Both mine and my husband’s families all celebrated halloween when we were growing up. So it just seemed natural to us to do the same with our children.
We started out celebrating halloween with the kids when our oldest was 4 months old. We dressed them up in non scary costumes, and went out to see family and friends. We never went door to door in the neighborhood. By 1990, 4 years later, we decided that that wasn’t working for our family and that we would just have parties instead.
So we got together with some friends and had a halloween party for the kids. With games, decorating their own cupcakes, and a jack o lantern pinata. It was a lot of fun, for the kids and the adults. After that year, though, we felt parties weren’t the answer either. So at the age of 4 & 2, our 2 oldest kids had celebrated their last halloween. Our four youngest kids have never celebrated halloween. (I’m talking about while under the age of 18, by the way.)
Why We Don’t Celebrate Halloween
We just FELT that there wasn’t something right about it. So we set out to learn about the origins of halloween and what a lot of the halloween traditions started as and represent. This information convinced us that our feelings were right.
Over the years, our convictions about halloween have grown. In the beginning we didn’t know the facts that we later learned, we just knew how we felt. Yes, I believe that God gave us those feelings. Thankfully, we followed those feelings, and now we know why.
We only have one child under 18 now. Those over 18, 5 of them, have chosen different routes. One doesn’t celebrate halloween, one has celebrated halloween with parties, etc., two participate in trunk or treat at church, one just turned 18 and I don’t know what her choices will be yet.
No, we don’t hold it against others for trick or treating. Or our kids for deciding to participate in halloween activities after they turn 18. In fact, when we lived in an apartment for a few years, we purchased candy & Christian tracts to hand out to the kids that came to our door. All of our nieces and nephews celebrate halloween. And, no, we haven’t told them they shouldn’t. They just know that we don’t. It really hasn’t been a problem with our families. We live out in the country now, and don’t get trick or treaters. If we did, I would have to scramble to find something to give them. lol
A lot of churches encourage celebrating halloween, including hosting “Trunk or Treats”. They park their cars around the church parking lot, and the kids go from car to car and get candy. Call it what you want, it’s STILL trick or treating and it’s STILL celebrating halloween! And we don’t need halloween “alternatives”! Why do so many Christians have a hard time standing up and saying “This isn’t a Christian holiday, and we aren’t going to celebrate it?!”
That being said, I do not tell others they shouldn’t celebrate halloween. In fact, you very well may see me liking and sharing other people’s halloween posts on social media. Because, come on, their kids are cute! And some of those recipes look really yummy!
Celebrating or not celebrating halloween is a matter of fun for some and a matter of conscience for others. Not celebrating halloween has been the right thing for our family.
Halloween is a holiday that is creeping in here in South Africa too..however I don’t foresee that it will ever pick up. Celebrating death is not really in our DNA. I have no qualms with people who opt to redefine the day and create their own traditions around it. After-all, a day is a day so the original Halloween cannot claim the day as belonging to it.
Hallowe’en, and guising (the equivalent of trick-or-treating), is traditional for Scots and other Celts. However, I totally respect that it’s not traditional for you and your family. Life is all about wondrous variety. Don’t ever feel you need to defend your choice. x
Thanks for sharing.
I agree.
We are in the same nudgings with God.
I already explain to my children, why we wont participate, and yet as you mention, the trunk and treat at churches is where we still are!!!
I am in total agreement with you Linda and with God. We live in what’s considered a suburban area of Manhattan. In some areas, Halloween has become a bigger holiday than Christmas and that truly troubles me. When my son little, he dressed up and I took him treating. It didn’t trouble me then. As he grew older, he just wasn’t interested anymore and I was glad. I guess that’s when I started to feel those feelings.
Sadly, vandalism and other criminal activity has become popular some Halloweens.
I’m really into it, thanks for this great stuff!
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Oh I stayed in Tamarindo, too! The beach was amazing and the weather was perfect! Did you try surfing?!The only crappy thing that happened to me & my friends was that we were robbed at our hotel while staying there :(Good thing you had fun though! 🙂 perfect vacation before getting back to work
Well done for following your beliefs, it must be even harder for you as you live in America where Halloween is such a big holiday. I too don’t celebrate halloween, I live in England, in an area where real witches coverns exist and Halloween was a real celebration of evil, our children were told to write ghost stories and spells at school and all dessing up was of the horrible kind so I spent many years fighting against all things such as this. The American holiday has now crossed the water and halloween here is now a much more comercial, light and fun event so in a way I am thankful for its commercialisation, however I still can’t bring myself to join in. Like you I have no criticism for those that do, but please just allow me to ignore it. HOWEVER, I love pumpkins and like to decorate my home with them during autumn so I am claiming back the pumpkin for good! Lets celebrate the autumn and the wonderful colour pallette that God paints our countryside with at this time of year rather than all the nasties.