I ,myself being Wiccan, look at Halloween as more than a day where kids dress up and get candy.

"Halloween originated from the Pagan festival Samhain, celebrated among the Celts of Ireland and Great Britain. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century.The Festival of Halloween is a celebration of the end of the fertile period of the Celtic Goddess Eiseria. It is said that when Eiseria reaches the end of her fertile cycle the worlds of the dead and the living interlap. This happens on October 31. Masks are worn to show respect for the Goddess Eiseria who, like most Celtic deities, does not wish to be seen with human eyes. The day also preceeds All saints day, which was at first the celebration of the start of a new cycle of fertility for the celtic Goddess Eiseria. Couples incapable of producing children thus tried their luck on All saints day."

So I was wondering what everyone else's thoughts are on this holiday or any other holiday?

Being Irish and having grandparents directly from there, we were taught the background of Halloween and celebrated it with them, the 'old' way. I intend on teaching my kids the history of it, right now they are both too young to understand. So it's traditional festivities for them.

Being Irish and having grandparents directly from there, we were taught the background of Halloween and celebrated it with them, the 'old' way. I intend on teaching my kids the history of it, right now they are both too young to understand. So it's traditional festivities for them.

Awesome!!

When I was a kid being raised a good Irish Catholic.We didnt care.You got dressed up as anything you wanted (within reason),and we went around the block.

That all changed when my Dad dated/married a crazy evangelical.So she took all the fun out of everything...my Dad had to pitch my vast collection of "Ghost" books on battlefields,and I was deadly scolded for dressing up as a dead Cal Ripken in 7th grade.And that pretty much ended EVERYTHING.(Now I have 13 with spiders and spiderwebs tattooed on my shins...a lesson to all parents! haha)

I could careless.DB and I arent partial to a religion or any set beliefs,and we dont want kids either.Im more "religious" than he is at this point.

I would bypass Halloween altogether if I could. Our son loves to dress up and go trick or treating, so I'm stuck with it. I enjoy seeing him get so excited about it though. :yes

Since we are not religious, it holds no meaning for us either way in that regard.

We love Halloween!! It's super fun and spooky! :D

It's one of our favorite holidays!!!

We don't celebrate Halloween. We go to the church and have a harvest party. Any holiday, we celebrate Jesus no matter what. If Glen wants to dress up, we do it Christ-honoring. Nothing satanic or evil. To us, it is just time for fun and fellowship.

To us its just a fun day to get dressed up and go out and get candy.

We get dressed up and go trick or treating, that is it for us :)

DF practiced wicca for a while but I think we are both set in our own religous beliefs. He isn't serious about it anymore. Though he is the Wiccan guide for his unit in Iraq. WE LOVE HALLOWEEN.
We go all out.

For me holidays are about rememberance. Halloween was always a big deal at my house, my mom always made us feel special on all the holidays... so now I try to do that for my kids.
I want them to have great memories for them to pass on to their kids.

To us its just a fun day to get dressed up and go out and get candy.

We get dressed up and go trick or treating, that is it for us :)

Same here.

love halloween favorite holiday :D
being a wiccan i see it as a day of ritual and honoring the Dark god and goddess.(for those that dont understand what i mean by this.the Dark god and goddess basically means.the dieties that represent the journey to the underworld...examples being Egyptian god Anubis and the greek(i think)goddess Hecate)
however also being of Irish decent i see it as a day to go by the old ways.

i see it as a day of remembering,honoring and inviting the ancestors back into the home :)

but i do loe to dress up and party aswell.so for me not only is a day for honoring things but also just a fun time in general ^_^

dh and i use it as an excuse to party with our friends, and were not planning on having kids, so i guess well just keep partying! this year i have to do it alone though.. :(

love halloween favorite holiday :D
being a wiccan i see it as a day of ritual and honoring the Dark god and goddess.(for those that dont understand what i mean by this.the Dark god and goddess basically means.the dieties that represent the journey to the underworld...examples being Egyptian god Anubis and the greek(i think)goddess Hecate)
however also being of Irish decent i see it as a day to go by the old ways.

i see it as a day of remembering,honoring and inviting the ancestors back into the home :)

but i do loe to dress up and party aswell.so for me not only is a day for honoring things but also just a fun time in general ^_^

Back home when I was part of a coven, we would bring a picture of a passed loved one to the ritual and ask them to join us during our festival. It was alot of fun and I always brought my grandfather's pic (it was strange though because I always smelt his pipe smoke during the ritual so I believe he was there (L))

my family is catholic...but not the super-strict crazy ones. we always went to a harvest festival type thing...those were fun. but always trick-or-treated too. i don't know what it is but i totally love halloween its my favorite holiday. I consider myself religious and the holiday doesn't offend me at all. The way the world is these days...anything that makes kids happy and brings communities together is a good thing to me.

Samhain Lore (October 31st)


Samhain, (pronounced SOW-in, SAH-vin, or SAM-hayne) means "End of Summer", and is the third and final Harvest. The dark winter half of the year commences on this Sabbat.

It is generally celebrated on October 31st, but some traditions prefer November 1st. It is one of the two "spirit-nights" each year, the other being Beltane. It is a magical interval when the mundane laws of time and space are temporarily suspended, and the Thin Veil between the worlds is lifted. Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is easy at this time, for they journey through this world on their way to the Summerlands. It is a time to study the Dark Mysteries and honor the Dark Mother and the Dark Father, symbolized by the Crone and her aged Consort.

Originally the "Feast of the Dead" was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the "wandering dead". Today a lot of practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set to the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos. The Wee Folke became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. Traveling after dark was was not advised. People dressed in white (like ghosts), wore disguises made of straw, or dressed as the opposite gender in order to fool the Nature spirits.

This was the time that the cattle and other livestock were slaughtered for eating in the ensuing winter months. Any crops still in the field on Samhain were considered taboo, and left as offerings to the Nature spirits. Bonfires were built, (originally called bone-fires, for after feasting, the bones were thrown in the fire as offerings for healthy and plentiful livestock in the New Year) and stones were marked with peoples names. Then they were thrown into the fire, to be retrieved in the morning. The condition of the retrieved stone foretold of that person's fortune in the coming year. Hearth fires were also lit from the village bonfire to ensure unity, and the ashes were spread over the harvested fields to protect and bless the land.

Various other names for this Greater Sabbat are Third Harvest, Samana, Day of the Dead, Old Hallowmas (Scottish/Celtic), Vigil of Saman, Shadowfest (Strega), and Samhuinn. Also known as All Hallow's Eve, (that day actually falls on November 7th), and Martinmas (that is celebrated November 11th), Samhain is now generally considered the Witch's New Year.

Symbolism of Samhain:
Third Harvest, the Dark Mysteries, Rebirth through Death.

Symbols of Samhain:
Gourds, Apples, Black Cats, Jack-O-Lanterns, Besoms.

Herbs of Samhain:
Mugwort, Allspice, Broom, Catnip, Deadly Nightshade, Mandrake, Oak leaves, Sage and Straw.

Foods of Samhain:
Turnips, Apples, Gourds, Nuts, Mulled Wines, Beef, Pork, Poultry.

Incense of Samhain:
Heliotrope, Mint, Nutmeg.

Colors of Samhain:
Black, Orange, White, Silver, Gold.

Stones of Samhain:
All Black Stones, preferably jet or obsidian.

Hmm... I always thought that Halloween was started to scare away "evil" spirits. And that people dressed up to trick them and steer them away or something.

Not that I really believe in any of that stuff.... but I'd never heard of it having pagan roots?

I grew up trick-or-treating..... and I'm sure I'll be taking my kids when I have them... but for now it's just an excuse to go out with my girlfriends and have fun...

We love Halloween!! It's super fun and spooky! :D


:yes:agree

We love Halloween!! It's super fun and spooky! :D

It's one of our favorite holidays!!!

ITA! I don't look it as a taboo, whatever. I completely embrace the totally commercialized side of Halloween wholeheartedly! (Now I'm gonna go watch my Charlie Brown DVD and eat some indian corn! :teehee)

As a kid we my family didn't care too much, I'm a Christian, but I just see it as kids dressing up and getting candy.
I just like watching a good horror movie. :giggle

I don't celebrate halloween for it's "spiritual" history or meaning. It's a great opportunity for my kids to get dressed up and go trick or treating. It's alot along the same lines as non-christians celebrating Christmas (santa).

We don't celebrate it. The kids don't dress up and we don't hand out candy.

Being Christian we've never really been into Halloween that much. Over the years the kids would dress up and trick-or-treat. Other than that, I've never found anything appealing about it. Not into the scary, gory aspect of it. Just never saw the point in it as far as this goes. I don't consider it a holiday either.

I come from a long line of Irish Catholics (my grandmother is 1st generation from there). We've always celebrated it as a fun day to be spooky, dress up and pass out candy. We've never been uptight about it being a religious or non-religious holiday. Just an excuse to eat a lot of candy and dress up! lol DH and I love Halloween. We love horror movies, being scared, etc.

Halloween is one of my fav. holidays, preceded only by St. Patrick's Day. I could care less about the other holidays the rest of the year. :lol

for me it's a religious celebration, and just a time to have some fun :) i always dress up as a witch :teehee it's one of my favorite holidays, except for this year, because we have no parties to go to and therefore no reason to get dressed up :(

For us, it's just a fun day to get dressed up, go trick or treating, and hand out candy. My girls and I love it and they're very excited that Halloween is tomorrow!

I just view it as a day for people to dress up and have fun. Kids get to go trick or treating. Scary, spooky, movies are on tv. And it is another reason to have a party.

Next to Christmas, Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love to dress up, and in the way that Christmas is all about family, Halloween is all about my friends. I was a theater/band geek in school, so my friends and I make good costumes.

I just view it as a day for people to dress up and have fun. Kids get to go trick or treating. Scary, spooky, movies are on tv. And it is another reason to have a party.

:yes

Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday! I don't celebrate it as anything spiritual though we have in years past had Samhain fests with a few friends. They have all since moved away so none for us the past 2 years! :(

Hmm... I always thought that Halloween was started to scare away "evil" spirits. And that people dressed up to trick them and steer them away or something.

Not that I really believe in any of that stuff.... but I'd never heard of it having pagan roots?

Everything has Pagan roots Heidi. LOL.

Halloween stopped being fun to me when I was like 14. LOL. I don't care either way. Although I do think Halloween peeps rule. :tu

Honestly, I think people have begun to read WAYYY to much into Holidays and make them about something other than having fun, being with family etc.

That being said....we LOVE Halloween!!

Honestly, I think people have begun to read WAYYY to much into Holidays and make them about something other than having fun, being with family etc.

That being said....we LOVE Halloween!!

I TOTALLY agree with you. I hate seeing all of these holidays being made in a fight.

One religion against another fighting about who gets to say what when and to who. WHO CARES. For me, it's all about family and gratitude and love. Every holiday is what YOU make of it. Worrying about what I can and can't say to people, or how people will respond to what I say, is SILLY. And completely juvenile. If someone says Merry Christmas/Happy Halloween/Happy Easter/etc to me, I take it in the spirit I HOPE it was meant and smile. Just like I hope others do if I say Happy Holidays/Happy Harvest/Happy Ostara to them. Why can't everyone do that? Christian and non-Christian alike? :dunno

Wooooo, sorry! Went off on a little tangent there. :blush

Wooooo, sorry! Went off on a little tangent there. :blush

Feel Better? :lol

But I can't agree with you more!!

we just teach our kids that halloween is about dressing up and getting candy. i'm 26 and halloween is still considered to me as an excuse to pig out on candy!

We LOVE Halloween! We like to set up haunted housed and take the kids out to get candy.

Its our favorite holiday.

Feel Better? :lol

But I can't agree with you more!!

Haha, actually, I do. :giggle

I don't celebrate halloween for it's "spiritual" history or meaning. It's a great opportunity for my kids to get dressed up and go trick or treating. It's alot along the same lines as non-christians celebrating Christmas (santa).
:agree I just like dressing up and checking out all the cute costumes.

Hmm... I always thought that Halloween was started to scare away "evil" spirits. And that people dressed up to trick them and steer them away or something.

Not that I really believe in any of that stuff.... but I'd never heard of it having pagan roots?

I grew up trick-or-treating..... and I'm sure I'll be taking my kids when I have them... but for now it's just an excuse to go out with my girlfriends and have fun...


thats the idea behind carving pumpkins!

Halloween is just a fun time for my kids and I enjoy seeing the costumes. I know the pagen roots and the old traditions but we don't celebrate them. I am Jewish and a lot of Jews don't do halloween BUT my kids are lucky their Dad is not Jewish so they get to do Halloween. Mixed faiths has its perks when it comes to things the kids get to do in my home.

Halloween as we know it today was started by the catholic church, to my understanding. All Hallows/Samhain ...not the same as the holiday most celebrate now and shouldn't be confused.

My family celebrates both and Oct 31st is the best day of the year, as far as we're concerned!!

Halloween as we know it today was started by the catholic church, to my understanding. All Hallows/Samhain ...not the same as the holiday most celebrate now and shouldn't be confused.

My family celebrates both and Oct 31st is the best day of the year, as far as we're concerned!!

actually the catholics started All saints day

Samhain was the original tradition started by the Celtics/druids in Ireland.

either way.i love this holiday more then i like christmas :teehee. i love dressing up and handing out candy.(though i miss trick-or-treating)