Children on our Bus Route

[kittylover0991]

Hey everyone,

Please let me say first off, that I don't agree with Halloween or anythign that deals with it.. I avoid anything dealing with witchcraft, wizardry or anything that seems to symbolize, mock, "just be fun" or anything else that nature... that includes books, tv shows, and especially halloween itself, which comes up on October 31st With this in mind...

There are some cuties on our bus route and they were talking about how they are going to dress up for halloween. I feel like I am debating when a child comes to me about Santa Clause about what to say... either say "Santa isn't real" or "I don't believe in Santa" or just not say anything at all; considering we all know that Christmas is about Christ, not an old fat man in a suit.... With halloween, I want to tell these children that as Christians, we aren't supposed to celebrate Halloween.. but I really dont know if I'd be over stepping those boundaries.... the bible says that witchcraft is an abomination and to "abstain from all appearences of evil"... and considering that most children have heard that Halloween is the "devl's birthday".. or so is rumored.. I stand.

Does anyone have any ideas? I feel as though by not saying anything, I am not doing what I should be doing but showing them that it isn't right to take part in such, same as we shoudl do around Christmas time about Santa Clause and Easter, saying it is about Christ... but then I look at the child's feelings.. I know, I know.. "parent's job" right? Many of these little children's parents (little ranging from 5-15) dont come to church and are defintily not saved. I know that it was at church that I found out that Christians aren't supposed to celebrate halloween and I know my parents would never have told me that becuaes they really dont care.. if I had followed my parents in this area, I would never have anythign to do with church because of "hypocrites"... I really don't know..

Maybe I'm making this more complicated then it really is, but here is the situation

Thank you

Crystal

[LadyRaven]

If a child came to you and said he was a buddist or that he was a pagan what would you say? participation in these things for you seems to be out of an attempt to never accidently touch anything pagan, but yet most of the time you don't run around confronting children of different beliefs on a regular basis right?

Just tell the kids that Halloween is not your holiday so you dont' celebrate it and would rather not talk about it, they should ask their mother or father. As far as Santa, same thing, say that he doesn't visit your house because noobody there believes in him. It's the truth, right?

[MAYBEBREE]

Everytime you hear trick or treat or happy halloween, just say God bless you or "dios te bendiga". (God bless you in spanish.)

If someone asks why you say that, tell them you're a Christian and that you don't celebrate Halloween but that you do want God to bless them.

No use in being confrontational.

[Spunky]

I didn't know there's a rule that Christians can't celebrate halloween!

Since when does the devil have a day , all days are a gift from God!

Every year my girls dress up for halloween usually as princesses yet

this year my oldest seems to have outgrown trick or treatin and my

youngest is going as a maid, I treat halloween as another commercial

enterprised day like valentines day is and no more.

Doesn't mean I'm giving any power over to the devil.

It's just another day for kids to be kids and have fun

and get candy for free no more than that!

At the end of the night we do the same thing we always do say our

prayers and praises to God!

God Bless!

[sober9-18-02]

I hand out christina tracks and candy! That is a way that I am able to reach out to the kids in my area. My whole church does this. And when they say happy Halloween I say God Bless you I think it is one of the best holidays for me to reach children because I have at least 75 to 100 kids come to my house.

[AndrewA]

I hand out christina tracks and candy! That is a way that I am able to reach out to the kids in my area. My whole church does this. And when they say happy Halloween I say God Bless you I think it is one of the best holidays for me to reach children because I have at least 75 to 100 kids come to my house.

Thats the way to do it! Trick or Treat dosnt really happen in UK, although its starting to grow in popularity, past couple of years only had a couple of people knock door and they were my friends kids. However at my church we were given a little leaflet we could put in with some sweets or just hand out on its own.

This is a excellent time of year to witness to children and adults that you otherwise would not reach. I grew up in my Sunday school with Chick Tracts, I kind of forgot about them to a few years ago when I stumbled across the website. There are plenty of wonderful stories suitable for all ages and adults that will be perfect to put into a bag with some sweets.

The Tracts are not that expensive only 15cents each. If you are part of a large church then why not order a bulk supply of 10,000 with your own customized back page?

Heres a link to the website.

http://www.chick.com/seasonal/halloween/de...t.asp&wpp=a

[speckles]

I didn't know there's a rule that Christians can't celebrate halloween!

Since when does the devil have a day , all days are a gift from God!

Every year my girls dress up for halloween usually as princesses yet

this year my oldest seems to have outgrown trick or treatin and my

youngest is going as a maid, I treat halloween as another commercial

enterprised day like valentines day is and no more.

Doesn't mean I'm giving any power over to the devil.

It's just another day for kids to be kids and have fun

and get candy for free no more than that!

At the end of the night we do the same thing we always do say our

prayers and praises to God!

God Bless!

Some Christians don't celebrate because they think it's pagan to do that, because it's a pagan holiday. I don't have a problem with it as long as you don't do anything overtly pagan and I don't think costumes and candy are. I don't celebrate it myself or my family but we don't get our underwear in a wad about it. It's like we don't celebrate The Feast of Tabernacles or Eid or whatever. They're just not our holidays, and neither is Halloween.

[LadyRaven]

Ok, I do not celebrate Halloween. Just like Jews don't celebrate Christmas, it makes no sense to have a holiday celebration which is a sacred day for a religion outside of Christianity...

I used to be pagan (celtic wicca), so I know exactly what the holiday is about. What most people in the US do on Halloween (the candy and costumes and the like) are secularisations of that holiday, just like santa claus and christmas trees and seasonal stuff are secularisations of Christmas. Therefore many people who are not Christians celebrate Christmas and people who are not pagan celebrate Halloween. I'm not going to be worried about it because if you want to dress up like a fool and eat more candy than is good for you, other than scriptural admonishments against gluttony, I see nothing sinful in it. I would ask though why we feel pressured to celebrate a holiday which belongs to another faith.

This being said, I would not recommend handing out tracts from a Christian ministry who cannot tell the truth about the holiday they supposedly are teaching Christians to stay away from. If you go to the site linked above and click on the history of halloween, you will find errors starting in the paragraph "November 1 was the Celtic New Year." Samhain was not a god, never was never will be and Chick has been saying this for over 12 yrs that I've been aware and things have not changed. There never was a Celtic god named Samhain. And if you get tapes produced by this ministry you will hear the word pronounced "sam hay n" which is wrong also the word is pronounced "sowen." Samhain was the NAME of the DAY, we call it Halloween, pagans call it Samhain.

Why am I upset about this since I'm no longer pagan? It comes down to this, because of my background I still have acquaintences which are now my mission field. I'm sensitive to their sensibilities, and I'm also very much concerned about what it says about US when we can't take the ten minutes it takes to Google the topic and come up with the truth. When we stand against error we have to come against it from a solid foundation of truth. If we don't KNOW the truth about a holiday and are willing to admit it that is one thing; however, if we are going to make statements about it they should be the truth. Anything less is a black eye for our faith which values truth above all.

If you want to pass out tracts or bible verses knock yourself out, but I would caution you to get them from a ministry which actually takes the time to know the truth about other beliefs.

--------------------------------

[Marnie]

I have never viewed Halloween as (1) evil, (2) a holiday, (3) a cause for celebration. To me, growing up, it was a day when we dressed up like crazy people, went door to door--usually in the rain--to get candy. When I came to know the Lord, it wasn't an issue then, either. In our church we having a Halloween party, with the kids dressing up as anything except demons or Satan. It's a great excuse for some evangelism; we are having my Autistic kids visit--28 of them! That'll be a hoot for sure. I know of Halloween's pagan roots, BUT that is irrelevant to most people today. A day has no power over anybody (unless you give it power, and most of us want the candy!!).

[mikado5001]

I have never viewed Halloween as (1) evil, (2) a holiday, (3) a cause for celebration. To me, growing up, it was a day when we dressed up like crazy people, went door to door--usually in the rain--to get candy. When I came to know the Lord, it wasn't an issue then, either. In our church we having a Halloween party, with the kids dressing up as anything except demons or Satan. It's a great excuse for some evangelism; we are having my Autistic kids visit--28 of them! That'll be a hoot for sure. I know of Halloween's pagan roots, BUT that is irrelevant to most people today. A day has no power over anybody (unless you give it power, and most of us want the candy!!).

Amen Marnie! You are right. Most of what yields power in our lives. The power comes from us. We give it the power.

Awesome that your church is using Halloween as an evangelical opportunity.

I to have not seen Halloween as a celebration. Unless you're a Dentist, that is. And I remember the rain. Oh the rain. All those who saw the point of wearing a Fonzie Costume(remember Fonzie?) UNDER ones coat. Please raise your hands.

Although I rejoice in the fact that I had a loving Mommy, Daddy, and Cousin in those days. My Cousin would take me Trick or Treating, my Daddy would check the stuff for danger, and my Mommy would make sure I did not get a tummy ache. Oh I miss you Mom and Dad ! I miss you so much.

The memories are all I am left with. Daddy G-d took you when HE needed to. To soon though it was. You laid the foundations for my life. Showing me true kind love. I remember the times we would 'fix the car' and my bicycle. Holding the tissue when I blew my nose. (my uncle sent me a VHS copy of a Betamax tape he had of us. I welled up like crazy.) The times when you were well enough to walk me to school. And the trip we took in the RV to Florida to visit Grandma Ida, Uncle Larry, Aunt Elaine, and Bubbie(yiddish for Grandma). Listening to the CB chatter untill I fell asleep. I remember the time we went to see Grease and you allowed me to stay and watch while you 'went to the bathroom' to get my stereo fixed. The night they took you to the Hospital and you never came home. I miss you Daddy!!