to ask someone to explain to me the issues surrounding Hallowe'en from a religious point of view?

[Permanentlyexhausted]

Just that really. I understand that the celebration of Hallowe'en is offensive/unacceptable to many Christians but I don't really understand the specific reasons why. The only people I know who actively disagree with Hallowe'en are Christians but maybe it is offensive to other/all religions. I'm just interested in finding out a bit more about the situation.

Please enlighten me.

I'd love to! Being an active, practising (some would say "devout") Christian I maybe should be against Halloween but I have always celebrated it - ghosts, witches, pumpkins, trick or treat, apple bobbing etc etc etc
Love it - it's just fun isn't it?!

(there will be some that disagree because they think that it is encouraging the devil or some such nonsense )

Not entirely sure - there are many people at my church that enjoy a spot of pumpkin carving. I won't allow T or Ting when the time comes, unless it's in a controlled 'circuit' (don't want to be a killjoy).

Obviously, the night is All Souls Night. Possibly people think it's disrespectful to make it all about ghouls and ghosts, and to engage in heavy commercial stuff.

Ghosts have no role in Christian teachings. You are either alive, dead and in purgatory, dead and in limbo, dead and in hell or dead and in heaven. There's no space for other worldly spirits floating between these places.

it's it's link with the occult - the whole devil/witch thing - many Christians - especially evangelical ones - think it's inviting Satan into your life and generally giving him a big pat on the back

it's not All Souls night. Hallow'een comes from Hallows' Eve - the night before All Hallows (All Saints - 1st November) All Souls is the 2nd November

Which is daft as Jesus became 'the holy ghost' so it's ok for him but no one else

I don't really like it. I feel that it is celebrating 'evil'.

However, I will not stop DC having fun and dressing up. I have bought them costumes etc and they will go trick or treating with DH.

I just find it a wierd thing to celebrate really.

Oh sorry... always thought it was!

I'm against it as it is today, because I'm Scottish and the whole thing has changed beyond recognition in my lifetime - and I'm not even a gimmer quite yet

Trick or treating instead of guising, pumpkins instead of neeps, supermarket costumes instead of sheets, sweets instead of silver pennies - I really can't stand it!

it's not "celebrating evil"
if you are a believing Christian then how can a bit of fun and dressing up put that belief into jeopardy?

Hallowe'en in the Pagan tradition is called Samhain. It is the night when the spirits of the dead come back - and in a sense it is a celebration because it means that everyone who has ever been a member of your family, no matter how far back, becomes part of your family again for a brief period of time. All your loved ones that you have lost are temporarily with you again. What's not to like? What is evil about celebrating all the generations of your family, living and otherwise? It's nothing to do with worshipping Satan - pagans don't believe he exists.

The tradition was co-opted into All Saints by the Christian church as they did with many pagan traditions - the Christmas tree is pagan, you know.

Sometimes I think that Christianity sucked all the joy out of life - and death, too.

And Wilson I totally agree with you about the commercialisation of it all. I loathe it. We don't go Trick or Treating, we treat it as a family thing. Yes, we have a jack o'lantern, mainly because I'm an arty soul who loves carving pumpkins, and we have a special meal, but for us it's all about our family.

And we aren't even pagans - I'm an atheist and DH is a non-churchgoing Christian. We just feel that it makes sense.

Isn't it described somewhere as the night where the veil between the human world and the realm of the souls that have gone before is thinnest, pointy? And guising (children going round and singing, dancing, telling jokes) is about bringing light to the houses where the souls don't want to come back to? As in, they are to be pitied because either the ones that have gone before don't want to come back?

Lovely stuff and nothing to be scared of. Maybe Christians just CBA with fun packs of mars bars and more Tesco profits op?

Hi iv just joined tonight and this is my 1st post! Many Christians I know celebrate Halloween. I used to celebrate it too, but as I now have looked into it a little, I choose not celebrate it (or condem those that do) My reasoning is that as far as I am aware, this festival is of pagan origin and as I am now choosing to try and follow the Scriptures, Halloween is not one of the appointments (festivals) you would celebrate. yaim.org/web/literature/other-topics/110-halloween.html
Tells you a bit about the origin.

All your loved ones that you have lost are temporarily with you again.

That's how Mexicans celebrate Day of the Dead - many still go to graveyards and have 'parties' with their dead relatives.

Not understanding it at all I think is the main one.

Thanks peeps.

Part of my reason for asking is that I had planned a loosely hallowe'en related evening for my Brownies but have had a couple say they won't be there because of the theme. That's fine but I wondered if there was something I was missing that was causing offence. The activities we've planned involve colouring pictures (cats, bats, skeletons) painting spiders, fishing around in bowls of jelly (in the dark) for prizes, etc. We have been very careful to avoid anything to do with ghosts, ghouls and witches to avoid offence. I think you've reassured me that the activities we've planned are not inherently offensive although I think we won't do this again next year. We'll stick to Bonfire Night activities.

The way we understood it as kids (also sheets and turnips not pumpkins and trick or treating) was that it was the night that evil spirits walked the earth, so as good Christians you dress up scarily to frighten them off, so that All Souls Day can be a day of peace.

So I grew up thinking of it as a Christian festival - not linked to the bible as such, but with connotations of good repressing evil. Am now pretty hacked off that the local church is so tight lipped and judgemental about it. People round here won't put pumpkins out in case the church leaders disapprove.

We were always taught that, since the day after Halloween is All Saints Day on which everyone had to be particularly well-behaved and virtuous, the night before was a last opportunity to misbehave - and so mischievous spirits came out and disported themselves before the holy day started.

I think it is a lovely opportunity for children to have fun, but with the emphasis on a party at home with Halloween games and "ducking for apples". We used to have a Halloween party every year when my children were young and everyone arrived, very excited, all dressed up as "bad " characters - devils, witches etc.

The fun is a lot to do with the fact that the nights are getting darker, which lends itself to "spookiness" - the clocks always go back the week before Halloween. We used to view Halloween as the first of the end-of-year celebrations, with Firework Night following and then Christmas.

Its Samhain, a night to share stories and remember your ancestors.

Christians came along highjacked it, pretty much like they did with every other ancient festival, turned it into something nasty, then of course you get the devil worshipping nonsense by the people who really haven't a clue, time too breathe deeply and absorb the crap fellow pagans

Stick with bonfire night activities - which is about blowing up parliament & the torture of Catholics. So that's alright then.

(TONGUE IN CHEEK - NOT BUNFIGHT!!!)

Genuinely interested in this. I grew up in a Jehovahs Witness type family. Am athiest now.

We weren't 'officially' JW's but went to the kingdom hall a lot, had bible studies etc. I honestly don't understand the origins of Halloween (or why people spell it Hallow'een) or how it has become a Christian viewed 'celebration of evil'. I know I could google but I also know i'd get a better answer here

I think it's called Hallowe'en because it is the evening (or e'en) before the day of the feast of All Saints, which the Xtians added to the calendar in order to counteract the fact that people celebrated communing with the dead on the 31st.

I'm probably wrong though, but something in the back of my mind has it as 'All Hallows Evening', meaning the evening before the feast of all 'Hallows' or holy souls, or something.

Here's an evangelical Christian pov: www.philotrust.com/blog/2010/10/handling-halloween-wisely