[the OlLine Rebel]

LOL at the anti-American part of this.

I prefer the traditions of 100 years ago when kids did bonfires by themselves. Yes, kids, proving again that they're not as helpless or as in danger as we like to (capitalize on - ask Graco) imagine these days.

[Chickensoup]

Some extreme Christian groups

Like many Catholics? Baptists? Mennonites?

I hate the MSM.

[LongElegantLegs]

I hate Halloween because I have to explain stuff like this mask to my three year old. It's no longer a kid holiday.

[Smogger]

Our forefathers recognized Halloween's association with the occult. The Pilgrims banned celebrating Halloween in America. The ban lasted until 1845." According to that site it was those damned Irish Catholics who raised that tradition from the dead.

The same thinking that led Protestants to ban Christmas because it was "too pagan"

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

This silly opposition to Halloween is what happens when a culture exhalts kill-joys.

[YouPosting2Me]

"Halloween has its origins in superstition..."

It is bad luck to be superstitious!

[linn37]

Just leave the candy in a bucket on the porch.whoooooooooOOOOOOOOOOooooo and nobody will get soaped!

[Tanniker Smith]

My Catholic Church sponsors a Halloween party and a haunted house every year (for the past 6 or 7 years). It provides a safe place for the kids to go. (And the haunted house is NOT for toddlers or the youngest guests. It's for fun.)

When Fr. Frank was still there, he allowed just about any costume that would be appropriate for the age group, but witches, vampires and devils -- while allowed -- were not eligible to win any prices, no matter how good the makeup.

The event usually sells out and good times are had by all.

[RightOnline]

Well, we don't observe it as a family and never have. However, we don't put down or sneer at those who do. To each his own.

[KarlInOhio]

The Objectivist Center & Atlas Society

I'm surprised they don't condemn Halloween as a holiday celebrating the looters making demands on the altruism of the producers (even if the little looters do look cute in their costumes). Would Hank Rearden or Dagney Taggert pass out unearned candy?:-)

[layman]

OK ... OK .... I'll give up Halloween .... but I'm drawing a line in the sand on St. Patrick's day.

[Aquinasfan]

It's always funny to hear atheists moralize.

There ain't no such thing as good and evil. It's all matter in motion, right?

[Smogger]

First, Christmas and Halloween are holidays with both Christian and pagan origins that that have undergone a variety of transformations over the years. The word Christmas is a contraction of “Christ’s Mass” derived from the Old English Cristes mæsse. The earliest that the birth of Christ was attributed to the date December 25th appears in a Roman calendar in A.D. 360. Historians believe that early Catholic religious leaders set Christmas on December 25th. They did so in an attempt to incorporate the idea of Christ’s birth into Roman and European pagan celebrations of the winter solstice that occurred around that time of year. Some of the pagan rituals associated with solstice included special meals, gift giving, and decorating with evergreen, holly, and mistletoe. The Christmas holiday developed further with the legend of St. Nicholas who lived in the 4th century and is believed to have been a bishop in Asia Minor. The feast of St. Nicholas was originally celebrated on December 6th, and gifts were given the night before. Because the feast of St. Nicholas Day and Christmas were so close, the celebrations were eventually combined.

Similarly, Halloween is a “blended” holiday, with both Christian and pagan origins. All Hallows Day is a Catholic Holiday that occurs on November 1st. In the 5th century B.C., the Celtic Ireland summer officially ended on October 31st, and the Celtic New Year on November 1st was called Samhain. Celtics’ believed that the spirits who had died during the year gathered that night either to possess the souls of the living, or to seek their relatives to help them cross over to the land of the dead. Celtics would hollow out turnips and gourds, and use them to carry the spirits to their proper location. They would paint faces on the gourds in order to ward evil spirits away from their relatives’ spirits. Celtics would extinguish all fires in their homes, and dress up in ghoul-like costumes to frighten away evil spirits. The Celtics also believed that on this night faeries would disguise themselves as beggars, and go door to door asking for handouts. If the faeries were turned away they would visit some type of unpleasantness upon the home. Pope Boniface the 4th replaced the old festival of Samhain with the festival of All Saints Day in order to eliminate the pagan ceremony. People, however, continued to celebrate both ceremonies. Finally, Pope Gregory the 3rd decided to change All Saints day so that it always fell on the exact same day as Samhain. By the 1500’s, the two celebrations had merged, and become All Hallows Day, and the evening before had become all Hallows Eve or simply Halloween.

[TigersEye]

Halloween is about candy. Only dentists and dingdongs think that's evil.

[Fawn]

[Savage Beast]

"But in modern times it's developed into a fun day where children dress in ghoulish or cute costumes..."

Mebbee so. But it's still a day to venture into...the Dark Side...

Does anyone think he/she doesn't have...a Dark Side...?

Whoohoohahahahahahahahahaheeheeheeheeheehahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....!

[mysterio]

The people who are opposed to halloween need to take a step back and really ask themselves if they are choosing their battles wisely.

[humblegunner]

Some extreme Christian groups oppose Halloween because the day represents the worship of Satan.

No it doesn't.

Earth-goddess Gia

That's Gaia, you know.