October 31

[LadyRaven]

This is my favourite season (fall). I like the leaves, the smell of the earth, the cool but not cold breezes, a nice refreshing change from a hot humid southern summer. I am love the foods of fall (we eat seasonally for the most part here, as it is cheaper), I like the clothes (not all bundled up in heavy winter clothing, not sweating in no matter what summer clothing and not subject to the dreaded pastel pallets of spring (ick)). I like to go to the Halloween department and purchase my yearly supply of purple lights (I use them in regular decor year around and on the tree for Christmas), and some more ravens, crows and owls for my collection. And the day after Halloween is over rocks because there is all the cheap candy.

I love this season.

And... spiritually, it's no worse for me than any other holiday is. Eid does not bother me, Hannukah does not affect me, none of the pagan days bother me.

One day is as good or bad as any other.

See, here is the thing that gets most people. Halloween is Samhain (sow-ain), which is a pagan holiday. Well, big fat hairy deal. There are plenty of holidays that belong to plenty of false religions. All false religions are false and the followers are all going to hell and the dieties worshipped by all of them are false or nonexistant. None is worse than another. But for some reason, Christians are more spooked by pagans than any other false religion.

WHY??

[Hunterpoet]

Does anyone else have trouble around this time of year? I get irritable with people, and a lot of spiritual activity seems to start up around this house. Anyone else, or am I alone in this. Is there anything particular you do this time of year to keep things under control, and under the hand of Jesus?

Hey ther. no you are not alone do not like Halloween and do not participate in it my 16 yr. old thinks I am crazy my church holds a Fall festival at that time yearly to get the gospel into the hearts of kids! it draws 500-600 yearly! mary ann

Fantastic...wish the churches round here would do that.

[ColleenLovesMischief]

Keep in mind some of us come from very unGodly backgrounds. I myself included. It used to be totally different for me this time of year. I do let my kids trick or treat by the way. Just ever since I left the occult everything seems to kick up normally in October. It has started early for me this year. If anything it is only annoying.

[ColleenLovesMischief]

Does anyone else have trouble around this time of year? I get irritable with people, and a lot of spiritual activity seems to start up around this house. Anyone else, or am I alone in this. Is there anything particular you do this time of year to keep things under control, and under the hand of Jesus?

I am soooo experiencing heighten spiritual activity in my house. You are not alone in this one. This year it's so much worse since the death of my husband and my issues seemed to have stirred things up beforehand anyway.

I lost my first husband in June of 2006. Things have been worse since then. That fall was absolutely horrid for me. I got knocked on my toosh many times, but God kept lifting me back up. Much as He continues to do.

[~pearl]

I dont like this "holiday" I thinks its wrong to celebrate demons. This year I am hoping to put together an alternative celebration for the kids. Our town doesnt allow trick or treating anyway but they do hold a party at the convention center.

What I would like to do is have a party for the kids, they can dress up as a Bible characrter, their favorite animal, or just wear their pjs. I would have a cake walk, hand out candy (which is what the kids like about halloween anyway ) and play games. Any suggestions for games and/or activities would be appreciated.

The only thing I see being celebrated on Halloween is free candy.

So people in your area dont put up decor of ghosts and ghouls, skulls and the like? This is what I mean by celebrating demons.

[~~ angelique ~~]

Keep in mind some of us come from very unGodly backgrounds. I myself included. It used to be totally different for me this time of year. I do let my kids trick or treat by the way. Just ever since I left the occult everything seems to kick up normally in October. It has started early for me this year. If anything it is only annoying.

You are SO right. Samhain, just last year, was very different. I had just really begun to seek so the spiritual activity was horrible. This year is even worse.

[Guest shiloh357]

I dunno...

I went Trick-or-Treating every year from age 6 to age 11, and I never once thought about worshipping demons. It was all about the candy. Once or twice Halloween fell on a Friday, and we were allowed to stay out longer and stay up later after we got home, and watch scary movies. At the time, it was movies like the excorsist or one of the Damien Omen movies.

From a very young age, I have always been able to divorce fiction from reality. That is why I can ignore conspiracy theory nonsense and similar rumor mills, and It is why I am not effected by horror movies psychological thrillers or violent "testosterone" movies like Stallone and Arnold put out every year when I was a teenager. I knew some guys who started running around like they were survivalists after watching Rambo pt. 1. They were weird anyway and already had problems before they watched the movie.

It is the same with Halloween. October 31 is just another day on the calendar, and it is day the Lord has made for us. The enemy tries to hi-jack the day, but it is just another day we need to give over to the Lord

[nebula]

When I was a kid, the day was more about costumes and candy and cartoonish ghouls and ghosts and witches and whatnot.

But the "evil spirits" focus of Halloween seems to have gotten deeper and darker since then.

I don't know what it is like from a child's perspective, but I'm not even sure they have the innocent Holloween specials on anymore? ("It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" and the like).

If a Christian sees no harm in the trick or treating and carving a pumpkin, I won't point fingers at them about partaking in evil per se.

However, considering that Samhein falls at the same time (right?) there is a lot of spiritual darkness going on. Standing in spiritual warfare or spending the night in worship for that reason is a good thing to do. No, we don't need to fear, but interceding for others is a good idea.

[Guest man]

For those who don't celebrate Halloween.

If you're doing something on that night that you don't do any other time of the year, you're celebrating Halloween.

As for myself, it's just another day.

[Floatingaxe]

For those who don't celebrate Halloween.

If you're doing something on that night that you don't do any other time of the year, you're celebrating Halloween.

As for myself, it's just another day.

We do something different: we shut off our lights and pretend to be out.