Halloween

[uruviel]

I still stand by what I say though in that I would never send my children out at night dressing up as killers and dead people, it doesn't sound very healthy for the children, I would never want my children to have anything to do with that day. Whereas almost all kids that go trick or treating and dressing up and party have innocent intentions, but we all know that there are allot of people in the world that mis use halloween for evil, Catholic day it may be, many people view it differently, and I would not want to celebrate it nor make it a habit for my children.

but anyways......
Do y'all give candy to trick or treaters?

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='uruviel' post='1106914' date='Oct 31 2006, 08:38 PM']
I still stand by what I say though in that I would never send my children out at night dressing up as killers and dead people, it doesn't sound very healthy for the children, I would never want my children to have anything to do with that day. Whereas almost all kids that go trick or treating and dressing up and party have innocent intentions, but we all know that there are allot of people in the world that mis use halloween for evil, Catholic day it may be, many people view it differently, and I would not want to celebrate it nor make it a habit for my children.

but anyways......
Do y'all give candy to trick or treaters?
[/quote]
So because a small minority of people do evil things on a certain day, that is supposed to ruin it for everyone else?
We transform the culture by making it Catholic, not by avoiding it because of a small minority. That is like saying we should avoid marriage now because a small minority want to pervert it.. .or cancel Christmas because it is too commercial. Different activity, but same principle.
The Holy Father said "BE not Afraid". The culture won't change unless we take the lead in transforming it. So don't be afraid to enjoy Halloween with your kids, or celebrate the Feast of the Saints tomorrow in church, nor All Souls Day following it. Make it into a Catholic season.


[url="http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activities/view.cfm?id=308"]http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activit...view.cfm?id=308[/url]

[url="http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activities/view.cfm?id=1187"]http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activit...iew.cfm?id=1187[/url]

[url="http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activities/view.cfm?id=368"]http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activit...view.cfm?id=368[/url]

I don't give out candy cause I am taking my neighbor boy out trick or treating. He is going as a policeman.

[Sojourner]

When I was growing up, we were never allowed to trick-or-treat. No dressing up, no candy, nothing. We'd buy candy and pass it out to other kids whose fun parents let them trick-or-treat, but we never got to. And we passed out tracts to trick-or-treaters. Yes, we were that family.

In recent years, though, several friends have made Halloween a much more enjoyable experience. I have two sets of friends who throw huge Halloween parties, one Friday night and one Saturday night. Everyone dresses up, there's lots of food and friends and fun, and it's just a blast. Honestly, I was more bummed at having to miss that than I was at deciding not to go home for Thanksgiving. Next year, I am making it a point to be home for that weekend.

[homeschoolmom]

And you have friends whose very cute kids dress up as a vampire, Lucy Pevense and a bee.

[Sojourner]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1107017' date='Oct 31 2006, 08:04 PM']
And you have friends whose very cute kids dress up as a vampire, Lucy Pevense and a bee.
[/quote]
well yes


but I didn't get to personally enjoy the experience, although I did enjoy hearing about it

[homeschoolmom]

I forgot to take pictures.

[IcePrincessKRS]

I didn't take any pictures, either, but my kids will don their costumes again tomorrow anyway so its not like its a big deal. lol They went as ballerinas (they wouldn't wear the fairy wings). I didn't feel bad buying the costumes because their old tutus were falling apart (they wear them daily, no joke). So they each got one big frilly one that has wings that velcro on and one basic little leotard-with-a-skirt-type (not that expensive, I only got them at wal mart). We really only went over to a friend's house, the only real trick or treating we did was up and down their block, and then quickly over to where my brother was at his friend's house (he wanted to see the kids all in costume).

[Ash Wednesday]

Speaking of cement block costumes, I remember one year my brother was a birthday/christmas present for halloween. Just a cardboard box, two eyes cut in it, some butcher paper wrapping and colored so it looks like it had a big bow. We went trick or treating and cut across from one neighbor's yard to the next by taking a shortcut through some bushes and my brother and his boxy costume got stuck between two bushes and he started yelling and freaking out about it. I still practically laugh my guts out about it to this very day.

[Norseman82]

[quote name='Sojourner' post='1107015' date='Oct 31 2006, 09:02 PM']
And we passed out tracts to trick-or-treaters. Yes, we were that family.

[/quote]

You know something, as Catholics we can pass out holy cards with the Snickers bars if we really want to restore the Catholic meaning of the holiday.

Personally, what I did tonight (since I wasn't home) was to leave a note to help themselves but remember that Nov. 1 is a holy day of obligation and not to miss Mass.

[Ash Wednesday]

And I can't agree more with what cmom has said on all counts.

A lot of Christian fundamentalists that want to call the Church evil, or pagans and secularists that want to call Christianity a hoax try to use examples of pagan influences seen in celebrations of various Roman Catholic holidays to attack the Church. All I can say is old habits die hard, people had certain times of the year they were used to celebrating for thousands of years, and I think the Church was wise to recognize this and transform it into a way to recognize and celebrate Christ. People did not suddenly decide to bring Yule logs, mistletoe, and evergreen trees into their homes for Christmas -- they had pagan origins. The name "Easter" is derived from the pagan Anglo-Saxon goddess Oestre. Et cetera. Again, I say in the spirit of what the Church has done, take what is part of the human tradition of celebration and enjoy it -- transform it into good.

[quote name='Seven77' post='1106865' date='Oct 31 2006, 07:12 PM']
"Halloween" isn't really a Catholic holiday---The Vigil of All Saints is.
[/quote]

From Wikipedia:

The term Halloween, and its older spelling Hallowe'en, is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the evening before "All Hallows' Day"[1] (also known as "All Saints' Day"). The holiday was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions, until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints Day from May 13 to November 1. In Ireland, the name was All Hallows' Eve (often shortened to Hallow Eve), and though seldom used today, it is still a well-accepted label.

Woo hoo, let's hear it for the popes! I love reading about holiday histories... so many modern holidays have the origins in some pope telling us what's what.

Edited November 1, 2006 by Ash Wednesday

[uruviel]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1106987' date='Oct 31 2006, 08:36 PM']
So because a small minority of people do evil things on a certain day, that is supposed to ruin it for everyone else?
We transform the culture by making it Catholic, not by avoiding it because of a small minority. That is like saying we should avoid marriage now because a small minority want to pervert it.. .or cancel Christmas because it is too commercial. Different activity, but same principle.
The Holy Father said "BE not Afraid". The culture won't change unless we take the lead in transforming it. So don't be afraid to enjoy Halloween with your kids, or celebrate the Feast of the Saints tomorrow in church, nor All Souls Day following it. Make it into a Catholic season.
[url="http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activities/view.cfm?id=308"]http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activit...view.cfm?id=308[/url]

[url="http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activities/view.cfm?id=1187"]http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activit...iew.cfm?id=1187[/url]

[url="http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activities/view.cfm?id=368"]http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activit...view.cfm?id=368[/url]

I don't give out candy cause I am taking my neighbor boy out trick or treating. He is going as a policeman.
[/quote]


Not a very small minority of people are doing evil, halloween was transformed by satan gradually over the ages into his day, like a mockery of Catholic feast days halloween is his. I will not celebrate it, and I am telling you I would never put my children into a hallween celebration, the skulls and skeletons and dead bodies and day of the dead, it's not that innocent. It's a gruesome day that was at first the eve of All Saints Day unto now it has been made satans day. I love the idea of going to Saint parties, dressing up as saints, celebrating our Church triumpant in heaven, all the saints, not on halloween that is now satans day. It's very simple. The culture has accepted halloween as innocent fun, when really satan has turned it into so much more than just enjoying scaryness and ghosts, it's a real evil day and Jesus, Mary, the saints, they all suffered grave insults last night. I find it better to stay at home and pray a rosary, like my family did last night, rather than going out on satans day and celebrating. Do you get my point?
But I need to leave for mass now, God Bless!

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='uruviel' post='1107490' date='Nov 1 2006, 01:09 PM']
Not a very small minority of people are doing evil, halloween was transformed by satan gradually over the ages into his day, like a mockery of Catholic feast days halloween is his. I will not celebrate it, and I am telling you I would never put my children into a hallween celebration, the skulls and skeletons and dead bodies and day of the dead, it's not that innocent. It's a gruesome day that was at first the eve of All Saints Day unto now it has been made satans day. I love the idea of going to Saint parties, dressing up as saints, celebrating our Church triumpant in heaven, all the saints, not on halloween that is now satans day. It's very simple. The culture has accepted halloween as innocent fun, when really satan has turned it into so much more than just enjoying scaryness and ghosts, it's a real evil day and Jesus, Mary, the saints, they all suffered grave insults last night. I find it better to stay at home and pray a rosary, like my family did last night, rather than going out on satans day and celebrating. Do you get my point?
But I need to leave for mass now, God Bless!
[/quote]
I get your point, I hear it from fundamentalists and evangelicals all the time.
Its as innocent or as evil as any other day of the week, it is what you choose to make it that counts.

[Falcon]

Halloween is a time of year when a person can be anyone or anything they wish and it is OK. There is NOTHING religious about trick or treating. People need to settle down and let the children have a GOOD, FUN and mostly SAFE time. My catch is when kids come to my house and say "trick or treat" I reply TRICK and they get lost. Should try it. Give them a juice box or something they can use without needing a dentist. It goes far.

[uruviel]

Not in my point of view. Its fact, I believe it's fact. I can tell y'all that all day long, I'm not trying to force you to believe it, I'm just telling you my point of view.

[Fulton Sheen Warrior]

+JMJ+

Have your kids dress as their favorite saints.