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Halloweenies -- The ghouls of political correctness take the fun out of being a kid
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | Saturday, November 01, 2003 | Francine E. Rose

Posted on 11/01/2003 12:12:30 PM PST by Willie Green

Edited on 04/13/2004 2:35:23 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

Halloween is over, but I can still see beaming ghosts and goblins, witches and sorcerers, monsters and hip-hop stars parading around outside my local elementary school yesterday. They were the lucky kids; many schools offered only "harvest celebrations" yesterday.

The harvest celebrators saw Halloween as someone else's holiday. When my children were in preschool, both Jewish and Christian schools objected to Halloween. The Jewish preschool teachers explained to me, a Christian, that Halloween celebrated a Christian holiday, All Saint's Day. Though I grew up Catholic, this was news to me, but OK, no Halloween party in Jewish preschool. One year later, in a Christian preschool: no Halloween party because Halloween was a devil-worshipping, Satanic holiday.


(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: halloween; pc
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To: Willie Green
About 25. More than half eere over 12. KitKats and Reeses fro the kids with costumes, store brand cinnamon discs for those without.
41 posted on 11/01/2003 2:20:35 PM PST by stands2reason (REWARD! Tagline missing since 10/21. Pithy, clever. Last seen in Chat. Sentimental value.)
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To: nmh; Willie Green
Celts gave Halloween its spooky start more than 2,000 years ago
Las Vegas Review Journal | 10/28/03 | Carolina Chacon
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1010488/posts
[ As Christianity spread, however, Samhain changed. Christians allowed the Celts to keep the celebration, but gave the time a new name and purpose. Instead of being a day to be frightened by the dead and the supernatural, Samhain would be celebrated on Nov. 1 to honor all saints. The day was rechristened All Saints' Day.
The day before, Oct. 31, became All Hallows Eve; "hallow" refers to anything holy or saintly. After some time, the name became shortened to Halloween.
Christians also added one more day, All Souls' Day, on Nov. 2, for the living to remember and pray for the dead. ]
42 posted on 11/01/2003 2:23:50 PM PST by LibertyAndJusticeForAll
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To: mountaineer
Everyone in my subdivision wanted to know what Terry Hanratty was handing out. There was one house where the folks had the kids come in for cider. I tried it once, but it seemed unnaturally fizzy for a non-alcoholic drink - maybe they were trying to poison us! Yikes!

The Isaly's lived 5~6 streets over from my neighborhood.
(I think they must've been either 2nd or 3rd generation from the founders.)
Anyway, Klondike bars would melt if you dropped 'em in your bag with the rest of the goodies...
So you had to eat 'em as you went around to extort goodies from the other neighbors.
It was often too cold to be eating ice cream, and it got awful sticky on the inside of our plastic masks. But we sure didn't care, life was GOOD!

;^)

43 posted on 11/01/2003 2:24:03 PM PST by Willie Green (Go Pat Go!!!)
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To: nmh
It's derived from a Celtic festival and maybe because it was the Irish who brought it over you've got the impression that it was somehow a Roman Catholic holiday. Nope, it goes way back to what a Scottish friend of mine used to call the "ne days". I've done the research as a) I'm a Celt and b) Halloween is my birthday.

Bugga bugga bugga!

44 posted on 11/01/2003 2:26:18 PM PST by katana
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To: nmh
Today's Halloween comes from the Irish, whose Celtic ancestors celbrated Samhain. Catholicism has nowt to do with it.
45 posted on 11/01/2003 2:27:57 PM PST by stands2reason (REWARD! Tagline missing since 10/21. Pithy, clever. Last seen in Chat. Sentimental value.)
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To: BOOTSTICK
LOL, even loaded down we could run pretty fast, so we usually avoided the water balloons.

I'm originally from Baldwin. We used to trick or treat without the 'rents from a pretty early age. I was in charge of watching out for my sister (I'm 3 years older). Sometimes my parents would make her stay in when we came to dump candy at the midpoint of the "harvest" but let me go back out again. That used to make her mad so she'd eat my candy while I was gone....

LQ
46 posted on 11/01/2003 2:31:42 PM PST by LizardQueen
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To: Pan_Yans Wife
Something is going on...

In 2000 we had 97 kids call...
In 2001, 30 kids; fallout and fear from 911, I suspect.

2002 we had 45.
This year, 67.

And there seem to be more kids than ever in the neighborhod, which is quiet and relatively trouble free.

47 posted on 11/01/2003 2:32:52 PM PST by Publius6961 (40% of Californians are as dumb as a sack of rocks.)
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To: Willie Green
Only 12 in the cold and rain came to my door (about the same as the last 2 years).
My mom had the usual crowd (~70) in an unburned suburb of L.A., despite the rain. Same neighborhood had 200+ decades ago.
48 posted on 11/01/2003 2:33:27 PM PST by LibertyAndJusticeForAll
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To: csvset; Willie Green
Any of yours say, "treat or treat" ----none of mine did.
49 posted on 11/01/2003 2:33:57 PM PST by stands2reason (REWARD! Tagline missing since 10/21. Pithy, clever. Last seen in Chat. Sentimental value.)
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To: stands2reason
Any of yours say, "treat or treat" ----none of mine did.

Most did. Those that didn't got a single piece of candy. Those that did it with vigor rcv'd Tootsie Pops or Blow Pops in addition to other candy.

50 posted on 11/01/2003 2:39:42 PM PST by csvset
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To: nmh
What is practiced in THIS country, the U.S. is a twisted Catholic import.

No, the custom came to THIS country with the Irish.
It is NOT a Roman Catholic custom.
If it were, it would have come with Catholic immigrants of other nationalities as well. It did not. I suggest that YOU become more familiar with history.

51 posted on 11/01/2003 2:40:13 PM PST by Willie Green (Go Pat Go!!!)
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To: Willie Green
Busy night in my neighborhood. 5 bags of candy gone...hadda turn the light out. My 5 year old princess filled up her bag nicely too :) A;ll the kids were local too...and in costume...loved every minute of it!

Best moment....right after I ran out of candy, a little toddler showed up with her father...she in a cute little bumble bee outfit. They were asian, and the father had a heavy, limited english style accent. I knelt down to tell the little girl I was sorry, I was out of candy, looked up and saw the father waving a peice of candy over and behind her head. I mouthed "thank you", sneaked the candy away and showed it to the little bee as I dropped it in her bag. My reward was a BIG smile, as I wished the father and daughter a very happy Halloween as he took her by the hand, smiled, and walked over to the next house.

PC aint won yet guys....childhood is NOT dead so long as fathers like that exist!
52 posted on 11/01/2003 2:40:25 PM PST by FreeperinRATcage (I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for every thing I do. - R. A. Heinlein)
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To: katana
Wish you a belated Happy Birthday! katana

This reply is to katana and other confused hecklers of why we do not celebrate Halloween. There is nothing to celebrate unless you are born that day - i.e. katana.

I repeat it is a Catholic import to the U.S.. I'm surprised that people don't know that.

Many Christians celebrate holidays, such as Halloween, without thinking about their origins or true meaning. It is impossible to separate Halloween from the Druids because they originated the "holiday."

For several hundred years before Christ, the Celts inhabited what is now France, Germany, England, Scotland and Ireland. Celtic priests were called Druids. These people were eventually conquered by the Romans.

Information about the Celts and Druids comes from Caesar and the Roman historians, Greek writings from about 200 B.C., and very early records found in Ireland. Greek and Roman writings about the Druids dwell heavily on their frequent and barbaric human sacrifices. The ancient Irish texts say little about human sacrifices, but detail the Druids' use of magic to raise storms, lay curses on places, kill by the use of spells, and create magical obstacles.

Davies, however, a 16th century writer who traced his family lineage directly back to Druid priests who fought against Caesar, clearly describes the human sacrifices of his ancestors and the secret sacrifices still performed regularly by the Druids of his time.

By 47 A.D., Rome finally defeated the Druids in England and outlawed human sacrifices. The few remaining Druids went underground.

Today a growing group of people claiming to be of direct Druid descent, still practice their religion, including human sacrifice. Those in England still perform ceremonies at Stonehenge.

October 31st was celebrated by the Druids with many human sacrifices and a festival honoring their sun god and Samhain, the lord of the dead. They believed that the sinful souls of those who died during the year were in a place of torment, and would be released only if Samhain was pleased with their sacrifices.

Irish records tell of the fascination the Catholic monks had with the powerful Druids, and Druids soon became important members of their monasteries. Pope Gregory the Great decided to incorporate the Druids' holiday into the church. He made the proclamation, "They are no longer to sacrifice beasts to the devil, but they may kill them for food to the praise of God, and give thanks to the giver of all gifts for His bounty." Pope Gregory III moved the church festival of October 31st to November 1st and called it All Hallows or All Saints' Day. Pope Gregory IV decreed that the day was to be a universal church observance. The term Halloween comes from All Hallows Eve.

The founding fathers of America REFUSED to permit the holiday to be observed because they knew it was a pagan holiday. Halloween was NOT widely celebrated in the U.S. until about 1900. In the 1840's there was a terrible potato famine in Ireland which sent thousands of Catholic Irish to America. They brought Halloween with them.

The modern custom of going from door to door asking for food and candy goes back to the time of the Druids. They believed that sinful, lost souls were released upon the earth by Samhain for one night on October 31st while they awaited their judgment. They were thought to throng about the houses of the living and were greeted with banquet-laden tables. People greatly feared these spirits and thought that the spirits would harm and even kill them if the sacrifices they gave did not appease Samhain. They carved demonic faces into pumpkins or large turnips, placing a candle in them to keep the evil spirits away from their homes.

The tradition of bobbing for apples and giving out nuts came from a Roman addition to the Druidic New Year’s eve. The Romans worshiped Pomona who was the goddess of the harvest. They combined their harvest festival to Pomona with Halloween.

Very little archeological evidence of the Druids has been found, but there is excellent agreement between the Roman and Irish documents. Both clearly state that the knowledge of the Druids was never committed to writing but passed from generation to generation by oral teaching. This was to protect their secrets. In his writings, Davies indicates that he came under much persecution by his family for putting in writing his information about Druids. The same is true today. Nothing is put into writing. The Druids continue on secretly with much the same traditions.

The widespread problem of harmful substances such as razor blades, drugs, poisons, needles, etc. being placed in the Halloween treats here in America is no accident. Testimonies of several ex-Satanists show that these children killed and injured by the "treats" are sacrifices to Satan (or Samhain). Satanists throughout the world continue to perform human sacrifices on Halloween.

References: Celebrations - The Complete Book of American Holidays, Robt. J. Myers, (Doubleday & Co., 1972). The Famous Druids, A. L. Owen, (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1962). The American Book of Days, George William Douglas, (H.W. Wilson Co., 1948).

This is WHY we DO NOT celebrate Halloween. Hey if you want to - knock yourself out - celebrate whatever makes you happy.

53 posted on 11/01/2003 2:46:20 PM PST by nmh
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To: stands2reason
Any of yours say, "treat or treat" ----none of mine did.

The older ones did.
The younger ones were still "in training" and needed a little parental guidance and coaching. (I didn't penalize any of 'em for failing to make the grade. In fact, the more timid little ones got a little extra bonus to help them figure out it wasn't really all that terrible of an ordeal.)

54 posted on 11/01/2003 2:47:45 PM PST by Willie Green (Go Pat Go!!!)
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To: GOPrincess
I just did a search and you are correct
55 posted on 11/01/2003 3:07:12 PM PST by Kaslin
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To: Willie Green
Well I suppose that coercive uniformity is the ultimate goal of political correctness. Either EVERYBODY has to do it, or NOBODY is permitted. Can't allow people the freedom to do their own thing, don't ya know?!?

You are so right.

56 posted on 11/01/2003 3:15:44 PM PST by Salman (Mickey Akbar)
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To: Willie Green
In fact, the more timid little ones ..

Spiderman costumes were very popular with the toddlers.

One little Spidey had his eyes set on the whole bowl and actually grabbed a hold of it.

His dad and I got a good laugh out of that. Another Spidey tyke saw of our dogs and was ready to abandon Trick or Treating in hopes of befriending the dog.

57 posted on 11/01/2003 3:19:10 PM PST by csvset
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Francine Rose describes my childhood to a "T" Its as if I grew up in the TriRiver area of the midwest in the 60s-70s.....Oh ya I did!!

Thankfully!!

Kids need to experiance independance, It teaches them more than any Do Gooder ever could.

58 posted on 11/01/2003 3:19:21 PM PST by mylife
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To: Willie Green
Same thing here: We had a grand total of 37 kids stop by-most of them little ones ( with watchful parents on the sidewalk). Typically we have at least twice that number-plus older kids racing the curfew to grab a few goodies.

It was a beautiful,clear, warm night, and there hadn't been any untoward incidents involving children in this area in quite a long time.

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
59 posted on 11/01/2003 3:19:35 PM PST by genefromjersey (So little time - so many FLAMES to light !!)
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To: Willie Green
"Funny" that in more "conservative" times...children were safe on the streets, and unafraid to eat food given to them by total strangers.

Muttly also notices how many self-labelled "liberals" actually raise their children in "conservative," almost Victorian ways....then scratch their heads about what went wrong with the world, compared to their own, much more free and safe childhoods.

Then they vote against what they themselves do, and want.

"He who controls communications, controls the world." - Adolf Hitler
60 posted on 11/01/2003 3:27:50 PM PST by PoorMuttly ("You cannot be a victim and a hero." - Hon. Clarence Thomas)
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