I found this really great website and found some great answers by Rabbi Jeffery Goldwasser's.
Here is an article he wrote about the topic.
Q. Is it OK for American Jews to celebrate Halloween?
A. That only begs the question, what is Halloween, anyway?
Halloween is a great example of how holidays can change meaning over time. Halloween started as a Celtic holiday to celebrate the harvest, like holidays in most cultures at this time of year. The Celts, however, believed that the holiday posed danger because the dead could interfere with the living on this day.
The holiday was later appropriated by Christians as the eve of All Saints Day, observed on November 1. The name of the holiday reflects its observance as "All Hallows Even." In one medieval custom, poor people would travel from house to house on All Saints Day asking for food in exchange for prayers for the dead. Halloween is no longer observed by the church in any way on October 31.
When Halloween hit America, it took on yet another meaning. On these shores, the holiday became an amalgam of symbols from the Celtic holiday, the Christian custom of traveling from house to house, harvest symbols (like the Jack O'-lantern), and contemporary symbols of fright and death. The holiday, as it is observed in America, has entirely lost its connection to any religious meaning or observance.
There is no religious reason why contemporary Jews should not celebrate Halloween as it is commonly observed by dressing in costumes, giving children candies and other treats, and by taking our own young children out to "Trick-or-Treat." As a secular holiday, Halloween should be no more problematic for Reform Jews than are Thanksgiving or the Fourth of July. Halloween's focus on fright and death can be a good opportunity for talking to young children about their fears, although it should not be taken to excess.
I hope this is helpful.
Best wishes,
Rabbi Jeffrey W. Goldwasser
If your family does decide to celebrate Halloween this year, you might find this About.com childcare article helpful: Halloween Safety for Your Ghosts and Goblins. Also, check your local listings for information about safe trick-or-treating locations, which are often organized by libraries, schools or other public venues.
Hope you all enjoy
Lots of Love
*Amanda^
I have always been very curious about different kinds of religions and what they believe and how they handle those beliefs here in America where the teaching is different. I found this article and found it very interesting.
Lots of love
^Amanda*
Islamic Teachings
Virtually all Halloween traditions are based either in ancient pagan culture, or in Christianity. From an Islamic point of view, they all are forms of idolatry (shirk). As Muslims, our celebrations should be ones that honor and uphold our faith and beliefs. How can we worship only Allah, the Creator, if we participate in activities that are based in pagan rituals, divination, and the spirit world? Many people participate in these celebrations without even understanding the history and the pagan connections, just because their friends are doing it, their parents did it ("it's a tradition!"), and because "it's fun!"
So what can we do, when our children see others dressed up, eating candy, and going to parties? While it may be tempting to join in, we must be careful to preserve our own traditions and not allow our children to be corrupted by this seemingly "innocent" fun. When tempted, remember the pagan origins of these traditions, and ask Allah to give you strength. Save the celebration, the fun and games, for our 'Eid festivals. Children can still have their fun, and most importantly, should learn that we only acknowledge holidays that have a religious significance to us as Muslims. Holidays are not just excuses to binge and be reckless. In Islam, our holidays retain their religious importance, while allowing proper time for rejoicing, fun and games.
Guidance From the Quran On this point, the Quran says:
"When it is said unto them, 'Come to what Allah has revealed, come to the Messenger,' they say, 'Enough for us are the ways we found our fathers following.' What! Even though their fathers were void of knowledge and guidance?" (Qur'an 5:104)
"Has not the time arrived for the believers, that their hearts in all humility should engage in the remembrance of Allah and of the Truth which has been revealed to them? That they should not become like those to whom was given the Book aforetime, but long ages passed over them and their hearts grew hard? For many among them are rebellious transgressors."
(Qur'an 57:16)
Down to number 10 on our list of 12 different religions and their beliefs about Halloween.
Number 10 is specific towards the LDS (Mormon) Religion.
As most of you know Kristina was raised as Lds and no longer practices that and we have a lot of friends and family who still believe in this religion. After a lot of research and talking to different people on the matter we found that a lot of people believe differently on the subject as there is nothing in Mormon doctrine about this holiday.
I found a website called Mormonwomen.org where a bunch of different people have come on and discussed their opinions about this. I found this article to be very interesting. Happy Halloween everyone and lots of love
Amanda How Do Mormons Celebrate Halloween When it Falls on a Sunday? Posted on October 25th, 2010 by Heidi Do Mormons Celebrate Halloween? Even on Sundays? ~ by Heidi
Here at Mormon Women, we receive numerous emails about Halloween in the month of October. What started out as a pagan ritual in the centuries long before the birth of Jesus Christ, has now, in the United States, become mostly a festive holiday that, through the lights, colorful costumes and fun food, brightens up the darkening days of autumn. Whether or not one celebrates Halloween is a personal preference and there is no official LDS doctrine in regards to it. Most Mormons I know think of Halloween as a fun time for children with rituals and customs that bring warmth to days that are becoming colder.
Most Mormons will dress up their children for Trick-or-Treating (a custom that includes children going from door to door to ask for candy), celebrations at school, at home, and at the church building. Some costumes are silly and some are spooky. Masks are usually avoided as they are considered dangerous, not just amongst members of the Mormon Church, but in society at large. For example, masks can make it hard to see when out Trick-or-Treating in the dark of night. They also make it hard to know the identity of a person, making it easier for a stranger to attend functions to which he/she was not invited. Also, when people feel as if they are anonymous, it can encourage negative behavior they would not normally engage in. In addition, truly scary or gory costumes are discouraged when attending functions attended by small children who might become frightened.
Many people decorate their homes just as they do at Christmastime. Some decorate outside, some decorate inside, some do both. Some set up haunted houses within their own homes for people to tour through. Again, anything too scary is never a good idea when children are involved.
In the U.S., Halloween is a time when adults engage in a lot of drinking of alcoholic beverages. Mormons don’t. [Read more about the Mormon health code, called the Word of Wisdom.] Other than that, the only thing that is truly different about Halloween amongst Mormons is when it falls on a Sunday. In that case, the celebrations are shifted to Saturday night, or even Friday. Trick-or-Treating is limited to only Mormons as it would be rude to knock on a stranger’s door the night before Halloween and ask for candy.
In our case, our ward (church congregation) always has a Halloween party the Friday or Saturday night before Halloween. This includes traditional games such as bobbing for apples and a costume parade. It also includes a Trunk-or-Treat, where-in the children go from car trunk to car trunk to ask for candy out in the parking lot of the church building. Many of the cars are heavily decorated and there is a prize for the best costumes as well as the best decorated car. In some wards I have attended, Trick-or-Treating is done in the building where-in each room is decorated as if it were someone’s home. It’s a fun, warm and safe solution to a night that can be a bit dangerous.
Because Halloween is on Sunday this year and our ward is having a party on Saturday night, the ward members have decided to pass out candy to the children who knock on their door on Friday night. Come Sunday night, some Mormons will choose to turn off their porch light, a signal that no candy will be given at that particular home. However, most will have a bowl of candy ready for the children of the neighborhood who come knocking on their doors.
Number 11 on different beliefs about Halloween I have chosen Catholicism. I went through a lot of different sites and information and I found Catholic Answers on Catholics.com and an older post by a lady named Katherine Andes. She wrote and article titled Taking back our "Holy" Halloween. I found this very interesting and wanted to share it.
Happy Halloween everyone
Lots of love
Amanda Taking Back Our "Holy" Halloween
By Katherine Andes
"Kathy, why don’t you and the kids come to our church’s Harvest Festival?" asked my Evangelical friend. "There will be a bon fire, hay rides and candy for the kids." It sounded great, and, since my husband had recently died, I didn’t relish trick or treating by myself with my little ones.
"Do the kids wear costumes?" I inquired.
"No, we definitely discourage that," she said.
I knew that wasn’t for my family. My children adore dressing up and roaming the streets extorting candy from the good neighbors. Besides, I knew that a number of people in my friend’s fellowship saw Catholics and Halloween and Satanism as being all of the same cloth. To the extent that Halloween has become a celebration of death and ghoulishness, I can see their point.
If some Protestants think that Halloween is satanic, then I understand their retreat to church parties. However, many Catholics are also beginning to retreat from Halloween. Like Protestants, some have church parties. Others simply close their blinds and watch videos in a back room come All Hallow’s Eve. Because of what’s going on in the streets, I don’t entirely blame them. Yet, if Christmas Eve had somehow become a celebration of death, would Christians retreat to a back room and watch videos? I hope not.
So why should we, good Catholics, flee from this day? We should not. We should take back our "holy" Halloween.
One of the first things I did was to encourage clean and, when possible, holy costumes. One year, my then five-year-old son was determined to be a pirate. I suggested numerous alternatives to being a pirate but he wouldn’t hear of any. In e.asperation he said, "But mom, firemen don’t carry swords."
Now it was clear. What he really wanted to do was brandish a sword! I suggested he could be St. Michael the Archangel and still carry a sword, and he happily complied. (To those who ask what’s wrong with being a pirate, how would you feel if your child said he wanted to be a hijacker or terrorist?)
Although our family has high standards for costumes, I insist the children not make derogatory remarks about the choices of their friends. Last year, a child came over to trick or treat with us dressed as Count Dracula. It was strange taking a picture of a vampire and a nun, in full habit, together. At one point, the boy took off his vampire mask because it was hot.
My daughter suddenly squealed in admiration, "You look like Bach!"
My son chimed in, "You do. You look like a composer." Indeed the boy, sans mask and now dressed in a simple tuxedo, did look like a composer. That evening, by God’s grace, our group included a nun, an astronaut, a lion king and . . . Johann Sebastian Bach.
I was further inspired by the medieval All Soul’s Day custom of beggars knocking on doors for "soul cakes" in exchange for prayers for the household’s deceased. We created our own version. On my computer, I made up little strips that said: "Thank you for the treat. My family and I will be praying for you and the souls of your dearly departed loved ones during the month of November. Happy All Saints Day and happy All Souls Day!" I varied the message slightly for the second child. The children had fun the day of Halloween cutting up their messages, rolling them into tiny scrolls, and tying them with pretty satin ribbons.
Although I wanted my children to say "Prayer for a treat," I didn’t push it, and they happily chanted "Trick or treat" like ordinary kids. People were surprised and delighted with the scrolls. One man said to my "nun" daughter, "Why, thank you, sister."
She replied with a big grin, "Well, not yet."
On the giving-out-treats part of the evening, I hand out candy along with stickers, purchased from a Christian supply store, with messages such as "Jesus loves you." One year, as we were returning from trick or treating, we were behind a little boy whose mother was berating him with foul language. The boy ran ahead to our house where a friend was giving out treats. When the child returned, he was elated—literally jumping for joy as he showed his sticker to his now docile mother. "Look, Jesus loves me!" he said. My children, who had been stunned by the earlier bad language, quietly observed everything, and I know it made an impression upon them.
This year we plan to design holy cards explaining the Christian custom of Halloween, which is the eve of two feast days: All Saints and All Souls. These can be passed out by youngsters and treat givers alike. Packets of similar holy cards could be made available in parishes for parishioners to use with room on the back of the cards for the pastor’s name and number.
Our Halloweens have truly become joyful and holy events with the month of November dedicated to special prayer, not just for our own loved ones, but also for the souls of all our neighbors and their dearly departed. The Church has always evangelized, in part, through the celebration of feasts. By taking back Halloween we can introduce our children to evangelization and begin to respond to our Holy Father’s call to re evangelize the West.
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