Posted on 10/23/2001 9:38:21 AM PDT by X-Servative
Still, if our schedules were a little different, we probably wouldn't hesitate to let him Trick or Treat in our neighborhood.
Somehow though, the whole concept of ghosts, goblins, skeletons and plastic tombstones seems grossly out of place to me this year.
I'm not afraid of "tainted candy". As a matter of fact,
in the 34 years I've been enjoying Halloween, I've yet to meet
or talk to ONE SINGLE PERSON who received "tainted candy"
Never.
I will, as always inspect carefully everthing my kid gets
If I feel something (like snickers bars) isn't quite right, I confiscate it on the spot. (and eat it)
Oh, and shutting off the lights and closing the drapes to keep the for the 20 something yutes and their middle aged mothers from soliciting candy.
I may end up paying him in Legos... still interested? ;-)
We want to make sure God blesses us during this time of war
/sarcasm>
It is all explained by that renowned theologian, Jack Chick, in his heavily researched tract, BOO!. Before this tract came out, everybody thought Halloween was just a fun holiday. Thanx to Jack Chick, we have learned to be afraid, VERY AFRAID.
Click on the cartoon to see Jack Chick explain in a comix story about the evil satanic force behind Haloween.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hallo_np.htm
some one else mentioned zagnut bars, those are the worst.
In my neighborhood, the parents who walk around with their kids "trick or treat" for beers.
only bad part is having to slow up the group by calling for a "pit stop"
Here's a link from Google - The Origins and History of Halloween
Interesting you mention pumpkins. The article (it's short enough to post) -
Next to Christmas, Halloween is the most commercialized celebration in the United States and Canada. This ancient festival originated far from North America however, and centuries before the first European set foot on the continent.
The ancient Druids who inhabited what we now call Great Britain placed great importance on the passing of one season to the next, holding "Fire Festivals" which were celebrated for three days (two days on either side of the day itself).
One of these festivals was called Samhain (pronounced Sha-Von) and it took place on October 31 through to November 1. During this period, it was believed that the boundaries between our world and the world of the dead were weakened, allowing spirits of the recently dead to cross over and possess the living.
In order to make themselves and their homes less inviting to these wayward spirits, the ancient Celts would douse all their fires. There was also a secondary purpose to this, after extinguishing all their fires, they would re-light them from a common source, the Druidic fire that was kept burning at Usinach, in the Middle of Ireland.
Samhain was considered to be a gateway not only from the land of the dead to the land of the living, but also between Summer and Fall/Winter. For the Druids, this was the last gasp of summer (it was also the Celtic New Year), so therefore they made sure it went out with a bang before they had to button down for the winter ahead.
They would dress up in bizarre costumes and parade through their villages causing destruction in order to scare off any recently departed souls who might be prowling for bodies to inhabit, in addition to burning animals and other offerings to the Druidic deities. It is also a popular belief that they would burn people who they believed to be possessed, but this has largely been debunked as myth.
This yearly festival was adopted by the Roman invaders, who helped to propagate it throughout the rest of the world (and at that time, the Roman Empire was the world). The word "Halloween" itself actually comes from a contraction of All Hallows Eve, or All Saint's Day (November 1), which is a Catholic day of observance in honour of saints.
This tradition was later brought to the North American continent by Irish immigrants who were escaping the Potato Famine in their homeland. In addition to the festival itself, the immigrants brought several customs with them, including one of the symbols most commonly associated with Halloween -- the Jack 'O Lantern.
According to Irish folklore, there once lived a man named Jack who was known for being a drunk and a prankster. One night Jack tricked the devil into climbing a tree, and quickly carved an image of a cross on the trunk, trapping the devil. Jack then made him promise that, in exchange for letting him out of the tree, the Devil would never tempt him to sin again. He reluctantly agreed, but was able to exact his revenge upon Jack's death. Because of his mischevious ways in life, Jack was barred from entering heaven and because of his earlier trick, he was also barred from hell. So he was doomed to wander the earth until the end of time, with only a single ember (carried in a hollowed out turnip) to warm him and light his way.
In Ireland, they originally also used turnips for their "Jack Lanterns", but upon arriving in the new world, they discovered that pumpkins were abundant and easier to carve out.
How true. Also, which commandment is being broken by trick or treating? And I don't want to hear anything about "false idols", unless you plan on lumping the Easter Bunny in there.
:)
Our terrorist enemies want us to engage in unreasoning fear. There are legitimate reasons to be afraid. But letting little kids go trick or treating should not be one of them.
You can still come to my place. BtD is still keeping his time-honored tradition of Cartridges For Kiddies, in the caliber of their choice. One year a cute little nipper kept switching costumes until she had her entire Uzi magazine filled at my expense. The kids these days!
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