What do you tell your kids about Halloween?

[Mo2]

a)Just that it's a night when you get dressed up and eat loads of sweets
b)Anything to do with it's history and background?
c)Nothing - don't believe in it/ celebrate it....

We're sort of a combination between a+b, but I'm struggling to find 'The Story of Halloween' written at an appropriate level for a 5 & 2 year old... can anyone help?

We got Meg and Mog out of the library and made broomstick biscuits.

Well, since ds is only 2 it'll be a while before we talk about it. I love Halloween. Mostly purely for the fun of dressing up and having a holiday without all the angst of Christmas. But, when the time comes I will tell him that it is a day to remember those who have passed on and to honor their memories. In fact, after the trick or treating is finished I will be getting together with some friends to do just that. The Celts believed that the barrier between the worlds is thinnest at Samhain and therefore one of the best times to feel close to those who have passed over. I think it is a lovely sentiment.

The true Samhain festivals have nothing whatsoever to do with the devil. Pagans have no devil. He is part of Christian religious beliefs, not Pagan.

but Jabber - if your a Christian then pagan beliefs, witchcraft, etc etc ARE worshipping the devil

Anyhow - must sleep - have to be up at 8 to get DS1 to school

Err, I'm not sure I follow you on that one. How can someone worship something that's not even in their belief system?

following a certain religeon/belief does not automatically make someone good, or evil. most people know right from wrong, if they choose to hurt others then that is their own doing. its nothing to do with who they pray to. we will be celebrating halloween, for us its fun. i dont think it encourages children to play around on the dark side at all. if that was the case then i should confiscate "meg and mog", "the witches", "charmed", "harry potter", i mean...where would you draw the line?

the "dark side"
shouldnt we have a darth vader emoticon here

sorry but purlease
celebrating halloween hasnt turned any of my children or anyone I know into satanic little, devil worshipping demons

IMO halloween is a bit of fun for the kids
it is also a way of children interracting with their community by showing they have achieved something albeit looking like a hideous little goblin but hey so what it is an achievement
IMO to knock a childs pride is far more damaging

I explain to the children that halloween is a fun night where the witches gather together in their covens and pray and give thanks to the nature spirits

Also I am a christian but wasnt jesus classed as some sort of sage and sorcerer
he was conceived by a virgin, produced food,healed people and raised people from the dead, not to mention himself
these are things that are explained to our children at school, home, church etc
but because he is the son of god that is ok
I was taught that we were all sons of god

does this turn children into the "dark side"

btw I know I am going to get slammed here but, I just want you to get your grey matter burning

may the force be with you

Hiya, Getting in late on this - but isn't halloween a persecution of the devil or evil being?
I have never celebrated halloween but wanted to know what it entails.

Here we go again then, the annual 'what is Halloween' question?

It is a contraction of 'All Hallows Eve' and All Hallows is a Christian festival, Pagans DO NOT celebrate Halloween.

We do not worship the devil.

We are not evil (well, unless really pissed off and having a bad dose of PMT)

Samhain is a harvest festival (the meat harvest, when the animals were culled to provide meat for the winter) and the celebration of our New Year.

Jabber - I'm talking about Christians celebrating Halloween - not Pagans.

ARealWitch - Halloween has NO Christian overtones at all - any Christians that says it does, IMO, are talking out of their ar*e.

I said it was a Christian festival QoQ - and I maintain that it is. All Hallows cetainly is Christian and who else would want to celebrate All Hallows Eve?

Samhain - Pagan : A celebration of New Year, the harvest and the thinning of the veil when we honour and celebrate our ancestors - without whom we would not exist. We light candles and lanterns to guide them home, if they wish to visit. We lay a place at table for them and eat a feast.

Halloween - Christian : A celebration of All Hallows Eve, when the spirits were believed to fly in the air and possess the sinners. Lanterns were lit to protect the home, guisers played tricks and were paid pennies to take their tricks elsewhere.

A Christian excuse to cover up for the Pagan celebrations.

Yes - Perhaps Catholics believe in the Halloween side of All Hallows - but most Christiasn certainly do NOT advocate the partaking of pagan, or Wicca, or whatever you want to call it festivals.

Do non Muslims here celebrate Ramadan (sp)

Do non Sikhs here celebrate Gurpurbs

Do the Muslims here celebrate Christmas

Do the pagans amongst you celebrate the Hindu festival of Vasanta Navaratri

If not - why not - is it because it goes against your beliefs to celebrate those thing.

For most Christians celebrating a pagan/Wicca festival goes against their beliefs - and I'd (personally) rather not encourage my DS's to do it.

I think you are missing my point though - taking part in Halloween is NOT taking part in anything Pagan.

The dressing up, trick or treating etc is the Christian/Catholic side of the festival and is NOT Pagan!

Are Witches Christian??

No - they're considered to worship the devil (whether or not they actually "believe" in a devil) by Christians - therefore dressing up and pretending to be one is against Christian beliefs.

lol ARealWitch Ill come join you if I may. Cakes and ale tonight for me

But All Saints isn't about getting the evil spirits to come out - it's remembering the lifes of all the Saints........

All Souls - which is definitely a more Catholic one that Protestant - is the day set apart in the Catholic Church for the commemeration of the faithfully departed.

I'm afraid all the liberal, wishywashy "Christians" are talking out of their ar*es. It's NOT Christian to be dressing up as witches - because - I'm afraid in the eyes of Christian Witches worship the devil, and are therefore not to be celebrated.

I'm NOT saying that all Christians think that the PEOPLE who are witches are horrible and evil (because invariably they're not ) but we believe that their BELIEFS are evil - and not to be celebrated.

tarantula - pigs blood casserole for us (aka sausages in tomato!) and lots of vino no doubt - red of course .

Halloween is a pain in the ass, and any parents who allow their children to knock on my door deserve to have to deal with the after-effects of the nasty, cheap, full of e-number sweets I have had to buy to hand out with a grimace

Is All Hallows Eve, which is the eve of the day of the dead as I understand it. It isnt about 'evil' witches, it is about celebrating/honouring those who have passed to spirit.

There are alos links to samhuin - an is about the crops dieing in preperation for the cold winter. As people acknowledge that the palnts die the acknowledge their own mortality too.

I get really knarked with the whole good vs evil debate and it totally puts me off religion.

All religions honour/remember those that have died. That is what halloween is about at the end of the day. Even if you just remember your grandparents and their legacy. In turn of remembering those that have died we should think of the living that will carry forward our legacy.

Dont mean to sound preachy but there is enough wars over eachothers beliefs and far too little acceptance of the basic similarities and if i go to hell or whatever for being open minded and non-judgemental of others then so be it.

I must have had a REALLY BIG black mark in my book when i was a choir girl cos i used my surplice as a ghost costume!

ARealWitch - I always found xmas interesting in its closeness to the winter solstice and the rebirth of the sun god and christmas being the birth of the sun of god. The bright star in the sky - the sun is the brightest star. just an observation.

witches, coverns, praying. If their not praying to God then who exactly are they praying too? Tonight bieng the night to speak/contact those who have passed on. The Bible tells us to have nothing to do with these things, witchcraft, sorcery, talking to spirits. It may seem like harmless fun but its not. My 2 eldest have never celebrated haloween and their 13 and 11 and they haven't missed out or had their moral knocked because of it. They understand that for us as christians it is not something that we celebrate.

same here longwaytogo, couldn't have put it better myself. my eldest 2 are 10 & 8 and although they have asked in the past if they can take part in halloween they have understood why we don't. they don't feel that they miss out

Londwaytogo,

Please explain this idea of halloween a bit more.

As a christian, I have no idea what it entails, having been raised in a different culture. My child was invited to a halloween party but I had to make up some excuse about it. I thought I will research a bit more about it next time before I turn down an invite.

I was actually under the impression that it is a persecution of witches/evil sources etc.

I'll be grateful for some more info on this, as I would really not want my child to partake in something that deals with the occult.