While Halloween on the surface may seem innocent enough, for many Christian families, the deep rooted connections to paganism and the glorification of dark and dreary things make the decision not to celebrate a fairly easy one. But it’s just not those who have religious objections that struggle with the decision of whether to celebrate or not.
Celebrating Can Send Mixed Messages
With the numerous mixed messages children receive during Halloween celebration, some parents find that engaging in traditional celebrations are too confusing to their children. What other day of the year would parents encourage their children to dress up, knock on strangers doors, and accept candy from people they don’t really know?
Celebrating is Too Scary
Another reason parents are opting out of celebrating Halloween is that their children are often frightened or confused about what they see and hear. Until children are well into their elementary school years, they can have a hard time distinguishing between fantasy and reality. While an adult sees a ghost and realizes it’s a person in costume, a young child simply sees a ghost.
Celebrating Contributes to Sugar Overload
With the obesity epidemic in the United States, some parents are avoiding traditional Halloween celebrations because they simply don’t want to deal with a holiday that revolves around sweets. While some parents are handing out nonfood items, many are avoiding trick-or-treating all together in efforts to eliminate collecting tons of candy they’ll only have to later take away.
Celebrating Can be Contradictory to Family Values
For some families, celebrating Halloween is out simply because it’s not representative of their family’s values. For some parents, the costumes may be to risqué, for others, having their children think it is okay to emulate evil seems wrong, and for still others, teaching their children to say “trick-or-treat” feels like the equivalent of teaching them the art of blackmail.
While advocates of Halloween may consider any rationale for not celebrating ludicrous, for those who don’t celebrate, they really don’t care. For many parents, Halloween is a simple day of fun, but for those who decide not to celebrate, the negative ramifications of celebrating outweigh the fun.
