Still prejudiced towards Halloween (page 2)

Soledad

too bad there aren't a lot of kids in my neighborhood. I would love to scare the crap out of them when I hand out the candy!!

but there's the parade.......now that's cool!

Dan-O

Of course it's Satan's Holiday. That's what makes it so much fun to eat candy until you hurl.

Sirona

Room215

I still think that this is the one thing the WT has gotten right: to me Halloween reeks, if not of paganism or satanism, then certainly of Neanderthal superstition. What good it does to annually dredge up the imagery of death for impressionable young kids is beyond me.

Why don't you actually learn about something before making ignorant comments like that?

Everyone:

Halloween has developed into a modern holiday and therefore in that way can be viewed as simply "dressing up" and getting sweets / candy. However, if anyone wants to comment upon the origins or meaning behind it, it's obviously better to actually inform oneself about it before making derogatory comments about things. GF gave a decent link.

Sirona

under74

Sirona- I think some people are just giving their opinions.

Sirona

Under74

Likewise I'm giving my opinion. What irks me is people talking about the origins (paganism etc.) being some form of Satanism. The fact is that the origins of Halloween are nothing to do with Satan or Satanists. What is more, the origins are a bit more than simple "superstition of the heathens".

I'm pointing that out, because therein (in the misconceptions) lies the root of bigotry and religious intolerance.

Sirona

under74

Sirona- It's fine. I understand a post on this thread may have hit you the wrong way-but (from what I read) I'm not sure the person that posted it meant for it to be taken in as a bigoted statement.

pratt1

I have to admit, I have not fully embraced this holiday.

Maybe because I think it's unsafe to have children eating foods from strangers.

Maybe because I still can't shake the belief that somehow it's connected to devil worship.

Maybe its because many times the pranks pulled at Halloween can sometimes hurt or kill people.

HOWEVER

I do give candy to children in the neighberhood, but I have never allowed my child to Trick or Treat.

Cicatrix

Hi Snapdragon,
If you click a little further into the Beliefnet article, it has links to the Religous Tolerance page that Gently Feral posted.They are really thorough articles.

I found this site because my nephew was asking questions about Halloween. His wife doesn't want to let their kids celebrate it and he does. He was interested in what I thought about it, since I used to be JW and didn't celebrate it. He wanted something that he could use to educate his wife that she might actually look at. Other than providing him the info, I'm staying out of their debate, though, the decision about how they rear their children should be worked out betwen them, and I have no intention of siding with either one of them, though I will be happy to answer questions for both of them.

"I'm pointing that out, because therein (in the misconceptions) lies the root of bigotry and religious intolerance."

Sirona,
I agree heartily with you:)

confusedjw

According to the History Channel web site -

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain. The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

RandomTask

Satan, Santa, whats the difference?

Still prejudiced towards Halloween

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