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Dressing children up as Disney's Moana this Halloween is racist, according to one parenting blogger. While parents should also think twice about letting their brood dress up as Elsa from Frozen because her character promotes 'white beauty'. Writing in her popular blog Raising Race Conscious Children, parent blogger activist Sachi Feris urged parents not to dress their children up as characters from backgrounds different to their own as it is 'cultural appropriation.'  Although many would see the strong-minded Moana as a perfect role model for their child, Feris said it's racially insensitive and risks parodying Polynesian culture. Describing her own discussions with her...

Valentine's Day is the first that will pass without notice at Bruce Vento Elementary. Celebrations of Valentine’s Day and the other “dominant holidays” are ending at one St. Paul elementary school, according to a letter from the principal addressed to families. Principal Scott Masini of Bruce Vento Elementary School, whose student body is overwhelmingly nonwhite, explained in the letter that “my personal feeling is we need to find a way to honor and engage in holidays that are inclusive of our student population.” With Valentine’s Day a little more than two weeks away, Masini noted, “I have come to the...

Halloween is around the corner, so you’re expecting a steady train of ghosts, Hollywood heroes, and princesses to knock on your door. Well, brace yourself. Princesses look different these days. The pre-teen and teenage girls who show up are likely to be wearing trampy costumes that say “s-e-x,” rather than “trick or treat.” We all know that girls are being sexualized by the culture at younger and younger ages in their daily wear. But Halloween costumes have taken things to a new low, making our little girls into sex objects even midst what is supposed to be an evening of...

This year Halloween falls on a Sunday, causing some to reconsider traditional celebrations that don't quite fit into usual Sabbath-day activities. But it can be difficult to avoid the holiday known for scary creatures and costumed children begging for candy. So we asked Mormon Times readers how they celebrate Halloween — and how their plans might change with the holiday falling on a Sunday. For some, it's just a matter of moving the ward or branch's fall festival or trunk-or-treat to Friday or Saturday. City officials in a few cities in southern Alberta, Canada...have moved celebrations to Oct. 30 and...

How Halloween Can Be Redeemed by Page McKean Zyromski Halloween has grown into a major secular holiday in American culture. But for those who don’t value devotion to the saints, the Eve has become "hollow" instead of "hallow." The purpose behind it has been lost—like celebrating New Year’s Eve without a New Year’s Day. Take away the saints and our beliefs about the dignity and destiny of human beings, and the only thing left is pre-Christian superstition regarding the dead. Among many Christians, there has been concern that things have gotten out of hand. After all, doesn’t Halloween glorify evil?...

Syracuse University campus security has asked students to report offensive Halloween costumes this year as a part of the S.U. Stop Bias program. The Department of Public Safety at Syracuse, would report offensive costumes and “file a judicial complaint” and “likely require them to remove it.”

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Only two in 10 Swedes say they will celebrate Halloween this year, and Swedish shop owners say that's bad news for them. A study conducted by the Swedish Trade Federation reveals 60 percent of Swedes don't plan on making any special purchases for the holiday this year, The Local reported Friday. In the survey, 46 percent of shop owners said they believe Halloween's importance has decreased. "Even if we accept that Halloween isn't quite as hyped as before, there are still a lot of Halloween-themed shop windows with black and orange decorations," the Trade Federation's Meta Troell...

I am not against children having fun or getting candy; however, why isn’t Halloween a violation of the so-called “separation of church and state?” If someone argues that the children in public schools are oblivious to the religious significance (to Christians, Wiccans and Satanists) of Halloween and are just having fun, then why can’t the same be argued for children participating in a Christmas or Easter party? If the names Christmas and Easter had to be changed to winter break and spring break, then why shouldn’t all references to Halloween also be changed to fall festival — or some other...

Despite their lofty SAT scores and sterling academic credentials, some Northwestern University students apparently need remedial instruction when it comes to selecting appropriate Halloween costumes. In an e-mail sent to the campus late Monday, Dean of Students Burgwell Howard warned against wearing racially or culturally insensitive costumes this weekend. He also discouraged "ghetto," "pimps and hos" and "gangsta" parties at the esteemed Evanston university. "Halloween is unfortunately a time when the normal thoughtfulness and sensitivity of most NU students can be forgotten and some poor decisions are made," Howard wrote. The directive follows a 2009 incident in which two students...

Catholic parents are being advised to celebrate Halloween by dressing up their children as popular saints instead of witches and devils. They should kit out their youngsters to look like St George, St Lucy, St Francis of Assisi or St Mary Magdalene rather than let them wear costumes that celebrate evil or occult figures, according to a campaign endorsed by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. Nor should pumpkins have menacing or scary faces carved into them, according to a website link provided by the bishops’ conference, but must wear smiley expressions and have crosses cut into the foreheads....

All Hallows' Eve Issue: Is the celebration of Halloween a pagan feast? May a Catholic celebrate Halloween in good conscience? What is the history of this popular American holiday?Response: We celebrate Halloween on the evening before All Saints Day. The word itself is a shortened form of "All Hallows’ Eve," which quite literally means "the eve of All Saints." From the earliest days of the Feast of All Saints (mid 700s A.D.), Catholics observed October 31 as the vigil of this November 1 celebration. This feast commemorates the lives of Christians who lived exemplary lives of faith. Pope Sixtus IV...

A Trunk or Treat is a Halloween event that is often church or community-sponsored. People gather and park their cars in a large parking lot. They open their trunks or the backs of their vehicles and decorate them. Then they pass out candy from their trunks. The event provides a safe family environment for trick or treaters.... (see pictures!)

Haunted houses, ghosts, demons—our Western culture can’t seem to get enough of the spirit world. The latest Gallup poll indicates that 42% of Americans believe in demon possession, 37% believe in haunted houses, and 32% believe in ghosts. (Not just Americans are enthralled—40% of the British believe in haunted houses, too.) Though interest in the paranormal is widespread, the majority of people are skeptical. They discount all spirit activity, going so far as to deny the existence of Satan and demons. Atheists stated this view succinctly in a sign they planted next to a manger scene last Christmas at the...

I looked over the Halloween article but I was wondering how to explain that to my eleven year old. Do you have any articles written to children on this?—T.H., U.S. Many people celebrate Halloween without considering the history of the holiday. They put on costumes, attend parties, eat candy, and even pull pranks on neighbors. In fact, Americans spend billions of dollars each year decorating and preparing. But there’s more to Halloween than jack-o-lanterns and scary stories. Let’s take a quick trip back in time to see where some of these customs came from—and if Christians should take part. To...

The Hidden Truth About Halloween: Behind the Mask Does the Bible have anything to say about the strange customs surrounding Halloween? In fact, it does—and none of it is good.While God's Holy Days in the Bible celebrate the role of Jesus Christ in bringing mankind to salvation in the eternal family of God (as explained in the following article and our free booklet God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind), Halloween is a celebration of the opposite—of demonism, witchcraft, death and evil spirits.God's Word makes it clear that no one should dare entertain witchcraft or act...

Does anyone know when it became taboo to celebrate Halloween in public schools? It seems it started in certain private Christian schools that didn't want to celebrate a pagan holiday that involves dressing up like devilish characters. This was new to me with my Catholic up-bringing. Growing up, it was always considered good fun. In fact, I just learned that a Vatican-appointed exorcist in Rome has said, "...to dress up as witches and devils on one night of the year, that is not a problem. If it is just a game, there is no harm in that." Now as practicing Protestants, my husband and I agree that...

Halloween has its origins in superstition and sadly, it invokes old and new superstitions still. Halloween, from "All Hallows Eve," was the evening before the Catholic All Saints Day and was supposed to be haunted by demons jealous of the holy day to follow. It also had roots in prehistoric Celtic mythology. But in modern times it's developed into a fun day where children dress in ghoulish or cute costumes and canvass the neighborhood for candy while adults at masquerade parties imbibe more mature fare. Granted some juveniles get more into the tricks than the treats. And the occasional morbid-Goth...

VULGAR CATHOLIC HALLOWEEN COSTUMES October 29, 2009Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on this season’s Halloween costumes:There are costumes depicting Jesus, priests, nuns, ministers, rabbis and imams, and most of them are innocuous. But there are two costumes that are vulgar, and, as usual, they are designed to offend Catholics: a priest with an erection and a pregnant nun, often sold as a pair. Some immigrant groups are upset about an illegal alien costume, but even those who are complaining don’t say it is vulgar. A mere depiction of Muhammad in a Danish cartoon that was anything but vulgar...

Three dummies hang from a willow tree in Baker Park as part of the City of Frederick Parks and Recreation Department's Halloween program. Guy Djoken, president of the local NAACP, said from a distance the dummies look like dead bodies. He is trying to get the city to remove them. "A dead man hanging in a tree, that takes us back to a dark day we don't want to go back to," Djoken said Thursday. "Whoever did this needs some sensitivity training."

. TV preacher Pat Robertson’s Web site has just issued a bulletin warning Americans of the real threat we face this season: Demons may be lurking in our Halloween candy. In a column on the Christian Broadcasting Network’s Web site, writer Kimberly Daniels asserts that “demons” sneak into bags of Halloween candy at grocery stores. “[M]ost of the candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches,” Daniels wrote. “I do not buy candy during the Halloween season. Curses are sent through the tricks and treats of the innocent whether they get it by going door...