Is celebrating Halloween with kids sinful?

For many religious people, celebrating Halloween presents a dilemma. Their church doesn't condone this holiday, due to Halloween's purported origins. Is celebrating Halloween with kids sinful in nature? That depends on who you ask. It also depends on how you celebrate it. Just because you feel the origins of a particular holiday are sinful, doesn't mean you have to celebrate it that way.

What does Halloween mean to your kids?

Chances are, it's not sinful. Your kids' friends are all going trick or treating, to parties or haunted houses. It's innocent fun. If your kids want to join their friends, why not let them? Whatever Halloween means to you, chances are, your kids aren't celebrating it for those reasons. In fact, it's likely they're not even aware that there's anything questionable about Halloween unless you tell them.

What bothers you about celebrating Halloween?

Some religions object to Halloween due to old traditions that no longer apply. Others feel it's the devil's holiday. Some simply don't like all that blood and gore being downplayed and made light of. The thing is, it's your choice how to celebrate any holiday with your kids. It's also your prerogative to forbid certain holidays.

Halloween is what you make of it.

Before you discount allowing your kids to celebrate Halloween, give this a thought. You can create your own Halloween traditions. They don't have to have anything to do with the sinful origins of Halloween that you believe existed in the past. As a matter of fact, most of the rumors about the origins of Halloween are inaccurate at best.

What are some positive ways to celebrate Halloween?

Halloween can be whatever you would like it to be. If you would prefer to shy away from the blood and gore, there are numerous steps you can take.

*Keep kids' costumes friendly and funny, instead of frightening and freaky.
*Instead of a haunted house and scary decor, have a brightly colored themed party.
*Encourage kids to skip the pranks, tricks and property destruction.

Of course, everyone is different.

Even after you consider the fact that nobody really knows where Halloween came from, your church might have strict laws against celebrating Halloween. Nobody can force it on you. You have to make choices that reflect and respect your belief system. As for whether celebrating Halloween with kids is sinful, you'll have to make your own judgment call. Just be sure to give others the same consideration. That's the beauty of this world. Everyone is different.