Your thoughts on Halloween , yes, no or maybe ?

by Finkelstein 48 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  LisaRose

  I am totally for it. It's a big deal in my neighborhood, we get 600 trick or treaters on average. Their aren't actually many children here, but it has gotten a reputation as a good place to trick or treat, so we have just gone with it. We decorate and wear costumes and sit on our porch and hand out candy. My husband and I are minions this year. We love seeing the little ones in their costumes.

  I think the scary aspect of it is fine, you are showing your kids that things can look scary, but they are just pretend, it's a way for them to confront their fears and learn to deal with them, I think it fills a need. Of course if you have a fearful child you just don't take them out at night, there are plenty of daytime activities for the little ones. I can tell you that every child I see is having a really, really good time.

  As for the candy, I don't think something you do once a year is going to harm you, it's the day to day sugar consumption that will do you in. being able to indulge once a year is one of the fun things about it. We keep buying more and more candy hoping to have a few left, but that hasn't happens yet, we spent $60 on candy this year.
• 

  rebel8

  I love Halloween. The neighborhood bonds and we have a good laugh. It's amusing to go out to a bar in costume too--it breaks the ice and gives a reason to strike up conversations with strangers.

  It's pure fun. Life is hard. Having a few laughs is awesome.
  

  I don't like being scared myself and would not go to haunted houses so people can scare me. I wouldn't startle others either.
  

  I do have some spooky decorations. Life is spooky. It's ok if we make light of that. It's kind of empowering to mock death.

  There is no such thing as demons or ghosts, so that part is just for laughs.
  
• 

  rebel8

  Also, those scumbags that put drugs, pins, and razor blades in products to be handed out as treats ought to be tried and then tortured.

  Most of that is made up.
  
• 

  Finkelstein

  Halloween has little relevance to paganism as it is cerebrated today, one can say it has roots of pagan practices and traditions but its not celebrated upon those ancient practices anymore.

  Its mostly contrived onto kids having fun dressing up and getting candy from neighbors.

  The spiritual aspect has long been removed.

  Although I do note that some people go over the top to scare kids who might be too young to comprehend what they are experiencing.
  

  Its also a social gathering to when you can meet your neighbors and have a chat.
  

  I do give out treats to the kids if they come to my door nevertheless.
  
• 

  Finkelstein

  Actually Rebel that has happened in the past unfortunately.

  Its rare these days because parents watch carefully what their kids bring home.
  
• 

  Magnum

  I had an unbelieving parent, and the believing one was "weak", so I participated in Halloween as a child. The kinds of scares and fears associated with it are shallow and (to me) harmless (and even fun) emotions. I loved Halloween. My friends and I wanted to be scared.

  What really scared me in a harmful way was not Halloween-type stuff, but seeing and hearing my parents argue, seeing human and animal suffering, contemplating my death and the deaths of loved ones and pets, etc.

  Halloween seems to me to be harmless fun. Children participating in it aren't aware of ancient Celtic pagandom and probably wouldn't be concerned about it at all if they were aware of it. They just want to have fun; they want to be thrilled.

  I think that stimulation of a child's imagination (such as Halloween provides) is a most constructive thing. To this day, I have a very active imagination and I love life, and I think that's in part because of the stimulation of my imagination as a child (through travelling, reading, being read to, participating in holiday activities, etc.).

  I love holidays and all the things associated with them. To me, they are fun. They provide breaks from mundane routines; they provide things to look forward to.

  It seems backwards to me for people to be worried about things like Halloween when there are many things going on that really warrant worry and concern. For example, I think that instead of worrying about children dressing up as witches or monsters or princes or princesses, people should be worried about the little kittens at the local animal shelter - kittens that will be euthanized (sometimes in not-so-humane ways) and wlll never get to play in the grass or experience the joys of life in any way. To me, being concerned about Halloween is like straining a gnat, while swallowing camels. There are many camels out there.
• 

  Listener

  Here in Australia it's still not widely practiced but the supermarkets try to push it as hard as they can. Each year gets worse and worse with more and more themed products being put on the shelves for sale.

  Many of us see it as an American tradition and are happy for them to keep it.
• 

  rebel8

  Actually Rebel that has happened in the past unfortunately.

  Yes, it is mentioned in the article I linked to.

  What I was pointing out is that it has happened only a few times, and most of those were found to be siblings playing practical jokes on each other. The article discusses all the times it really happened, and the fact that it became an urban myth that it was being done in a broad sense.

  Interestingly, most of the times it really happened were near times when the Satanic Ritual Abuse scare (myth) was going on too.

  Some pranksters were playing upon the mass hysteria at the time.

  I was a jw at the time and they were all about amplifying those 2 rumors. Razor candy was one of the reasons given for not celebrating Halloween. It is a relief to be able to to put it into perspective after leaving the cult.
  
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  Finkelstein

  The WTS uses unusual circumstances or far reaching irrelevant information to back their position on certain doctrines, selectively avoiding any positive aspects of what they are trying to demean.

  IE. birthdays, Christmas