possible, including through popular culture. I am on the fence (but leaning against) the church taking a non-Christian celebration that stands in opposition to Biblical values and replacing it with a look-alike (candy, dressing up, bats and pumpkins) but also introducing the Gospel. Many times it pulls the faithful into the world more than it draws the unchurched to Christ.
For those who simply can’t step away from Halloween, I respect your opinion, and hope you can respect mine. Here’s the links to the original series.
Years ago I went with My wife to a store that specializes in Christmas decorations year - round. They always had a small seasonal section for the current holiday as well. One year I noticed that it was early October, yet there was no halloween stuff on sale. I asked a sales clerk why. Her snide answer: “We don’t celebrate PAGAN holidays in this store!” I laughed to myself, looked at her and said “well in that case you might want to start taking down all of these trees in here”. To which she replied “wait, what?”. I then said “Look, I don’t have time to explain it to you lady but I’ll give you a word that will explain it. The word is ‘druid’- look it up”. I then walked away leaving a very bewildered sales clerk in my wake. Trust me on this one, Satan has a lot bigger fish to fry than the controversy stirred up each year by halloween.
CC
That's just a function of "helicopter parenting". It's very safe for the kids to go out on Halloween collecting candy. Probably safer than it was years ago.
Do you think Jews who don’t celebrate Christmas and Easter should leave too?
Or maybe it’s okay for people not to celebrate a holiday they don’t want to celebrate? They are hurting nobody
Goodness what is wrong with you? You suddenly have become very anti-American. So dang shocking. I am so frustrated with you. Are you turning into a bleeding heart or something? Seriously something is wrong lately.
I respect the opinion. We just give kids candy, joke with them, get them laughing, smiling, and having fun. But that ‘s just us.
Why do you think being anti-satanic “holiday” is unAmerican?
Ebola pumpkin! Ebola pumpkin! Awwwwww..... Do I really need aa s tag?
I don’t find it satanic. I find it fun! We are taking all the fun out of everything. Thank God I am not a kid anymore. Liberals are destroying everything and conservatives are following right in line sadly.
And they look forward to reposting his original 4,000 word blog entry about not celebrating Halloween every year.
Bill Cosby was right when he called trick or treating organized begging.
Have you ever been in a coven on Halloween? Trust me, the “celebration is as old as dirt and satanic.
I gave up on Halloween over 20 years ago. After giving out candy for most of the evening, I realized that NOT ONE of the kids, or the parents with them, said thank you.
Lame! You are not supposed to expect anything when giving away things. Heck even the Bible says that. You were doing it for self gratification and then took your toys home when the kids didn’t kiss your buttocks......with that pressure the kids are better off.
A coven is a gathering of witches. Where did you think Halloween came from? Witches, ghosts, ghouls......it’s roots are satanic. Dear one, I’ve been there. It’s not an innocent “holiday” (holiday=holy day)
I cannot remember a child not saying thank you when I gave them candy at Halloween.
May be because of the neighborhood I live in, don’t know, but almost to a person they are all very respectful and say thank you.
Most of their parents are on the side walk or just off the porch saying ‘say thank you ____’ if they didn’t say it on their own.
Boring writer.
Right you are FRiend.
We have a few people on this board who apparently misheard Christ's words about "salt and light" and believe instead that they are called to be vinegar and water.
I think the Word also says something about not conforming to this world.
anti-America?
Allowing people the choice on celebrating Halloween is anti-American?
I grew up on Long Island, N.Y., and as a kid, our public school gave out those damn little orange cardboard boxes with a roof on top.
When we kids rang a doorbell, we had to say, “Trick or Treat for UNICEF!” Besides giving us candy, the homeowner would put pennies in the little coin slot on our UNICEF box.
We handed the boxes into the school, and a few days later the principal or some other person would come on the school’s intercom and inform the classes how much money was collected for UNICEF. Having the kids shill for the UN at a young age! This was in the 1960’s.
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