Do you let your kids trick-or-treat? (1 Viewer)

[Al O'Pecia]

I walked my daughter to the bus stop this morning.  While waiting for the bus another girl at the bus stop, a first grader, was loudly telling the other children that Halloween is Satan's night and Jesus doesn't approve of trick-or-treating.  A couple of other girls were agreeing with her.  When I thought about it, I don't recall seeing any of the girls trick-or-treating in years past. 

One kid in particular, a fat boy, wasn't buying it.  I think his objection had less to do with Satan or Jesus and more to do with someone interfering with his Halloween candy.

 

[Short Corner]

Wonder why the Christians don't just co-opt another Pagan holiday.

 

[xulf]

I eat half their candy, so hell yeah they are going.

 

[ShamrockPride]

If you're someone who gives out pretzels, whoppers, or necco wafers please just keep the door closed. That's the s### that gets thrown out the next morning.

 

[Al O'Pecia]

If you're someone who gives out pretzels, whoppers, or necco wafers please just keep the door closed. That's the s### that gets thrown out the next morning.

I wouldn't draft Whoppers in the first several rounds of a Halloween candy draft, but Whoppers are a solid late round pick.  

 

[fantasycurse42]

Tough poll, I was torn between not letting my kids participate in satanic rituals, but I also wanted to vote for letting them trick or treat. 

 

[Worm]

I wouldn't draft Whoppers in the first several rounds of a Halloween candy draft, but Whoppers are a solid late round pick.  

I will gladly eat all my kids whoppers imo.

 

[jhib]

I walked my daughter to the bus stop this morning.  While waiting for the bus another girl at the bus stop, a first grader, was loudly telling the other children that Halloween is Satan's night and Jesus doesn't approve of trick-or-treating.  A couple of other girls were agreeing with her.  When I thought about it, I don't recall seeing any of the girls trick-or-treating in years past. 

One kid in particular, a fat boy, wasn't buying it.  I think his objection had less to do with Satan or Jesus and more to do with someone interfering with his Halloween candy.

Another thing where people can't just decline to participate - they have to try to ruin it for everyone else, too.

Someone should tell that kid that they heard Satan doesn't celebrate Halloween. Instead, he waits a couple months, puts on a red suit, and just moves the 'n' in his name over a couple letters. 

 

[Bob Sacamano]

This isn't Russia.  Is this Russia?

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Only half of the last option on the poll is accurate, so I'm not really sure what to vote.

 

[Al O'Pecia]

Only half of the last option on the poll is accurate, so I'm not really sure what to vote.

You may be weird, but your weirdness doesn't lead you to ruining Halloween for your kid.

 

[That one guy]

My parents never let my brother and I participate when we were kids.  They were a bit overzealous in their approach to religion and will openly admit to such nowadays.  To their credit, though, they were still great parents no matter how misguided on certain things and created a family tradition of putt-putt golf on Halloween so we kids still had something to do and look forward to.  My brother and I each never actually liked candy (totally unrelated to the holiday itself or anything religious, just never developed a sweet tooth) and were quite content with the solution to the point that we continued it as a family into our mid 20s.

Both my brother and I have kids now and go trick or treating with them.  My parents also go with us 

 

[CletiusMaximus]

The only place I've ever heard about this anti-Halloween thing is on the internet, maybe just on this board.  I've never encountered a person in real life who is anti-Halloween, and my kids go to a Catholic school. Their wear their costumes to school on the Friday before Halloween and they all exchange candy and have a parade around the school for the parents. Halloween is traditionally the biggest neighborhood party we have, and we have lots of neighborhood parties.

 

[Al O'Pecia]

The only place I've ever heard about this anti-Halloween thing is on the internet, maybe just on this board.  I've never encountered a person in real life who is anti-Halloween, and my kids go to a Catholic school. 

Maybe it's a cultural thing on top of being a Christian thing.  The anti-Halloween girls at the bus stop were all African.  One Nigerian and two Cameroonians.

 

[Clown Car]

Maybe it's a cultural thing on top of being a Christian thing.  The anti-Halloween girls at the bus stop were all African.  One Nigerian and two Cameroonians.

It’s a super Christian thing. Back in the day I was conflicted and didn’t do the trick or treating but my church had a huge festival type thing, as an alternative. But as soon as they stopped doing that we started trick or treating. Now, like that one guys parents, I have repented of my super Christiany attitude. I have friends who still don’t let their kids trick or treat, eat pork, even celebrate Christmas because they are so much more Christian than everyone else. But they have to come to it on their own. 

 

[Bob Sacamano]

"We're so Christian we don't celebrate Jesus' birthday." 

WTF?

 

[Clown Car]

"We're so Christian we don't celebrate Jesus' birthday." 

WTF?

Yep. They follow the feasts in the Bible and Hanukkah because that’s what Jesus did. It’s incredibly condescending and just rude. They won’t let their kids accept gifts from grandparents. I can’t wait til she grows out if this and has to feel bad about how she treated her parents. 

 

[xulf]

How dare people not conform to our own beliefs!

 

[JoeSteeler]

I wouldn't draft Whoppers in the first several rounds of a Halloween candy draft, but Whoppers are a solid late round pick.  

How about sixlets?

 

[Max Power]

Would have voted #2, but since I walk with them I went #5.

 

[Al O'Pecia]

How dare people not conform to our own beliefs!

So you're saying I should have yelled at the six year olds for telling the other kids they shouldn't be trick-or-treating because Jesus disapproves?

 

[Al O'Pecia]

How about sixlets?

Never heard of them.

 

[Otis]

Wtf is going on in the FFA. Ever since the (content edited so mods don’t ban me) people are posting the weirdest garbage. 

Let me help you here:

- it’s ok for husband and wife to lay together. And sleep in the same bed. 

- It’s not satanic or worshipping a false god to trick or treat. 

- Content edited so mods don’t ban me 

Holy Christmas. 

 

[badmojo1006]

One is 26 and out of town. She probably will Trick or Treat

The other is 21, but nah

 

[Al O'Pecia]

One is 26 and out of town. She probably will Trick or Treat

I love the Halloween pictures of kids in costume that parents post on social media so be sure to share a pic with us.

 

[shuke]

If you're someone who gives out pretzels, whoppers, or necco wafers please just keep the door closed. That's the s### that gets thrown out the next morning.

Whoppers are awesome

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

Someone should tell that kid that they heard Satan doesn't celebrate Halloween. Instead, he waits a couple months, puts on a red suit, and just moves the 'n' in his name over a couple letters. 

N'sata?

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

How about sixlets?

Not a top 10, but def. tops among the loser candy they usually are grouped with.  

 

[jhib]

The only place I've ever heard about this anti-Halloween thing is on the internet, maybe just on this board.  I've never encountered a person in real life who is anti-Halloween, and my kids go to a Catholic school. Their wear their costumes to school on the Friday before Halloween and they all exchange candy and have a parade around the school for the parents. Halloween is traditionally the biggest neighborhood party we have, and we have lots of neighborhood parties.

Yeah, in my experience, it isn't the Catholics that have a problem with Halloween.

I'm jealous.  I posted this in another thread a couple of years ago:

My kids' schools have a relatively high number of Chinese students, mostly due to being in a college town, and especially the specific area where a lot of grad students live. It's pretty cool how diverse their schools are compared to the outlying areas around here. Anyway, the thing that bothered me was that when my youngest was in 4th grade, the elementary school decided to stop celebrating Halloween because too many parents complained about it and had their children sit out the activities. No parties, costumes, or parades anymore because these parents (overwhelmingly Chinese and other Asian families) were superstitious about it and felt it was celebrating evil.

Meanwhile, the school goes out of its way to celebrate holidays from other cultures, and Chinese New Year seems to be a bigger deal each year. Lessons are planned around it, the halls are filled with themed art work, etc. To be clear, I really like that my kids were exposed to these pieces of other cultures. But I didn't understand why things didn't work the other way around - why the school buckled when they could be exposing my son's friends from China to a piece of American culture.

Here we were cancelling Halloween celebrations even though it's now a fun, festive, secular celebration because some people are stuck on some of the historical and mythological aspects of it. Meanwhile, aspects of the historical background of Halloween and Chinese New Year sound pretty similar to me. One has Celts celebrating their new year on November 1st and believing that the night before is when spirits of the dead can return to this world, so they celebrated their dead relatives, set out offerings for them, and lit bonfires and dressed in costumes to protect themselves from other spirits and the devil. The other is a new year where they honor deities and ancestors, and has the myth of the Nian, a monster that came out at the new year to eat people and their children. People put out offerings to protect themselves until they realized that the color red and fireworks worked to keep the monster away.

But whatever the background, both are now just fun celebrations. But only one is now officially celebrated at the school because some people complain a lot more than others.

 

[Galileo]

I will gladly eat all my kids whoppers imo.

Yeah, but those little packs with 2 or 3 Whoppers are useless.  If you want to enjoy Whoppers, you need the big ### carton and just pour them in your mouth.

 

[jhib]

Someone should tell that kid that they heard Satan doesn't celebrate Halloween. Instead, he waits a couple months, puts on a red suit, and just moves the 'n' in his name over a couple letters. 

N'sata?

There's obviously something demonic about those cornhusker red Nebraska state athletic trainers and their association!

 

[Zow]

My city, which has some weird ordinance against streetlights so normal Trick or Treating would be pretty unsafe, actually hosts the trick or treat in our downtown area.  Mostly businesses, churches, and other organizations handing out candy.  So, it's super safe.  

 

[Zow]

Whoppers are awesome

Gross. 

 

[Zow]

The only place I've ever heard about this anti-Halloween thing is on the internet, maybe just on this board.  I've never encountered a person in real life who is anti-Halloween, and my kids go to a Catholic school. Their wear their costumes to school on the Friday before Halloween and they all exchange candy and have a parade around the school for the parents. Halloween is traditionally the biggest neighborhood party we have, and we have lots of neighborhood parties.

I grew up super catholic and studied the dogmas and stuff.  Didn't come across any significant issue with Halloween -- although it certainly wasn't a celebrated holiday.  

 

[hagmania]

Eating Whoppers is a far viler sin than trick-or-treating.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

The only place I've ever heard about this anti-Halloween thing is on the internet, maybe just on this board.  I've never encountered a person in real life who is anti-Halloween, and my kids go to a Catholic school. Their wear their costumes to school on the Friday before Halloween and they all exchange candy and have a parade around the school for the parents. Halloween is traditionally the biggest neighborhood party we have, and we have lots of neighborhood parties.

My folks are VERY baptist (and probably not coincidental that I've turned out as a ###### heathen).   I was allowed to Trick or Treat when I was really young but by age 7 or 8 they had decided that the risk of Satan taking over if I dressed up like Darth Vader and rang some doorbells was not one they were willing to take.   

 

[shadyridr]

If you're someone who gives out pretzels, whoppers, or necco wafers please just keep the door closed. That's the s### that gets thrown out the next morning.

My son loves whoppers. So do I

 

[apalmer]

My folks are VERY baptist (and probably not coincidental that I've turned out as a ###### heathen).   I was allowed to Trick or Treat when I was really young but by age 7 or 8 they had decided that the risk of Satan taking over if I dressed up like Darth Vader and rang some doorbells was not one they were willing to take.   

It wasn't so much the Darth Vader costume.  It was concern that you'd want a Princess Leia costume next.

 

[ChiefD]

I use Halloween and trick or treating to teach my kids about taxes.

They bring their bags home and we dump them on the floor. I then pick out 30% of their candy as a dad tax. They don't love the shtick nearly as well as I do. 

 

[Van Dyman]

I'm jealous.  I posted this in another thread a couple of years ago:

My kids' schools have a relatively high number of Chinese students, mostly due to being in a college town, and especially the specific area where a lot of grad students live. It's pretty cool how diverse their schools are compared to the outlying areas around here. Anyway, the thing that bothered me was that when my youngest was in 4th grade, the elementary school decided to stop celebrating Halloween because too many parents complained about it and had their children sit out the activities. No parties, costumes, or parades anymore because these parents (overwhelmingly Chinese and other Asian families) were superstitious about it and felt it was celebrating evil.

Meanwhile, the school goes out of its way to celebrate holidays from other cultures, and Chinese New Year seems to be a bigger deal each year. Lessons are planned around it, the halls are filled with themed art work, etc. To be clear, I really like that my kids were exposed to these pieces of other cultures. But I didn't understand why things didn't work the other way around - why the school buckled when they could be exposing my son's friends from China to a piece of American culture.

Here we were cancelling Halloween celebrations even though it's now a fun, festive, secular celebration because some people are stuck on some of the historical and mythological aspects of it. Meanwhile, aspects of the historical background of Halloween and Chinese New Year sound pretty similar to me. One has Celts celebrating their new year on November 1st and believing that the night before is when spirits of the dead can return to this world, so they celebrated their dead relatives, set out offerings for them, and lit bonfires and dressed in costumes to protect themselves from other spirits and the devil. The other is a new year where they honor deities and ancestors, and has the myth of the Nian, a monster that came out at the new year to eat people and their children. People put out offerings to protect themselves until they realized that the color red and fireworks worked to keep the monster away.

But whatever the background, both are now just fun celebrations. But only one is now officially celebrated at the school because some people complain a lot more than others.

I didn't see that in the other thread, but you've got the right idea and someone else got it wrong.

 

[Van Dyman]

How dare people not conform to our own beliefs!

So you're saying I should have yelled at the six year olds for telling the other kids they shouldn't be trick-or-treating because Jesus disapproves?

Not yell, but kids are never too young to learn that different people have different religious beliefs and that trying to push their own beliefs on other people is wrong. I think you missed an opportunity. It takes a village and all that.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

It wasn't so much the Darth Vader costume.  It was concern that you'd want a Princess Leia costume next.

sounding awful judgy there, sinner.  

 

[apalmer]

sounding awful judgy there, sinner.  

That's this year's costume. Confirmed.

 

[Doug B]

The only place I've ever heard about this anti-Halloween thing is on the internet, maybe just on this board.  I've never encountered a person in real life who is anti-Halloween, and my kids go to a Catholic school. Their wear their costumes to school on the Friday before Halloween and they all exchange candy and have a parade around the school for the parents. Halloween is traditionally the biggest neighborhood party we have, and we have lots of neighborhood parties.

I grew up super catholic and studied the dogmas and stuff.  Didn't come across any significant issue with Halloween -- although it certainly wasn't a celebrated holiday.  

The anti-Halloween thing is almost exclusively among small sub-sects of very fundamentalist Protestant denominations (chiefly Pentecostals TME). Catholics, at least in the deeply culturally-Catholic New Orleans area, have never had an issue with Halloween. In fact, the cultural acceptance was so complete that the day after Halloween, All-Saints Day, was a public school holiday until the mid-1980s. Meanwhile, local churches of most denominations have lots of Halloween-themed activities, from elaborate haunted-house fundraisers to hayrides, trunk-or-treats on school grounds, church-sponsored parties and dances, etc.

The one place I have run into legit anti-Halloween people was in the suburbs of Jackson, Mississippi. The number of people who have their kids avoid Halloween festivities, even there, is very small. You can't even say that it's "the Pentecostals" or "the Baptists" or whatever that eschew Halloween -- it's not a complete denomination, just a collection of individuals - maybe that all attend the same church or follow the same pastor.

Now then. In the Jackson metro area, a lot of churches do put on "Fall Fairs" that are meant to be a "Halloween alternative". But these events are essentially Halloween-themed in everything but name. Maybe they sanction overtly Satanic themes (e.g. no devil costumes) and prohibit raw gore. But still -- it's lot of families with small kids in costumes, trick or treating at various stops, hay rides, bounce houses, carnival rides, etc.

 

[Al O'Pecia]

Not yell, but kids are never too young to learn that different people have different religious beliefs and that trying to push their own beliefs on other people is wrong. I think you missed an opportunity. It takes a village and all that.

Meh, I was enjoying the back-and-forth between the "Halloween is evil" kids vs. the "Halloween rules" kids too much to put an end to it.

Besides, I'm not sure if it's my place to tell other people's kids what views they can and can't share so long as those View aren't being offensive or derogatory toward other people.

 

[Jayrod]

I've mentioned before that I'm from a place affectionately called, "the Buckle of the Bible Belt", Springfield, MO.

Many people here love their religiosity and take a lot of pride in what "evil" things they don't do.  Among those are drinking alcohol, listening to rock music and participating in evil traditions like Halloween.  It seemed more of an issue when I was younger, but I've never taken a poll or anything to track against.  I just know plenty of people who don't participate in Halloween on religious grounds.

 

[Todem]

Greatest holiday ever!!!!!

Milk Duds, Now or Laters, Jolly Ranchers, Sugar Daddy's, Reeces Peanut Butter Cups, Starbursts, Charms Blow Pops, Butterfingers, Milky Way....all mine.

Halloween is huge in my neighborhood. We get thousands of people coming into our 310 home enclave to walk the streets and trick or treat. I am known (for the last 20 years I have been doing this) as the Myers House. I have a full monty set-up in front of my home as well as my corner, Halloween and Halloween 2 soundtracks on a loop, a giant screen on my driveway showing Halloween and Halloween 2, fog machines and strobes, animatronic gouls, zombies, and of course me dressed up in a Michael Myers authentic costume (I use the Halloween 2 Myers mask) stalking all the kids, adults and of course the teenagers who simply scream like banshee's. My son now 13 has been dressing up as Myers with me for the last 2 years....Father/Son time.  Also we bring in 100 large pizza's and have 4 pizza stations, down my block jello shots for the adults with a DJ jamming classic rock, the other home at the other end of my block does a killer haunted house in their 3 car garage every year.

Great times.  

 

[Al O'Pecia]

Greatest holiday ever!!!!!

Milk Duds, Now or Laters, Jolly Ranchers, Sugar Daddy's, Reeces Peanut Butter Cups, Starbursts, Charms Blow Pops, Butterfingers, Milky Way....all mine.

Halloween is huge in my neighborhood. We get thousands of people coming into our 310 home enclave to walk the streets and trick or treat. I am known (for the last 20 years I have been doing this) as the Myers House. I have a full monty set-up in front of my home as well as my corner, Halloween and Halloween 2 soundtracks on a loop, a giant screen on my driveway showing Halloween and Halloween 2, fog machines and strobes, animatronic gouls, zombies, and of course me dressed up in a Michael Myers authentic costume (I use the Halloween 2 Myers mask) stalking all the kids, adults and of course the teenagers who simply scream like banshee's. My son now 13 has been dressing up as Myers with me for the last 2 years....Father/Son time.  Also we bring in 100 large pizza's and have 4 pizza stations, down my block jello shots for the adults with a DJ jamming classic rock, the other home at the other end of my block does a killer haunted house in their 3 car garage every year.

Great times.  

Sounds awesome.  I want to come.  What's your address?

 

[Scoresman]

Another reason why organized religion sucks.  Belief in a god can be a good thing, but whenever organized religions in history have been created, it's been done from the perspective of controlling the masses.  I'll never understand why people buy into organized religion.  

 

[shuke]

Greatest holiday ever!!!!!

Milk Duds, Now or Laters, Jolly Ranchers, Sugar Daddy's, Reeces Peanut Butter Cups, Starbursts, Charms Blow Pops, Butterfingers, Milky Way....all mine.

Halloween is huge in my neighborhood. We get thousands of people coming into our 310 home enclave to walk the streets and trick or treat. I am known (for the last 20 years I have been doing this) as the Myers House. I have a full monty set-up in front of my home as well as my corner, Halloween and Halloween 2 soundtracks on a loop, a giant screen on my driveway showing Halloween and Halloween 2, fog machines and strobes, animatronic gouls, zombies, and of course me dressed up in a Michael Myers authentic costume (I use the Halloween 2 Myers mask) stalking all the kids, adults and of course the teenagers who simply scream like banshee's. My son now 13 has been dressing up as Myers with me for the last 2 years....Father/Son time.  Also we bring in 100 large pizza's and have 4 pizza stations, down my block jello shots for the adults with a DJ jamming classic rock, the other home at the other end of my block does a killer haunted house in their 3 car garage every year.

Great times.  

Sounds awesome.  Our neighborhood is pretty good, although it seems to have gone downhill some the past few years.