My family does not celebrate Halloween. There, I said it. My children have not gone trick or treating, we do not hand out candy at our door, we do not decorate for October 31 in the color orange [a color, I prefer to attach to another concept]. When I have said in the past that we do not celebrate this holiday I have received different responses:
Is it because you are a Christian?
Aren't you depriving your children?
Aren't there other more important things to stand up against?
Why bother? Everyone celebrates Halloween.
First of all, I need to be clear - my reasons for ignoring the holiday are not because I have misunderstood the history of the event. I'll spare the history lesson for now as others have written about it already, and better than I would. [Click Here] For me the issue isn't about history its about now. I understand where Halloween has come from, its where it is now that concerns me. Why is it that I cannot walk into a store in October [and now September!] without seeing a bloodied corpse, severed hand, or some decoration colored as if dripping in blood. I don't misunderstand the event's past, but I sure don't want to be a part of its present.
I am a father, of 5 children, ages 8 months to almost 8 years. My conviction is that I cannot, as a responsible parent, expose my children to the blood and gore associated with Halloween. We protect them as they watch television, we protect them as they make use of the internet, we watch who they spend time with, we keep them safe in every other way that we can - should I not also protect them from the frightening images and ideas associated with Halloween, from the unhealthy fixation on death and gore?
Those are my thoughts. I know there are some who will respond - my children choose harmless costumes and eat candy, that's what the holiday is about. I understand that comment, I just know that watch I see in stores, watch in my community, and read / see on television and online make me believe that Halloween is not a holiday for children.
In the end, in my opinion, and in my attempt to be a good parent, I cannot choose for my family to participate in Halloween or the images that it will fill my children's minds with.
