Halloween

For us there are many reasons we don't allow our children to Trick Or Treat, or celebrate Halloween in any way. My children invite a few friends over for a Fall Party. Costumes are allowed if they want to, but are not required. We watch movies, listen to music, and just hang out. We choose to CELEBRATE the many blessings in our lives rather then what the day is meant to celebrate.

First of all it is an Unholy Holiday. It is a Pagan Holiday celebrating the dead. It is a ritualistic night, that dates back centuries. That includes such acts as sacrifices (not only animals but humans as well), curses, trickery, begging, and thievery.

I posted some URLs at the bottom of this page if you want to check them out. There is one on there from the History Channel that has a ton of information on it about Halloween and its origins.

Then there is the Double Standard effect. We spend 364 days a year telling our children to NOT talk to or take things from strangers. We (or at least I know that JD and I do this) also spend those same 364 days a year telling our children to be them self, don't be a sheep and follow the herd. But on this one night, we let them dress up as something they are not, send them out to take candy and openly talk with strangers with the rest of the "herd" and say it is OK.

It is NOT SAFE. No matter how you cut it from any perspective, Religious or not. It is just not safe. Children have a higher chance of being kidnapped on Halloween night then they do any other night of the year. Also their chances of being hit by a car, or injured in any way are greater. I know that their are some Moms that are going to say "That is why you watch them constantly, and never let them out of your site" And to that I say this... The little (by little I mean 7 year old) girl in this very small town I live in was not 2 feet from her mother when she was struck and killed by a car last year. The same for a 15 year old boy, who was simply walking with his friends.

Think about this while you are out and about with your children Trick Or Treating. How many of you stop and talk to a complete stranger when they say "Oh My, how cute he/she looks all dressed up as ". Think about it, how easy would it be for that complete stranger to snatch your child up and run, in the 2 seconds it takes for you to look over at your other child(ren) or who ever you might be with.

I know a lot of you say "Only go to houses of people that you know or neighbor hoods that you know the majority of the people that live there". We went one year when my daughter was about 4 years old it was the last time my daughter went Trick Or Treating. We went to an area that was nothing but people I knew, half the people in the area where related to me and the rest I had known all my life. Some how, my daughter got an Apple with a RAZOR BLADE in it. Let me stress that I knew EVERYONE that lived there (47 houses and all of them full of people that I had known all of my life), I even knew where the Apple came from. When I went and spoke with the woman about it, she didn't know what to say and was very upset over it. It turned out that one of her Grandchildren did it as a JOKE! A joke that if either myself or someone else hadn't noticed could have had devistating results for my Daughter.

If you ask me, the risks out way the need for candy that I could just go to the store and buy for my children!


****I know a few people who practice Wicken (hope I spelled that right) and this has NOTHING to do with them or how I feel about them.





A FEW URLs FOR YOU TO TAKE A LOOK AT!

http://www.history.com/minisites/halloween/

http://www.watchman.org/occult/hallow.htm

http://www.christianitytoday.com/holidays/halloween/

http://www.christianitytoday.com/holidays/halloween/features/real.html