Halloween...Is it evil?

[41husk]

because the religouse right says so 

[defiance]

Happy anniversary to me... 

[skip68]

All this is B.S....We don't celebrate it, we just enjoy an old tale turned into a family holliday. That's it.  Just like telling scary ghost stories while camping,  we do it for fun, not because we believe in them. There is no master plan to give kids candy so they will go to hell or for kids to come to my door and me go to hell These people take & suck the fun out of life. Besides, Isn't religion great, you can sin all week long and be forgiven on sunday I don't hate, but I do hate IGNORANT PEOPLE... OH CRAP, now I'm going to hell again.   Oh well, I've got to go get some hell tickets,  I mean candy for the kids tonight.  

[Brock Samson]

it's simple because of the waining sunlight it's quite obvious that it's a good time to pray,  to remember our fallen,  and make sure we got plenty of vittles... 
  The indiginious indians were very tied to the land and the four corners or seasons, they kind'a knew instinctivly that if you didn't have your supplies laid in right you starved...
seems all cultures have some event linking the living with the dead at the end of October. for what ever reason.

The Day Of The Dead,..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

an excerpt:

"Plans for the festival are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods to be offered to the dead. During the period of October 31 and November 2, families usually clean and decorate the graves. Most visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with ofrendas, or offerings, which often include orange marigold called Flor de Muerto, Spanish for "flower of the dead", or zempoalxochitl, Nahuatl for "twenty-flower", a term that has been carried into modern Mexican Spanish as cempazúchil which are thought to attract souls of the dead to the offerings. Toys are brought for dead children (los angelitos, or little angels), and bottles of tequila, mezcal, pulque or atole for adults. Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased's favorite candies on the grave. Ofrendas are also put in homes, usually with foods such as candied pumpkin, pan de muerto or sugar skulls and beverages such as atole. The ofrendas are left out in the homes as a welcoming gesture for the deceased. Some people believe the spirits of the dead eat the "spiritual essence" of the ofrenda food, so even though the celebrators eat the food after the festivity, they believe it lacks nutritional value. The pillows and blankets are left out so that the deceased can rest after their long journey. In some parts of Mexico, such as the towns of Mixquic, Pátzcuaro and Janitzio, people spend all night beside the graves of their relatives.

Some wealthier families do build altars or small shrines in their homes. These altars usually have the Christian cross, statues or pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pictures of deceased relatives and other persons, and scores of candles. Traditionally, families spend some time around the altar praying and telling anecdotes about the deceased.

Public schools at all levels build altars with offerings, usually omitting the religious symbols. Government offices usually have at least a small altar, as this holiday is seen as important to the Mexican heritage.

Those with writing talent sometimes create "calaveras" – short poems mocking epitaphs of friends, sometimes with things they used to do in life. This custom originated in the 18th-19th century, after a newspaper published a poem narrating a dream of a cemetery in the future, "and all of us were dead", proceeding to "read" the tombstones. Newspapers dedicate calaveras to public figures, with cartoons of skeletons in the style of José Guadalupe Posada. Theatrical presentations of Don Juan Tenorio by José Zorrilla (1817–1893) are also traditional on this day.


Pan de muerto, traditionally eaten on the holidayA common symbol of the holiday is the skull (colloquially called calavera), which celebrants represent in masks, called calacas (colloquial term for "skeleton"), and foods such as Candy Skulls, which are inscribed with the name of the recipient on the forehead. Other holiday foods include pan de muerto (or "bread of the dead"), a sweet egg bread made in various shapes, from plain rounds to skulls and rabbits often decorated with white frosting to look like twisted bones.

The traditions and activities that take place in celebration of the Day of the Dead are not universal and often vary from town to town. For example, in the town of Pátzcuaro on the Lago de Pátzcuaro in Michoacán the tradition is very different if the deceased is a child rather than an adult. On November 1 of the year after a child's death, the godparents set a table in the parents' home with sweets, fruits, pan de muerto, a cross, a Rosary (used to pray to the Virgin Mary) and candles. This is meant to celebrate the child's life, in respect and appreciation for the parents. There is also dancing with colorful costumes, often with skull-shaped masks and devil masks in the plaza or garden of the town. At midnight on November 2, the people light candles and ride winged boats called mariposas (Spanish for "butterfly") to Cuiseo, an island in the middle of the lake where there is a cemetery, to honor and celebrate the lives of the dead there.

In some parts of the country, children in costumes roam the streets, asking passersby for a calaverita, a small gift of money; they don't knock on people's doors."

[rudyjrusa]

All this is B.S....We don't celebrate it, we just enjoy an old tale turned into a family holliday. That's it.  Just like telling scary ghost stories while camping,  we do it for fun, not because we believe in them. There is no master plan to give kids candy so they will go to hell or for kids to come to my door and me go to hell These people take & suck the fun out of life. Besides, Isn't religion great, you can sin all week long and be forgiven on sunday I don't hate, but I do hate IGNORANT PEOPLE... OH CRAP, now I'm going to hell again.   Oh well, I've got to go get some hell tickets,  I mean candy for the kids tonight.  

old tale - what are you talking about???  do you care what the origins are about - let me see if your family was all murdered on hallo- whatever i guess you would still celebr-whatever

[skip68]

Nope, I don't care what the origin was about I just care of what it is about now. AND, If my family was killed on Christmas it would be a hard day every year making it a bitter/sweet day and I would still get gifts for family and friends.  But I'm sure the first year or two would still be very hard. And even if I did quit celebrating Christmas, It would be because of the emotional loss of my family but I still can't see that happening..  As far as an old tale, I say this because I've heard old tales of how it was started. Again, I'm not trying to read too much into it.   Chuck..............

[Brock Samson]

Happy anniversary to me... 

  Happy Birthday?..  what's that like?..
you got a GREAT third Gen there too Bro!

[TheGhost]

old tale - what are you talking about???  do you care what the origins are about - let me see if your family was all murdered on hallo- whatever i guess you would still celebr-whatever

I had someone I cared about very much die very close to my birthday.  Does that mean I shouldn't celibrate my birthday?  Your arguements are invalid, therefore irrelevant.

[41husk]

seems like many ruffled feathers over some costumes and candy

[defiance]

Happy anniversary to me... 

  Happy Birthday?..  what's that like?..
you got a GREAT third Gen there too Bro!

Nah, actual anniversary   And it's pretty neat; never forget, so the wife's never mad at me, and I get some pretty creative gifts!

Thanks on the car, btw - it's in the midst of some pretty dramatic work, though; wait 'til around May or June of '07! 

[rudyjrusa]

old tale - what are you talking about???  do you care what the origins are about - let me see if your family was all murdered on hallo- whatever i guess you would still celebr-whatever

I had someone I cared about very much die very close to my birthday.  Does that mean I shouldn't celibrate my birthday?  Your arguements are invalid, therefore irrelevant.

it was a day that many people were murdered and still are - sacrifices of babies - many christians were murdered - virgin girls heads were cut off and made into a jack o laterns - boy - what a nice day - don't think that it was done on your birthday or christmas

[Old Moparz]

Oh well, it was good while it lasted.   

[Orange_Crush]

old tale - what are you talking about???  do you care what the origins are about - let me see if your family was all murdered on hallo- whatever i guess you would still celebr-whatever

I had someone I cared about very much die very close to my birthday.  Does that mean I shouldn't celibrate my birthday?  Your arguements are invalid, therefore irrelevant.

it was a day that many people were murdered and still are - sacrifices of babies - many christians were murdered - virgin girls heads were cut off and made into a jack o laterns - boy - what a nice day - don't think that it was done on your birthday or christmas

Sounds like someone isn't using their God-given free will to question what the youth minister and/or the church lady says.

[Charger_Fan]

old tale - what are you talking about???  do you care what the origins are about - let me see if your family was all murdered on hallo- whatever i guess you would still celebr-whatever

I had someone I cared about very much die very close to my birthday.  Does that mean I shouldn't celibrate my birthday?  Your arguements are invalid, therefore irrelevant.

it was a day that many people were murdered and still are - sacrifices of babies - many christians were murdered - virgin girls heads were cut off and made into a jack o laterns - boy - what a nice day - don't think that it was done on your birthday or christmas

That happens every other day of the year in this world, it doesn't make Halloween any more special in that regard.

[Brock Samson]

W.T.F.R.U. Talk'in 'bout Willis?! 

[skip68]

Well, all I know is that there is nothing wrong with TRICK OR TREATING.  And for the small handfull of people who (for some reason) think that letting kids go trick or treating is a sin, I feel for your kids. And I would hope you would have the sense not to tell children about murders and babies being killed and so on.  And Rudyjrusa, If you believe it's wrong, that's fine.  But man, Don't let it seem like all this baby killing and stuff happened yesterday.      Chuck....................

[Chris G.]

Well this is a fun thread.

I handed a little kid wearing a Spider Man costume a snickers and kit-kat about 30 minutes ago, and he was very polite and very happy. Not sure how he will end up in life, but I doubt having fun on Halloween for a few years out of his life will make a difference.

[squeakfinder]

Pagan ritual or not. All I remember when I was a kid you dressed up as whatever you wanted. Got to go door to door at night with your friends and collect a butt load of candy. It was fun. It is a short and fleeting time in a child's life, like when you believed in Santa Claus.

[rudyjrusa]

Pagan ritual or not. All I remember when I was a kid you dressed up as whatever you wanted. Got to go door to door at night with your friends and collect a butt load of candy. It was fun. It is a short and fleeting time in a child's life, like when you believed in Santa Claus.

its great day for flat tires - breaking windows - throwing eggs - shaving cream - breaking garbage bags - chasing young kids - people steelings kids - toilet paper in trees - satan rituals - getting drunk - taking numerous drugs - yes - lets teach our kids how important this day is

[Skued]

 

[Brock Samson]

and punctuation!   

[squeakfinder]

Pagan ritual or not. All I remember when I was a kid you dressed up as whatever you wanted. Got to go door to door at night with your friends and collect a butt load of candy. It was fun. It is a short and fleeting time in a child's life, like when you believed in Santa Claus.

its great day for flat tires - breaking windows - throwing eggs - shaving cream - breaking garbage bags - chasing young kids - people steelings kids - toilet paper in trees - satan rituals - getting drunk - taking numerous drugs - yes - lets teach our kids how important this day is

Thats just in New York.

[Shakey]

What a great night tonight was!  My 2.5 year old Daughter took part in a tradition that I, as well as her Mother took part in when we were children.

All of the children we met tonight were polite and grateful.  All of the folks in the neighbourhood were generous, even though they didn't have to be.

She chose the monkey costume.  May God have mercy on her soul!

[sjmarsing]

Sounds like Shakeys neighborhood is just like mine.
I picked out the Harley Davidson outfit for him but I guess the kid liked the Giraffe better!

[TheGhost]

old tale - what are you talking about???  do you care what the origins are about - let me see if your family was all murdered on hallo- whatever i guess you would still celebr-whatever

I had someone I cared about very much die very close to my birthday.  Does that mean I shouldn't celibrate my birthday?  Your arguements are invalid, therefore irrelevant.

it was a day that many people were murdered and still are - sacrifices of babies - many christians were murdered - virgin girls heads were cut off and made into a jack o laterns - boy - what a nice day - don't think that it was done on your birthday or christmas

Hmmmm... In that case, I think I'm going to get piss drunk tonight, and start my First Annual Halloween Bloody Rampage, where I go around, and slaughter innocent children who are just looking to get some candy, break into houses to kidnap and eat babies, and find myself some Christians to sacrifice to Randall, the Pagan God of Halloweenmas.

See you tommorow.