# Should Halloween be celebrated in schools?



## BritHorvat (Oct 8, 2008)

Andrea Hermitt, the Education Examiner, has great insight into whether or not this holiday should be celebrated in schools. She says, "The fact that they had children to get dressed up to collect candy didn’t bother me within itself, but the fact that Christmas was relegated to Santa Claus and on top of it made me simmer. 

"Fast forward several years, and it seems that Halloween is under attack in public schools. Perhaps the reason is just what I stated. If Christian Holidays are not welcome in school, why should any. In some cases this may be true, but you would be surprised to find out some of the reasons Halloween is banned in school."

Read more here.


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## Halloween_Queen (Sep 20, 2008)

Man, in a club I'm in I wanted to raise money by selling halloween cupcakes on halloween, but the teachers said that we shouldn't do that because some of the kids don't 'do' halloween... gah. i just say you can't ever make everyone happy and just do it anyways >.<


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## von_owen (Oct 6, 2008)

why not? It's also good when we celebrate Halloween in schools... after all it's also educational


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## clarec (Oct 7, 2008)

Well why not? They are told enough stories!!


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## Beware of the Fright (Oct 8, 2008)

well personally i think its fine mostly because most think of it as a fun holiday not about its true backround but dude i think it would be fine
if people have a problem with it then they can talk to the board but come on learning the orgin of halloween is FUNN of course im not a normal 15 year old but heck with it


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## Val (Feb 19, 2008)

I remember as a child we would dress up at school on Halloween, do a costume parade, and have a lil party. Now My sons school doesn't celebrate Halloween at all. I guess because some people celebrate and some don't. They don't really even celebrate any holiday. Kinda sad actually.


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## Frankie's Girl (Aug 27, 2007)

Val said:


> I remember as a child we would dress up at school on Halloween, do a costume parade, and have a lil party. Now My sons school doesn't celebrate Halloween at all. I guess because some people celebrate and some don't. They don't really even celebrate any holiday. Kinda sad actually.


Same here. I think it's a real shame that certain religious extremists have forced out Halloween from the school, and yet they still do Christmas.

Either ALL holidays should be banned, or none of them.


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## SunElaine (Sep 14, 2008)

Frankie's Girl said:


> Same here. I think it's a real shame that certain religious extremists have forced out Halloween from the school, and yet they still do Christmas.
> 
> Either ALL holidays should be banned, or none of them.


At my sons' school, they don't celebrate Halloween, Christmas, or Easter. But they do have a "Fall party", a "Winter party", and a "Spring party". 

I was disappointed when I realized this when my first son went through kindergarten. I remember how much fun we had as kids in school (back in the 80s) doing our Halloween parade and party, decorating the class Christmas tree, Santa would come and give everyone a small gift, and the classes did gift exchanges, and then for Easter the Easter Bunny would come and we'd have an Easter egg hunt.

I guess I shouldn't be too disappointed since they have done away with all of the holiday celebrations and didn't just pick and choose.


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## pandora (Jul 15, 2004)

I think any holiday is fine as long as religion is kept out of it. Halloween is not a religious holiday IN MY OPINION, so I think it should be allowed. Some of my best memories of elementary school were all the different holiday parties. Someone is going to be offended no matter what religion they practice, or choose not to practice at all. The fun really gets sucked out of life when everything has to go through the political correctness meat grinder first.


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## hauntedgraveyard (Sep 8, 2008)

When I was a kid, it was lots of fun to have the costume parade and a party. 

My boys have had the same, only they chose not to participate in the costume parade at about grade 8. 

It still is a big night here - thank goodness. The religious zealots haven't taken over. My youngest son still has a christmas party and christmas concert at his school. At my eldest son's school it is a little different - it is very multi cultural so a bit of everything is recognized. 

Down with the no fun zealots I say!!!


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## Elza (Jun 21, 2004)

Okay, I'm going to throw my 2 cents in here.

I think this is all a bunch of bunk...busy bodies who have nothing better to do with their time. They're messing with a date on the calendar (Halloween is not an official Holiday)

I'm a Christian, that being said, some of the biggest bigots and hypercrits have gone to the same churches I have.
Okay, so now people want to complain about Halloween so here's my rebuttal.

1. It is not and has never been about devil worship...read up and find out before you pass judgment!
2. Fix your own Holidays first.... a) Easter is really about the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ....so what's with the eggs and bunnies - huh? b) Christmas - celebration of the birth of Christ - i. Dec. 25 is not the true birthday, ii. Santa Clause - enough said
3. So the religious holidays are being distorted from what they really mean so we can "Not offend" anyone and to commercialize it.
4. Halloween is not part of any religion and even if it was, this country was founded on freedom of religion, speech etc.
5. I don't tell you how to spend your time and what days to celebrate and not to celebrate. I don't try to change when or how you celebrate. I expect the same treatment.

Okay, I ready to go to court over this...(can you see the steam?)

Why are we losing more and more of our freedom to the concept of having to make everyone happy?

I wish there was still some unexplored territory that we could all move to and start the "United Halloween Confederation" or something.


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## brushe (Jul 22, 2008)

The biggest problem I have with school taking these things away from our kids. Is there are a lot of kids, that never get the chances, or have parties at home. I have seen so many kids where their parents will not even give them lunch money. So taking away a chance for them to cut out pumpkins, witches , Santa, or what ever, and having teachers and some parents bring in snacks. To teach these kids about social life and give them some enjoyment. Just showing them some one dose care. It is nothing short of criminal, in my opinion. Our family quit going to church, because they kept wanting to to do these kind of things. Plus they started suiting each other for control of the church? 



Life is short, enjoy every moment.


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## The Halloween Goblin (Nov 16, 2005)

Heck, some of the best memories I had of school was decorating the
classroom for Halloween! We always had a party and the kids were able to 
wear their costumes! It was a lot of fun! And to my knowledge, not once
did the devil ever show up! All though there was one teacher.....


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## the dogman (Jul 8, 2007)

*it's the Whiners that are doing it*

When did the PC movement cross the lines of rationality…. 
The main cause behind the holidays being distorted is not the people changing the rules but the people demanding the rules be changed to accommodate every personal view that could possibly exist.

Halloween gets the brunt of the attacks simply because it is not a national holiday, which is kind of stupid when you look at how long it’s been celebrated in the US and how popular it is in sales figures.

Winter break includes Christmas, Chanukah and New Years, Spring break includes Passover and Easter (in most cases) and Thanksgiving gets it’s one 3-4 day weekend. Plus they get some other key ‘holidays’ off during the year, in most areas

My Idea:
If you don’t want them celebrating in school, make it a national holiday and give them the day off. 
The PC people will be happy because it’s no longer in schools.
Kids will be happy cause it’s a day off. 
And (about half ) the parents will be happy because they have more time to get their kids and everything else ready for the holiday.



And to answer about the Eggs and Bunnies on Easter : It’s taken from pagan rituals for celebrating spring and fertility. Christianity adopted it to help convert more people by saying ‘Hey, you can be Christian and continue your normal celebration.”
Anyhow would you really want your kid eating a chocolate Jesus?


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## The Halloween Goblin (Nov 16, 2005)

Thing I can't figure out is why they made Columbus Day a national
holiday and not Halloween! It's far more popular!


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## Spyderella (Oct 9, 2008)

Where I live, the schools do not acknowledge Halloween. A few years ago, a poor unsuspecting new kid showed up to school in costume and got suspended! I think that's a tad bit harsh for a misunderstanding. I kind of laugh because in an effort to appease the large number of extreme right religious people who live in this area, the schools also have season parties. Celebrating seasons is a pagan thing isn't it?

I had an issue today because a person representing a local church came down my street and passed out Halloween coloring books to the kids. The story in the book was about little Timmy who didn't go to church and went trick or treating & got hit by a car & went to hell and his parents were very sad for the rest of their lives. That cooked my gourd!

To the person who doesn't eat chocolate Jesus dolls. I won't eat chocolate crosses either.


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## The Real Joker (Sep 8, 2008)

*See, this is what really makes me CrAzy *



the dogman said:


> When did the PC movement cross the lines of rationality….
> The main cause behind the holidays being distorted is not the people changing the rules but the people demanding the rules be changed to accommodate every personal view that could possibly exist.
> 
> Halloween gets the brunt of the attacks simply because it is not a national holiday, which is kind of stupid when you look at how long it’s been celebrated in the US and how popular it is in sales figures.
> ...



DM, See, great minds do think alike 
I agree with you on all points.
When I attended elementary school, back in the 19....day, we were allowed to decorate the classrooms, wear our little costumes, and have our little Halloween parties. And the devil never once showed up, either. LOL. Well, except that one teacher...

Wow, it never ceases to amaze me how much this country has changed in the last....um....several years from when I attended school. Geez, like Dogman said, make it a national holiday already.
Everyone will be happy, both for and against *booo*hiss*you suck*get a life*booo*hissss*go bug someone else*hisssssss*


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## The Halloween Goblin (Nov 16, 2005)

Hmmm, maybe we should all get together and start a petition to have
Halloween made a national holiday. Whatta ya think?


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## selz (Oct 19, 2007)

I can always remember being told as a child that "halloween is a silly American custom, it'll never catch on in the UK"....I was one of those kids who found this hugly amusing, and made a point of memorising passages from the encyclopaedia (yes, one of _those_ kids) to recite to them. 

My mum used to stand back and just grin as I started to rant. She'd only get involved if they shut the door on me LOL. I think the world needs more of my mother 

I don't ever remember it being a part of school life though, except for when we lived on Army camps, who had families from all over the globe and got involved in everything to keep everyone happy. It was great, and had a nice community spirit.


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## Buggula (Jun 26, 2008)

Its awful that political correctness is eroding traditional values and especially harmless holidays like Halloween. Christmas gets it even harder. I wonder sometimes too if its also used as a convenient excuse to simply not bother. Money saving and all that.


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## ghostluva (Jun 14, 2009)

" The Dogman", you are so right! Having studied many religions I can tell you that many symbols in Christianity are of pagan origin (lord forbid you tell them that!). As i'm sure many followers of this forum are aware of. I think those busy bodies need to stay the hell away from my rights and freedom!

I for one am lucky though, my children's school does let them celebrate holidays. For Halloween they have a costume party. They learn how to respect other families beliefs as well. Participation is not manditory, but pretty much every student participates. 

Our kids only have so long to enjoy the simple things in life without dealing with it's harsh responsibilities. I'll be damned if anyone tries to take that away from them!!


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## 22606 (Aug 11, 2008)

To me, Halloween is something that is celebrated for _fun_, so, yes, I think schools should allow it. The world is a gloomy enough place already, so why make it unnecessarily moreso? If people truly cared about children like they claim, they'd let them have a little joy in their lives, not try to rip it away.



smrteypntz said:


> I had an issue today because a person representing a local church came down my street and passed out Halloween coloring books to the kids. The story in the book was about little Timmy who didn't go to church and went trick or treating & got hit by a car & went to hell and his parents were very sad for the rest of their lives. That cooked my gourd!


If that's not a hypocrite, I don't know what is. How would that moron like it if someone came into their church and passed out coloring books encouraging atheism and stating reasons why there's no such thing as God? Why can't people just respect others and their beliefs (or lack of), instead of turning it into a case of who's right and who's wrong?


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## Baron Samedi (Jan 15, 2009)

As a parent, I've always taught my (now grown up) children respect and tolerance for all people, regardless of ethnicity, religion, sexual persuasion or anything else that makes the human race the diverse species that it is...

Unfortunately, it now seems that tolerance and respect only work one way nowadays. 

As a family, we enjoy Christmas. I haven't heard too many people crying for it to be banned because of the amount of people injured in drunken brawls or getting themselves into huge pits of debt due to the pressure put upon them to provide expensive gifts.


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## KY_haunter (Jun 24, 2009)

I better stay out of this one. I'll go off about our educational system.

Happy Halloween everyone.


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## Reimagined (Jun 24, 2009)

Good discussion all around. I have no problem with people celebrating Halloween in school. I did as a youngster. We'd bring our favorite candy bars in snack size and put one in each halloween bucket that was decorated by us. That was the extent of it. Costumes were allowed; in fact, encouraged!

We didn't sit in a circle and call upon spirits from beyond the grave and engage in pagan rituals. At that age, none of us were ever able to sit still.

Although, I've always tried to understand all sides of an argument even if those seem unbelievable. At the end of it, instead of wiping out the entire holiday, I think parents should just decide for themselves whether or not they want their child participating. Don't write the school board and demand they stop having Halloween parties. Just keep your child home that day or something.


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## Skullie (Apr 22, 2008)

If I recall my history. The pilgrams came to this country running from religious persecution. They came here so they could practice their religions the way they wanted to. They did not force their beliefs on others. All of this talk is because of a small phrase that says keep religion seperate from state. No where does is say keep God seperate from state. So should we stop celebrating the 4th of July because Christians declaired our independence from England........ I am sorry that you think my impression of a witch is offensive to you. But you offend me if you think I would delibratly do something to offend another person. Too many people are self centered and think the actions of others is somehow directed at them. Some people have a problem looking at halloween haunts. I have a problem watching the move "The pation of Christ" the brutality scared the crap out of me. Good God watching the News scares the crap out of me......Some one get me my meds!!!!


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## Sirius (Jun 29, 2009)

Public schools are a joke nowadays anyway. Let them become the primer gray meat grinder they are, and show your kids and their friends how to properly celebrate halloween(I trust we all do that already). 

My folks and I throw a halloween bash and haunted hayride each year for our Church, so we know the kiddies have a place to come trick-or-treat, carve pumpkins and get the living daylights scared out of them, and the proceeds go to the church youth program, so everybody's happy.


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## dippedstix (Jul 2, 2009)

Halloween was tons of fun when I was in elementary school (some 30 yrs ago!). We had huge Halloween carnivals (now called fall festivals) complete with haunted houses and tons of carnival games with "halloween" prizes. We would have small halloween parties in the classroom as well. My son started school last yr and his teacher did throw a Halloween Party. Only one child stayed home (because they don't do Halloween). The rest of the kids were there and had a great time. However, his teacher this yr didn't do anything for Halloween so I guess it depends on the teacher. I think it's silly to not do halloween. What do these people think actually goes on?


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## Iffy49 (Feb 2, 2009)

Luckily, we have not yet succumbed to the level of anti-Halloween hysteria to hit the U.S. 

Here are some samples of Halloween activities going on in the UK:

Belmont - Mill Hill Preparatory School - News & Events

Halloween - Facts about Halloween in England - History and Customs for Kids

Pictures from Sandaig

Halloween Horrors Craft School Workshops - Caldicot Castle & Country Park - South Wales website - E&A Details

Looking at the business figures, just under $4billion in 2005, nearly $5 billion in 2006, over $6billion in 2008, I suspect there is little chance of Halloween dying out in the US. 

I am always surprised why Halloween is more popular in the US than the UK, especially when its origins are clearly European. 

But as long as there are groups like us, then it shouldn't die out, unless there is an anti-Halloweenist 4th Reich in the New World Order!!


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## Baron Samedi (Jan 15, 2009)

Interesting figures, Iffy.
I wonder what the corresponding spend is here in the UK?

I think what we have to bear in mind is that although the actual festival of Halloween is originally a European/Gaelic celebration, the Halloween that most of us know (and love) is clearly an American development. I also believe that much of the anti-Halloween sentiment on this side of the Atlantic is based on the unruly and anti-social behaviour of a small minority of teenagers rather than any religious fervour. (My local store will not sell flour or eggs to under 18's throughout the month of October, for example).

As for a anti-Halloweenist 4th reich..I wouldn't speak too loud if I were you. Our present government seems intent on doing away with anything that may be perceived as remotely enjoyable...


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## BoogieMan (Jun 10, 2009)

Its time ...
Its time to repent all you demonic satan lovers 

( mu ha ha ha ha - gotcha ya )

Halloween is slowly going to the wayside , as is/did many other traditions here in USA . People will say that its the governments fault , for allowing this to happen , when , indeed , its not . Its OUT fault ! We , as in "WE THE PEOPLE" . 
We , allowed folks from OTHER countries to come over , take up residency here and THEN , ( and here comes the BIG part ) , THEN , we allowed THEM to start dictating how WE should live and what rules WE should have ! 
WE , did not stand firm and put out foot down when "they" wanted to eliminate a moment of silent prayer from the beginning of a school day . 
WE , did not stand firm , when "they" wanted us to remove the US flags and to stop saying the Pledge of Allegiance from the classrooms . 
There are MANY other numerous "traditions" , that , WE , allowed "them" , to have removed from our celebrations . We are ALMOST allowing "them" to have us NOT , celebrate Christmas also ! ( maybe thats why I LOVE that song by Go Fish . The name of the song --- "It's called Christmas with a CAPITAL "C" " )
So ... if Halloween is slowly dwindling in YOUR hometown . Do not sit there on your duff ... get up and defend the RIGHT to enjoy , celebrate and carry on a tradition that has been around for AGES !

And in direct answer to the question : Should  Halloween be celebrated in schools , if my feeling were not clear in what I wrote above , then let me say :


ABSOLUTELY​


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## UnOrthodOx (Apr 24, 2007)

Whoa there. 

Unless you are part of a particular minority, "we" ALL came from OTHER countries and then dictated how the natives were to live. Including bringing over this silly halloween thing. 

Imigration issues have VERY little to do with the removal of holidays/god/traditions from school. That is largely a home-grown phenomenon.

As for the Halloween in classrooms, specifically, this phenominon predominantly originated around the 1950's, along with the rise of Trick or Treating. 

There are decent enough reasons to argue for removal of another wasted day of the schoolyear when no real learning is accomplished. I have personally been involved with a school who's solution has been to move their festivities to an after school fair, as opposed to during school 'party'. Personally, I think this is a wonderfull solution that satisfies all parties. Halloween is still celebrated, but those parents that wish their children to not be exposed simply don't attend.


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## uncletor (Dec 6, 2007)

Christmas ain't going nowhere..that's a neo con myth. They like to trot it out every year and get folks needlessly angry. Don't buy it. The day still kicks major tail every year. Even a lot of Jews celebrate it. Depending on what marketing surveys you read, a majority in fact.
Halloween, for those who would like to know, is number five in terms of loot generated, not number two, as some neo-cons like to think when they hit the panic button and worry it will overtake the Date of the Saviors Birth. It still ranks behind Mother's Day, Dad's Day, and Easter.
In these here parts, the Halloween class party is in full swing for the youngsters and the trad Halloween dance is still going strong for the teen scene in high school...you just can't wear a mask..
Sometime look up the numbers of people who come over here just to see Christmas and Halloween done RIGHT..it's a major tourist thing from other countries.


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## ruggerz (Nov 3, 2008)

Halloween in schools over here does not exist!!

The only thing you hear about over hear is, "Oh Come By My House Tonight, Were Watching A Movie" or teachers warning kids to be careful of crossing roads in the dark...

That pretty sums up halloween at schools here for me...

No decorations or anything....

My opinion is that Halloween would be better here if schools did that extra bit for Halloween, In art design your own pumpkin or some halloween maths puzzles...

Im hoping this year the talk of halloween will be "are you going to that haunt?" before the big day and after "man that haunt was awesome"...

And my aim will just be to get my area into halloween...

Im hoping it will cause a chain reaction between halloween at school and at home...

Teachers will relise people are doing more for halloween this year so then they will do something at school and then people at home will relise the school is doing something for halloween, and they would do something....ETC

Thank you

Ruggerz


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## Baron Samedi (Jan 15, 2009)

Ruggerz has a point.
Halloween is basically ignored in schools here. Always has been, even when I was at school many, many full moons ago.  It don't exist...

It would be nice if it's existence were maybe acknowledged, If not celebrated.

It lends all sorts of possibilities for creative and imaginative art projects, a break from the normal "paint a vase of flowers" day to day stuff. 

I mean..If my great niece can make a lantern for the school's Dwali festival..


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