Do You Celebrate Halloween Now?

[Journey]

I've been asked by a number of non-christian friends what I'm doing tonight - which is Halloween. A couple of girls at work asked me to go out 'bar hopping' with them dressed up for halloween - but I declined, even though I would LOVE to!! I know my husband (still christian) would totally disapprove both because of the bars and because of it being Halloween - satan's holiday! I used to LOVE dressing up and going trick or treating as a child but into adulthood it became very TABOO to acknowledge, let alone, celebrate halloween because of it's 'evil' origins. We didn't even allow our kids to got out because we felt it was celebrating a very pagan and ungodly holiday, when they were young. Now, I feel like I robbed my kids of a fun time as well as myself ... just wondering if any of you dress up and go out to have fun on halloween.

[Phanta]

My family was big into Halloween growing up. Now I find trick-or-treating kids kinda goes against my values, so I have mixed feelings about it, but I make my home available to close friends, as they are usually looking for homes to take their kids that will give them sugar-alternative treats. I love seeing how the kids are dressed up!

 

I still honor the dead with offrendas, attend Samhain festivals...that kind of thing.

 

Phanta

[Overcame Faith]

As a child, we participated in trick or treating with gusto. It was great fun. As an adult Christian, I went through a phase during which I thought Halloween was Satanic and wouldn't allow my daughter to go. However, I got over that when she was about three or four, especially since even our pastor allowed his children to go out trick or treating. He said it was actually a Christian thing to do because it was an event to scare away the evil demons and such. So I went with that and enjoyed it again. Since dropping the religion, I view Halloween as a fun night and enjoy it along with all the scarry movies on the paranormal that come on during the Halloween season.

[viridia]

I love Halloween (: My family always had the scariest house in the neighborhood. I always stayed home to help Dad with it though, and have only been trick-or-treating since I was eleven. I was going to go tonight, but my friend's dad was making her stay home to fill out college applications >.> I suppose I should work on those too.

 

It was never really a taboo thing in our family. Even Fundy Mammaw and Aunt hand out candy and go to church events to get candy (and some years just go trick-or-treating). For some reason we never really considered it "Satanic" or "evil," if you will.

 

We have our porch light on tonight but there just aren't that many kids in my neighborhood anymore. Maybe in a few years' time it'll be lively again. Nothing like the good old days though (:

[Ro-bear]

I have to celebrate Halloween; it's my older daughter's birthday.

[★ Citsonga ★]

Why, I have all my satanist buddies over for a bonfire and we roast puppies, kittens and babies, of course! What else would we be doing on the holiest day?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But seriously, we handed out candy this year, and we've had the kiddos go trick-or-treating in previous years. My wife and I grappled with whether or not to celebrate Halloween back when I was a believer (she still is), and we concluded that it's just harmless fun in which the kids are doing nothing wrong simply by dressing up and asking for candy. We didn't let them wear witch costumes, but other "harmless" costumes were allowed. So, in reality, our Halloween observation is pretty much the same now that I've deconverted, although I wouldn't be opposed to a witch costume now.

[♦ Fuego ♦]

Might next year, just too tired this time around. But nothing scary about it anymore. I used to spend Halloween night deep in prayer against the ritual Satanism that my church was just SURE was going on in the hills. Now that I'm on the outside, I find that most pagans/witches have no belief in the devil, and Satanists are few and far between. It was fun to see the costumes this year.

 

But I'm going to attempt a Saturnalia feast this year. Throw in a traditional orgy, and it could become really popular.

[Guest ephymeris]

Oh yeah, I do Halloween! My husb and I and our friends always dress up and usually we go out bar hopping but this year we had a party at our house and it was SO much fun Halloween is the best holidays of the year for adult mischief!!

[Ouroboros]

We're dressed up. I'll post some pictures later.

[★ Citsonga ★]

Satanists are few and far between.

 

And I suspect that many of the "Satanists" who do exist aren't really satan worshipers, but rather nonbelievers who are simply mocking religion.

[ExFundiDCLawyer]

When I was a kid we used to go trick-or-treating. I remember being a skeleton one year, maybe around 5 or so. That was the last time though. After that we got a new and improved fundie pastor at our church and Halloween became a tool of satan in decieving young minds. Throughout my teenage years we were immeresed with messages detailing the dangers of satan, the occult, rock-and-roll(even watched a video at xtain school about back-masking and all the horrible evils of metal music). As an adult and a young parent I continued in these beliefs. I even gave out Jack Chick tracks to the little children that came by our house. Thankfully, as I began to question I decided to do my own research on Halloween and much to my suprise I found that all of those stories of tainted candy and devil worship were completely fabricated. That was one of my first steps down the path of disolutionment that has led me to where I am today. I am so glad to be free of all that nonsense. I am thankful that I shook off those lives before my children were too old to not be able to experience the fun of trick-or-treating. We had a wonderful time tonight(and they got way too much candy )

[VacuumFlux]

When I was little, Halloween was evil. Unless you go to a church party dressed up as Bible characters. But now, my parents have changed their minds, give out candy, and maybe took little brother door to door when he was younger (but I was younger too, and don't know for sure). As for me, I have plenty of friends who love a good costume party as much as I do, so I'm exhausted from multiple awesome parties this weekend.

[Dagan]

Yes! It's more fun now.

 

Hey you know what, it was a "Black Sabbath" this year and I haven't heard any fundie nonsense about this at all... times are changing maybe?

[Voice]

Since becoming an ex-c, I have enjoyed dressing up a couple times and going out, and might again some day. Not this year. A friend stopped over to check her Internet and talk construction, and I wrote a piece of music and did some graphic art.

 

I'll definitely celebrate the reduced price of pumpkins after this.

[JadedAtheist]

Halloween isn't really big over here. It's uncommon for people to celebrate it but in certain areas it seems to be taking off but overall no one does anything special (I remember going around in a costume one year as a kid and found most of the people to have no idea what I was on about). Most of the people I know who celebrate it (like myself) are generally highly Americanized (i.e. we watch Baseball, NBA, NFL instead of Australian sports, a lot of political interest in what's happening in the US and so forth. Also as you may see the cap I'm wearing in my photo is a Sox hat ). Even so I never saw the big deal as a Christian and I would have celebrated it(by going trick or treating et cetera) here if it was more popular in my area.

[Galien]

Im not one to "celebrate" these commercially driven holidays. Never was a very good sheep.

[OpheliaGinger]

Does the Pope shit on the hopes and dreams of millions of people? Of course I celebrate Samhain; it is my holiday.

[Hungrydingo]

I love Halloween. Combine it with fall and it's an awesome atmosphere. I am of celtic heritage on my mom's side, and I look it so I try to get into a little more than most people as it's a celtic festival in it's origins.

[☆ TexasFreethinker ☆]

Definitely! It's the gay high holiday!

[hereticzero]

I partied every Halloween until I got entangled with the Pentecostals which lead me to believe Halloween was evil. I still let my kid go trick or treating when the weather was nice. Since leaving the church I've had way more fun and I am back to parties on Halloween. This year we had around 60 kids come to the door. I have a 'no religious soliciting' sign on my front door and parents who saw it pointed and hauled their kids away from the house without stopping for candy! Laughed my butt off over it.

[SilentLoner]

Every year. Even in an ultra catholic country like El Salvador celebrating Halloween was common, I can only remember one classmate and a teacher who refused to partake.

My favorite memory was that at my school everyone would dress up and students K-12 would have a parade through the school (big campus too) then go back to classes for a party.

The some douchebags changed it so that only the kindergarters did it.

[dB-Paradox]

I always did celebrate Halloween, even as a Christian. I'm not convinced there are human sacrifices and the like going on behind closed doors, as Christine O'Donnell spouts. If there were, why aren't these murders in the news? It should be a major news headline, no?