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Holly · 10-04-2001, 02:49 PM

Well...I'll respond here. We are Catholic and do not "celebrate" Halloween as it is celebrated today. However, we have Catholic friends who do celebrate the day. We just tell our kids that we have decided not to celebrate this holiday b/c this is what is best for our family, but other families decide what is best for them.

We do celebrate All Saints Day on November 1st and All Souls Day on November 2nd. In fact, our old parish had a celebration on All Saints Day where the kids all came dressed up as thier favorite saints. I loved that!

We do talk about the dead and pray for the dead (souls in purgatory) and to the dead (souls in Heaven/Saints); that is a very important part of our faith. However, I think that today, Halloween is primarily about candy and secondarily about dressing up in whatever costume one decides. After that, it is about focusing on evil spirits and death (I do not think that Halloween itself is evil). So, first, we don't give our kids candy that much and don't think that is necessary for them. Second, we don't want them dressing up whatever way they choose--especially given their choices in most stores. More importantly, however, we don't want them seeing what other kids dress up as (the devil, witches, Pokemon, Harry Potter....my kids don't even know what Pokemon and Harry Potter is). And finally, although we do talk about death and angels/spirits, evil and the devil, we prefer that influence to come from us and not from what they would see on Halloween night or at Halloween celebrations.

I hope I have explained myself well and not rambled..lol. Just our perspective...

Holly
Wife & Mother

"You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised: great is your power and to your wisdom there is no limit....you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you" (St. Augustine).

10-04-2001, 02:49 PM	#4 (permalink)
Holly Registered User iTrader: 0 / 0% Join Date: Jul 2001 Posts: 377	Re: Why is Halloween "evil"? Well...I'll respond here. We are Catholic and do not "celebrate" Halloween as it is celebrated today. However, we have Catholic friends who do celebrate the day. We just tell our kids that we have decided not to celebrate this holiday b/c this is what is best for our family, but other families decide what is best for them. We do celebrate All Saints Day on November 1st and All Souls Day on November 2nd. In fact, our old parish had a celebration on All Saints Day where the kids all came dressed up as thier favorite saints. I loved that! We do talk about the dead and pray for the dead (souls in purgatory) and to the dead (souls in Heaven/Saints); that is a very important part of our faith. However, I think that today, Halloween is primarily about candy and secondarily about dressing up in whatever costume one decides. After that, it is about focusing on evil spirits and death (I do not think that Halloween itself is evil). So, first, we don't give our kids candy that much and don't think that is necessary for them. Second, we don't want them dressing up whatever way they choose--especially given their choices in most stores. More importantly, however, we don't want them seeing what other kids dress up as (the devil, witches, Pokemon, Harry Potter....my kids don't even know what Pokemon and Harry Potter is). And finally, although we do talk about death and angels/spirits, evil and the devil, we prefer that influence to come from us and not from what they would see on Halloween night or at Halloween celebrations. I hope I have explained myself well and not rambled..lol. Just our perspective... Holly Wife & Mother "You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised: great is your power and to your wisdom there is no limit....you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you" (St. Augustine).