The first “Why” post that I wrote was nearly a year ago. It was about Not Thanking My Socks.
Now I would like to tell you why I do not celebrate Halloween. This was not a planned post. It is 5:20 p.m. on October 31st. So I may update this post later as I think of other things.
Dressing Up
First of all, let me tell you some positive things. Like, I think it is okay for my kids to put on Dress Up Clothes. My daughter especially likes to dress up all year long. She likes to pretend she is a princess. She has several princess costumes. Recently we visited Valley Forge on a field trip, and in the gift store she found a colonial dress-up dress in a beautiful shade of blue. She wanted it so much she bought it with her own money. She wore it a couple of weeks ago to a Barktoberfest that was having a costume contest. We enjoyed taking our dog to socialize with other dogs. It was fun to see dogs in costume, also. Isn’t she cute?
Candy
Secondly, I have nothing against candy! (Well, unless a person eats too much of it….) In fact, I love to go shopping the day after Halloween and buy candy (mostly chocolate) at half price. I rarely pay full price for the chocolate that I use in my baking. (Here’s my Easy Fudge Recipe.)
So if I’m not against dressing up, and I’m not against candy, then why don’t I celebrate Halloween?
I will tell you.
Darkness
I do not celebrate Halloween because it is a holiday devoted to gory and creepy things. Not only does it involve a lot of horror, darkness, and death themes, but the death is bloody and horrifying. It is done to terrify not only children, but adults also.
But it is all fun and games, you might say. Well, no, it isn’t. There is real evil in the world, and it laughs at people who think Halloween is all fun and games.
Personally, I do not enjoy being scared. I know there are people who enjoy horror movies– I am not one of those people. (I don’t even like roller coasters because they are too scary for me!!)
And so I don’t want to associate with a holiday which has a purpose of being dedicated to darkness and evil, even if there are “fun” aspects to it.
I’ve talked with people about this when they ask about my children going Trick or Treat. They say that years ago, Halloween was not as bloody and gory as it is now. It used to be cute costumes. But decorations can be pretty awful these days. I am really glad when the season is over and neighbors take down their yard decorations (If you’re reading this and happen to be my neighbor– don’t worry– I’m not holding anything against you personally!)
No, my kids don’t miss going Trick or Treat. They’ve never done it, so they don’t miss something they’ve never done. They get so much candy all year long, that they don’t need a special holiday just for Candy!
Light
Jesus said that He is the Light of the World. He is the exact opposite of the darkness that Halloween celebrates. Because He has redeemed me from a future of eternal darkness, why in the world would I want to celebrate a dark holiday? I want to stay as close to the Light as I can!
So when my door is closed and my porch light is off on October 31st every year, please don’t think I am unfriendly. Just come visit me any other day of the year, and I would be glad to let you in and offer you something to drink and to eat. It is likely that I may even offer you candy! : )
Thank you for sharing at #OverTheMoon. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too!
Thank you for sharing at #ThursdayFavoriteThings. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too!
Interesting. I don’t like the scary part of Halloween either. But I have been doing somewhat of an informal poll over the past month or so, and it seems to me that people who don’t like Halloween, didn’t have a good experience with Halloween growing up. Those who had a good experience with Halloween still like it. I grew up on a farm and we had to milk the cows before we could go trick or treating. We dressed up in our homemade costumes and went in the car (either my mother or an older sibling drove us – I am the youngest of 9 children). We drove about 15 miles to the South and 5 miles to the North. In this amount of mileage we went to probably about 30 houses (most of the houses were at least a mile apart). We knew everybody at the homes we visited and they looked forward to us coming! There was an older lady who made popcorn balls for us every year. Her and her husband were never able to have children and I think that she looked forward to the neighborhood (yes we considered that mileage our neighborhood) kids coming every year. She has been deceased for many years, but I still think of her on Halloween and the happy memories that she provided for me and my siblings. We also had a Halloween carnival at the school, where there was homemade candy to buy. There was a cakewalk where you could win a homemade cake – and I do remember how excited I was when I won a cake. We also had prizes for the best costumes. We could go to the lunchroom and buy some homemade Chili and Cinnamon Rolls. This was a fundraiser for the PTA. There was apple bobbing and a fishing pond (with prizes) for the little ones. There was a spook alley, and that was the one thing that I did not like. They had to take me out when I went through the spook alley when I was in 2nd grade because I was screaming to take me out. The 6th graders did the Spook Alley and my brother was a corpse in a homemade casket. I actually never went through the Spook Alley again, and I actually don’t remember helping with it when I was in 6th grade either. I love the memories that I have of Halloween. I feel bad that it is so different now. You can’t take homemade goodies to sell. It has to be store bought. But I have really enjoyed trying to create good memories with my children and my grandchildren. We had a Halloween party the week before Halloween. We had Dinner in a Pumpkin (my children think that Halloween does not exist without Dinner in a Pumpkin), Homemade Root Beer, and Pumpkin Roll. We decorated cut out sugar cookies, played games and enjoyed each other’s company. Well, I guess that I got a little carried away, but I did enjoy reminiscing about my wonderful memories of Halloween! Thanks for listening!
Wow, yes this is an epistle! Thank you for sharing your good memories. I know I didn’t mention my childhood experience so I will tell you here: I didn’t go Trick or Treating growing up, either. So I never missed it!
And I also grew up in a neighborhood where the neighbors were a mile apart, in South Dakota. 🙂
I hate Halloween because of the fear and death and gore, just as you said. I’ve had night terrors most of my life and during October you can’t even watch a regular show without evil jumping out at you. we enjoy some aspects of Halloween but I’m always relieved when it’s over
It’s nice to be able to relate. Thank you for linking up with Grace and Truth this week.
You’re welcome, Valerie! I, too, am relieved when it’s over.
Liberty,
Thank you for being honest. I don’t like being scared either. I still remember that scary stuff from growing up, and I am 51!!!
I personally like the church Fall Festivals and Trunk or Treats. Those are usually tame and not scary.
Have a great weekend!
Melissa | Little Frugal Homestead
You’re welcome and Thank You for your input.
I guess i see it as only fun and light and chocolate. evil comes in every day of the year, not only Oct 31 so that’s where I want to be aware – and put on my amour! thanks for sharing! And i totally respect your stance. (:
Thank you, Sue!
We have never trick or treating and do not celebrate Halloween either. The children do not miss it. I agree with you and the origins of the holiday are pagan which is another reason not to celebrate it.
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
I agree 100%. I am older than you are and I do remember that Halloween wasn’t about scary things when I was a kid – back in the days of Andy Griffith. I don’t know when it changed, but it had started by the time I had kids. Since we lived in country, it was easy to ignore. But now it has really changed, and I am repulsed. I don’t understand why so many adults are doing this and I feel like they are the ones pushing the scary theme to the extreme. I’m ready to see it come to an end. I don’t allow anything Halloween in my house (or Santa either but that’s another story) because I don’t want that message in my witness.
Thank you so much for your kind comment, Marti. We’ve actually watched Any Griffith this week!