my niece and her friends are all nice girls, I think my sister has agreed as long as they are all back home by 9pm and obviously only knock on decorated houses and most certainly no " tricks" of any sort. 14 is a difficult age isn't it? Too old for children's fun and too young for adult parties etc. I don't think trick or treating is very different from "penny for the guy" that was always popular when I was growing up and even carol singing could be described as begging I suppose. I am not a Christian so afraid I know nothing of All saints eve? I think the tradition of dressing up, having a party and lighting a big bonfire in the cold dark days of winter is probably pretty pagan and all the better for it!
my niece and her friends are all nice girls, I think my sister has agreed as long as they are all back home by 9pm and obviously only knock on decorated houses and most certainly no " tricks" of any sort. 14 is a difficult age isn't it? Too old for children's fun and too young for adult parties etc. I don't think trick or treating is very different from "penny for the guy" that was always popular when I was growing up and even carol singing could be described as begging I suppose. I am not a Christian so afraid I know nothing of All saints eve? I think the tradition of dressing up, having a party and lighting a big bonfire in the cold dark days of winter is probably pretty pagan and all the better for it!
Hallowe'en, or Hallowed Eve, was originally the eve of All Saints' Day (November 1st)
The idea was to drive out evil spirits from villages and towns, to make way for the spirits of loved ones (and saints), by walking usually in procession down the main street, banging pot lids, dressing up in scary outfits (hence where witches etc came from) and generally making an almighty racket. It was originally pagan, yes.
I'm not sure how Halloween could be seen as a celebration of evil anything. I'm all for the pagans - celebrating the turning of the year, personal reflection, the eve of the Day of the Dead, the lengthening of nights, the end of the period of harvest.
We are deluged locally by kids who grab for sweets. I used to do the full whack, but after being grabbed and pulled at I decided it had got out of hand. When I grew up it was quaint and a visit to neighbours. Now it is a American celebration of sugar, plastic tat and bad film, akin to Christmas.
I'm one of those po-faced, killjoy Christians who regards Hallowe'en as a celebration of evil. What's wrong with celebrating All Saints' Day, as is done in other countries? I'm also with those who think it's a little unwise for children to be knocking at strangers' doors.
I'm one of those annoying agnostics that regards the Christian appropriation of pagan festivals as more evil than the evil they preach as wrong in the first place.
What an interesting comment. Let's see if I've got this right. You don't believe in any religion, but you are anxious to defend one of the religions you reject from the risk of being injured or annoyed by one of the other religions you reject. I hope you are as ready to defend the church, whose every festival has been "appropriated" by the retail industry, which downplays the spiritual aspects that so disturb godless consumers.
In my experience, religious people are nowhere near as ready to take offense at other religious people as are the godless people who are so anxious to defend us from each other. But we are not meant to take offence when godless people swear and blaspheme in our hearing.
Anyway, regarding Halloween, the generally accepted thing around here, is that if a house has decorations outside and is lit e.g. porch light, it's okay to visit. The little ones go round with parents/ older brothers and sisters usually before it gets dark. The older children later, but no later than 8.30pm.
As as an agnostic I try not to blaspheme, I do swear but that's nothing to do with religion is it? I wouldn't set out to offend anyone or criticise other peoples beliefs or choices. I am afraid retail is driven by customer choice and that is the way of the world these days. People like to spend money at Christmas and Easter and pretty well all of the time in between. It's part of the whole experience for most of us and I would hope those who genuinely believe Christmas is a festival to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ can still manage to enjoy it.
What an interesting comment. Let's see if I've got this right. You don't believe in any religion, but you are anxious to defend one of the religions you reject from the risk of being injured or annoyed by one of the other religions you reject. I hope you are as ready to defend the church, whose every festival has been "appropriated" by the retail industry, which downplays the spiritual aspects that so disturb godless consumers.
In my experience, religious people are nowhere near as ready to take offense at other religious people as are the godless people who are so anxious to defend us from each other. But we are not meant to take offence when godless people swear and blaspheme in our hearing.
I heard it said once that if you're not ashamed of the history of your religion then you don't know enough about the history of your religion. The history of Christianity makes ISIS look like amateurs. Saying Christianity 'annoyed' Pagans makes light of 2000 years of slaughter and indoctrination. At least the retail industry doesn't murder the people who don't buy plastic pumpkins and fake spider webs and then preach about their gentle forgiving ways. I've no doubt that the history of all religions started the same way though so don't mistake my scepticism for defence of paganism. People are free to believe in whatever fairytale makes them happy but chucking around words like 'evil' is a bit rich in the circumstances.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Certainly people have behaved badly down the centuries on behalf of the church, and sometimes still do. I suppose that's what comes of welcoming sinners.
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I don't think trick or treating is very different from "penny for the guy" that was always popular when I was growing up and even carol singing could be described as begging I suppose.
I am not a Christian so afraid I know nothing of All saints eve? I think the tradition of dressing up, having a party and lighting a big bonfire in the cold dark days of winter is probably pretty pagan and all the better for it!
The idea was to drive out evil spirits from villages and towns, to make way for the spirits of loved ones (and saints), by walking usually in procession down the main street, banging pot lids, dressing up in scary outfits (hence where witches etc came from) and generally making an almighty racket. It was originally pagan, yes.
And before anybody asks...here it is.
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/child-abuse-and-neglect/child-sexual-abuse/sexual-abuse-facts-statistics/
In my experience, religious people are nowhere near as ready to take offense at other religious people as are the godless people who are so anxious to defend us from each other. But we are not meant to take offence when godless people swear and blaspheme in our hearing.
all of the time in between. It's part of the whole experience for most of us and I would hope those who genuinely believe Christmas is a festival to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ can still manage to enjoy it.