5 reasons our family does not celebrate Halloween

Thank you for this article. This is something we need some introspective thought, and since it is such a cultural tradition, may take some healthy sacrifice on our part. Some reason’s our family does not celebrate Halloween are:

1) Holidays take up a very large about of time and hence a big chunk of our lives. If we are putting so much energy into any activity at all, that activity should the have lasting effect of Building the Kingdom of God. Holidays aren’t “just fun”, they teach and honor, and celebrate. What are we teaching, honoring and celebrating on Halloween? If isn’t Christ, it shouldn’t take our time. Not everything is worth our time. Even if everyone else is doing it.

2) This desensitizes adults and children to actual evil to the point when confronted with actual evil they tend to think it’s “not real” (a game), or really not that bad, (a hoax, game). Children learn their adult roles through play. Do we want their play to be in preparation to build the Kingdom of God? or taunt the Children of God?

3) Haylia’s (our daughter) answer: The costumes and decorations that we see give us a bad spirit. Halloween feeds our greed istead of building self-mastery as Christ commands.

4) This day is actual used by real Satanists. We want to avoid even the appearance of evil, as Christ commands.

5) We are too busy learning about and honor Martin Luther (who nailed the 95 thesis to the Church door in 1517 in preparation for religious reformation) through games and hero dress up with several familes. Anyone wanting to join us can do so at the FB Event https://www.facebook.com/events/901337829997289/.

My Top 5 Reasons our family does not celebrate Halloween by Cameron and Kimberly Smith

#1 The Book of Mormon teaches clearly that traditions that are in accordance with the gospel of Christ can have a profound influence on leading the children of men to truth. Righteous lives are influenced not only by the Spirit of the Lord but also by righteous men and women who teach their children correct principles.

Latter-day Saints must learn to discern and choose between the righteous traditions of the gospel and the evil traditions that surround them.

Righteous traditions fostered in the family have a profound effect on the spiritual lives of the children in the home. Whereas false or wicked traditions such as Halloween can lead children away from the truths of the Gospel and can lead to ignorance and make it more difficult for our children to recognize truth from error.

#2 False Traditions learned in the home and practiced by parents are very difficult for children to let go of as they grow older and start families of their own. Generally a false tradition is passed down to the next generation making it extremely difficult to discern truth from error and to depart from the false traditions learned in home at an early age.

#3 The Lord said in 2 Cor. 6:17, “Come out from them and be separate … Touch no unclean thing …” Doesn’t God want His children to be set apart from the world and from sin and evil? Aren’t we supposed to be peculiar people?

#4 Not celebrating Halloween is an opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and helps those around you have the courage and strength to also let go of this false tradition and seek to do that which is pleasing to God on that day.

#5 Lets be honest. Do you your kids really need another opportunity to be fed full of junk food and to be entertained? Participation in worldly celebrations especially pagan holidays makes it difficult to teach children to be disciplined and to enjoy the simple pleasures in life that come as a result of hard work and delayed gratification.

Choosing not to celebrate Halloween doesn’t mean that you have to lock yourself in your home with the lights off and hide from the world. Make it a day of prayer and a day of service. Get your kids involved in a cause. Instead of buying and consuming junk foods enjoy the wonderful harvest foods that are in abundance this time of year.

Unfortunately, Halloween is a day that children become victims of satanic ritual abuse. Make this a day of fasting and prayer for the protection of these innocent children who only experience the darkness and horror of this wicked and evil holiday.

1) Because the preparation alone, costumes for all the kids, takes precious, sacred time;
same for money;
2) Because it’s paganistic practice and I am not a pagan nor is my family;
3) Because its Origins are not of or from Christ
4) Because it’s sugar on my child’s teeth and in their body, we can’t afford
5) Because of the entitlement which follows having a stash of candy they “earned” or worked hard for… if that’s working hard why don’t we all work hard and beg

I’m grateful for this article and the many great points it brings to light. My family has been weaning itself from Halloween for about two years now. With seven kids and this tradition we had been celebrating for our whole lives, this was no simple task. Our kids saw me get rid of my witch costume and others, along with multiple Halloween decorations I had collected over the years. They didn’t get to participate in the school parade or go trick or treating with friends… not even the ward trunk or treat satisfied my intense need and desire to distance myself from the darkness Halloween brings.

Our plan every October 31st now is to begin new traditions that are wholesome and praiseworthy. We plan to celebrate the Reformation, do fun Fall crafts, make and decorate pumpkin treats, watch a good movie, go swimming, etc.

We love the Fall with its gorgeous colors, smells, and treats so we are beginning to instill in our children less the feelings of deprivation and more the feeling that we can still have a great time as a family without the darkness certain Halloween traditions bring.

I do not celebrate Halloween because I feel I can either celebrate God or Satan and no man can serve two masters. I want to spend my time focusing on the things of My Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son Jesus Christ. There is already too much darkness and evil in the world and celebrating it and/or making light of it, as if it’s just “fun and games,” only dulls the senses to the dangers of evil, and at it’s worse, can drive away the spirit of God. I like to focus on the approaching Thanksgiving and all that I have been blessed with through the power of the atonement and God’s love for us. I celebrate God, light, truth, hope, healing, repentance, redemption, faith, peace, service, brotherly kindness, etc. I want to live each day (including October 31) so that I turn my eyes to God, seek His will, and live so that my life always reflects my covenant to live as He would live and stand in holy places. I want to live my life so that His spirit always feels welcome and invited by the things that I do.

1) You teach your kids growing up not to talk to strangers and never to take anything from a stranger, but once a year you encourage them to go door to door to MULTIPLE strangers houses and beg for candy from them.
2) If you listen to the spirit in any way shape or form you can feel the evil and malevolence of the day and worse the night. That’s why for younger kids is extremely scary to them to go trick or treating, because their spirit is telling them it’s wrong and warning them of the danger. Yet the parents are telling them to ignore that protective instinct of their spirit and to just do it. Which dulls/ smothers or kills their God given instinct to recognize and stay away from Satanic things.
3) If anyone has even the slightest respect or love of human or animal life then not participating in the”holiday” should be their #1 priority. As much as there are human and animal sacrifices that happen during that night. Satan is basking in the Satanic rituals and worship and at the same time laughing at the oblivious that’s helping “His holiday”
4) Our Heavenly Father absolutely abhorres and condemns that “holiday” for the shear fact of what it is and what it stands for. From the occult activities, worship and belief. To the lessons that are taught to the young.
5) All in all halloween is the worst day that has ever been commercialized and popularized in modern times. Any Christian parent that wouldn’t let their kids watch a “chainsaw massacre” type of movie, defeats the purpose when they let them go interact in person with the same said type of movie while trick or treating. In my opinion anyhow.

I and my wife have personally seen the aftermath of Satanic worshipping with animal carcasses and symbols scrawled in the dirt and on different structures. In the different places we have lived growing up. In each instance the evil that emminated from these places made the hair on our bodies rise and gave us an overwhelming sense of dread. Plus scared the life out of us. We have never forgotten those experiences.

Great article filled with important information. Thank you so much for compiling this!! Much needed! Our family has decided not to celebrate Halloween as well. 1) having known people close to me that are survivors of satanic ritual abuse, I know that Satan and the occult is very real and I want to be as far away from that as possible. 2) I want to be as close to God and that entails getting out of Babylon. 3) I’d like for my family to not splurge on candy. Would rather teach moderation and self control. 4) Too expensive. All the money that is spent on costumes and candy should go to the poor and needy instead. 5) Our family is learning about and starting to practice observing the ancient holy days. There is so much meaning to the holy days. We get so much out of them. They build us up instead of depleting us like pagan holidays do.

Oh, so many reasons to skip Halloween!

1. Halloween is full of fear and we know that is not from God. 2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.

2. Halloween grows up – It may start with cute costumes and a bobbing for apples but soon turns into pornographic and gory costumes, horror movies and ‘playing’ with the occult. If I teach my children that it’s all in “fun” when they are young I am preparing them to accept more and more as they grow up.

3. We’re just not into having FUN! – The world would have us seek after fun and entertainment 24/7. I want my children to feel deep JOY. Sometimes to get to JOY you feel discomfort or even pain. The JOY; true, deep, sweet JOY we feel on October 31st is so much more than FUN. (Though I think our celebration is also a lot of fun.)

4. People are longing for an example of how NOT to celebrate Halloween – The first year we opted out we didn’t tell anyone other than grandparents so they wouldn’t expect us to be by to show off costumes. The next year we still celebrated alone but didn’t hide in the basement and hung a sign on our door proclaiming, “Happy Reformation Day.” We did not invite people to join us. Last year we had over 50 people come to our bonfire Reformation Day celebration. After our celebration of light and posting photos on social media I had other families contact me about opting out of Halloween. People are hungry for this message!

5. The Spirit spoke to my heart and I chose to follow. – More often than not, mothers confide that they too feel uncomfortable with Halloween but they are afraid to take a stand. Don’t be. God is with you as he is with me. ” . . . for I know that the Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” (1 Nephi 3:7)

1) The first reason we gave up this holiday was when we had small kids- it made no sense to go into debt for an hour holiday. I was cheap and even $20 of candy to give out was just dumb. For me logically I couldn’t do it.
2) I also then learned anytime there is a fad or something is popular Satan has a hold on that fad. So I became immediately turned off on it.
3) I learned in the last few years about the Christian side of this day and was so saddened, that I, who should know better as a Christian, didn’t know this holiday existed . I was angry that the teaching wasn’t taught to me.
4) Spirit is just not in this day, even if you celebrate it with cute costumes and go around trick or treating. To me it’s like going to a bar and drinking milk. The spirit is just not on this holiday!
5) We do not like the traditions of our fathers. We know that they can lead you astray. As you study the Book of Mormon and learn more about those unrighteous traditions of the Nephites and how sorcery and witchcraft was a major part of their destruction, I realized those traditions are very evident in our culture,and that satan himself is leading people astray not in a form of a broomstick and black pointy hat, but through our media, popular books all disguised as innocent.

Can you imagine celebrating Halloween in Zion? How about in the Celestial Kingdom? Enough said.

1. We are warned in Isaiah 5:20, “Wo unto them that call evil good and good evil, that put darkness for light and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” I had two experiences as a child where friends wanted to play games that invite evil spirits and I knocked on doors of Satan Worshipers, fortune tellers, palm readers, etc.as a missionary. I felt the darkness of those experiences. It is real. I want nothing to do with it. Making it cute or fun doesn’t change that its root is evil.
2. I am by no means the poster child for healthy eating, but we try. Sugar makes it extremely difficult for a couple of my children to focus and too much of it gives one of them a migraine. I dreaded Halloween because it meant that my kids would have oodles of candy from oodles of parties. I would work so hard to teach them to make good choices about food and then send them out to beg for as much sugar as they could get. It just didn’t make sense.
3. My time and emotional well-being is precious. Dressing up kids was stressful and expensive. I don’t mind putting a lot of time and effort and money into something that yields a good return, but Halloween didn’t yield anything positive in my perspective. Yes it gets us out to see the neighbors. Yes it can be fun. But there are such better ways to achieve both of those things.
4. Traditions. On one hand traditions strengthen families and create a family culture that is conducive to living in the Celestial Kingdom. On the other hand, we are continually reminded about the false traditions of our fathers. As I asked myself why we had the tradition of dressing like someone else and going out to ask for a treat in exchange for not getting “tricked”, black cats, witches, ghouls, chainsaw massacres, etc., there was no doubt that this was a false tradition and not one we would take with us into the Celestial Kingdom.
5. So much of Halloween is about fear. Just walking through the store or the neighborhood can be scary in October. Fear and faith do not co-exist. Fear is a tool of the adversary.

My wife, Kimberly, already already shared our 5 reasons for not celebrating Halloween. I would like to share the blessings our family have received by choosing to turn our hearts and minds away from the Halloween tradition.

Not only do we not celebrate Halloween by not trick or treating, dressing up in innocent or cutesy costumes, or even attending “harvest parties”, we do nothing to celebrate this day. Even by participating in “alternative” activities we feel it is still a celebration of October 31st.
We try not to draw any attention to this day by engaging in activities that are “just for fun” or are out of our every day routine of daily work, study, and devotion to God. We have found that by engaging in the fantasy of this day we are leading our children away from truth. We have especially reevaluated our participation in make believe and costume dressing especially if it involves “superheroes”.
The Scriptures say if we teach our kids while they are young they will not depart from those teachings. Might we consider that if we teach our kids while they are young “false teachings” they will not depart from that either. Therefore, in an effort to correct ,while they are young, the false teachings or traditions we had grown up with my wife and decided to allow dress up or superheroes. They only serve to give our kids a false or fictional hero to look up to. Christ and Christ alone saves lives.

We have received an abundance of Spiritual blessings in our family as a result of this seemingly difficult sacrifice. However, the blessings we have received pale in comparison to the “fun” , according to some, we are giving up. We have felt the Spirit more abundantly in our home, we have received knowledge and understanding even the mysteries of the kingdom of God spoken of in the scriptures. Our spiritual vision has been sharpened and we have received increased spiritual strength to resist temptation and do hard things.

When I hear people tell me that Halloween is just for “fun” I can’t help but wonder if that is a good enough reason to do it. There are lots of things that are “fun” but are they really good for anything? At what point in our lives to we do give up things that “fun” and choose the better part? “Fun” things don’t help us progress on our journey to the Celestial Kingdom. “Fun” things don’t give us Spiritual knowledge. “Fun” things don’t help us keep our covenants. “Fun” things don’t bring lasting JOY! ” Fun things” bring temporary satisfaction and only leave us wanting more “fun”. It distracts us from our duty and our obligation to the Kingdom of God.

A blog post I wrote a few years ago. We have not observed Halloween for about a decade now, and I am now more against Halloween than ever. My reasons have morphed from the nutritional ones stated in the post, to spiritual ones. Maybe that is why the Word of Wisdom promises hidden treasures of knowledge – get ride of the physical garbage, and it becomes that much easier to discern and get rid of the spiritual garbage.
https://oilstories.wordpress.com/2010/10/23/halloween-grinchfest/

5 reasons why your children will not speak to you when they’re grown.

Hey James,
I’m wondering how you address the issue of LDS church sponsored Halloween activities? My ward does “trunk-or-treat” and a spook alley. Do your children resent you for not allowing a seemingly harmless activity? I don’t know, it just seems like an extreme leap from dressing up as a Disney character and knocking on Sis Smith’s door saying “trick-or-treat” to becoming a Satan worshiper.

Thinking some folks need to lighten up, LOL. Here are some of the reasons I DO celebrate Halloween: 1.Gives my kids a chance to get to know the neighbors around us in a quick sweep all in one night. Many of our neighbors count on seeing us and prepare accordingly. For some, we are their only visitor of the evening. 2. Gives us a chance to talk about our Celtic ancestry, and some of the funny customs they practiced 3. Gives the kids a chance to dress up and pretend to be something they aren’t, which they find really fun 4. They realize that there are lots of good people out there who will give to them freely and are friendly and kind, making for better future community connections 5. Candy, it’s magical when your 8. It’s all in good fun. I don’t know any people who actually celebrate Halloween with Satanic rituals, or family ouija board time. Actually, I can add one more, I LOVE having trick-or-treaters at my door!

Like Heather, our family has slowly been weaning away from Halloween. The past few years, my children have asked “why?” when I’ve told them that we don’t celebrate Halloween, but I felt that “It is Satan’s holiday” was all the answer they could accept at the time. This year, I have spent the last few months mentally planning a FHE discussion to go further into the answer of why it is Satan’s holiday and why I don’t want anything to do with it. And after last year’s offensive decor of our church building for the ward trunk or treat party, why I am not even attending that this year.

On Sunday, as the bishopric was announcing the trunk or treat, I began to think about this FHE discussion I wanted to have and my mind was flooded with idea after idea. I began texting them to my husband so that he could know what I was thinking, and also so I could have a record when I got home. The entire rest of the meeting, and into Sunday School, I had thought after thought come to my mind. This is what I ended up with. It is far more than 5 reasons and I apologize that it is so long. But I wanted to share it with others, particularly those who are struggling or on the fence and trying to answer “why?”.

1. In April 2016 General Conference, Sister Marriott said “What if some of our traditions don’t have a place in the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ? Letting go of them may require the emotional support and nurture of another.” I believe her statement about letting go of traditions that don’t have a place in the Gospel applies to Halloween, Christmas, Easter, as well as our everyday lives.

2. Evil is real. The occult is real. People who worship Satan are real. Witches are real. And the evil things they do, the harm, abuse and fear they inflict on others, is real. Halloween is their biggest holiday to celebrate their evil rituals and to worship Satan. I want to stay as far away from that as possible. Celebrating their holiday, even in “innocent” ways gives them power that I do not want to give them.

3. Many of our current Halloween traditions have historical origins which are not in line with the Gospel. Many have ties to the occult. I don’t believe any of them are godly, or of Christ.

4. Fear is not of the Lord. It is a tool of Satan. Why would we purposefully seek out Satan by seeking out fear?

5. Be making evil make-believe, the reality of it is hidden. Participation in Satan’s holiday not only desensitizes us to the evil around us, but to the whisperings of the Spirit.

6. Some families choose to participate in “clean” or “fun” ways. Why don’t we do that? The scriptures say you cannot serve two masters. “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” There is a story of a man who was looking to hire an new chauffeur. He interviewed 3 men. The first say he could come within 1 inch of the edge of the cliff without going over. The second said he could have 1 wheel half off the edge of the cliff without going over. The third said he stayed as far away from the edge of the cliff as possible. We want to be the ones that stay as far away as possible and that avoid the very appearance of evil. There are good, better and best ways to use our time and money. “Fun” in and of itself is not necessarily a good enough reason to do something. There are plenty of other “fun” things we do as a family that do not have ties to evil.

7. “If there be anything virtuous, lovely or of good report, we seek after these things”. Blood, gore, zombies, vampires, torture, dracula, etc. are not virtuous, lovely or of good report. In our homeschool, we use a Matrix to evaluate different creative works. We divide a piece of paper into 4 equal squares. At the top middle, we write Jesus Christ, at the bottom, we write Satan. At the left middle, we right poorly crafted, at the right we write well crafted. We can place all of our reading materials, movies, websites, magazines, art, etc. on this matrix. Where would you put Halloween?

8. Most of the traditional activities and symbols of Halloween mock the Savior’s atonement, God, and His priesthood. If we love Him, why would we participate in something that mocks Him?

9. What do you think Jesus would want us to do? What do you think he thinks of His house being decorated with fear, greed, blood, gore, vampires, and zombies?

10. Trick or treating promotes greed, extortion, a sense of entitlement without work, vandalism. Halloween promotes drunkenness, Satanic worship, “pranks”, meanness, pornography, and many other evil works. We do not want to promote those things, or learn them either.

11. We are trying to live in the world while not being of the world. The separation between the two continues to grow. The prophets tell in the last days, you will know you follows Christ and who doesn’t just by looking at them. Which group do we want to be a part of?

12. There is real power in saying “I Am”. How is this power affected when we dress up in costumes? What kind of spirit do you feel when you pretend to be anything other than the amazing child of God that you are?

13. Sometimes we feel left out. But we are not the only ones that do not celebrate Halloween.

14. What should we do to replace Halloween?

After our discussion, my 13 yo daughter was sharing with her friend and attempting to explain why our family would not be at the ward trunk or treat. Her friend said “But I’m not a Satanist.” So why would you want to participate in Satan’s holiday?

Our family together made the decision to not participate in anything associated with Halloween, the Spirit confirmed our decision in Sister Marriott’s April 2016 address. We have been blessed in many ways for having made this decision. There is one particular blessing that has come from this decision that I would like to share with others. For a couple of years, October has become our official month of service. It is during this month that we make all of our plans for the things that our family can do to bless others. Whether it be raking leaves for a neighbor, donating a flock of chickens to a family in need, blessing a handicapped child with needed equipment, shipping small gifts to children in Angola, providing orphaned children in Ecuador with school supplies or participating in Samaritan’s Purse program called “Operation Christmas Child”. We are only one family, but we have become a family that knows that like the Lord we can reach out to others one by one and assist them according to their needs. This week, including the night of Halloween, we will be busily working to fill shoe boxes with school supplies, hygiene items and toys that will be shipped off to a child in a struggling part of the world, usually one that has seen a recent natural disaster. May we all take the spirit as our guide in this time of much confusion and doubt. Blessings!

After reading this last year, I knew our family had to stop joining in this evil tradition, even if we celebrated it in an ‘innocent’ way. Watering down evil to what seems harmless and cute is still participation. It is a holiday of honoring Satan.

At first I felt completely overwhelmed because my family is very sentimental over the trick-or-treating, annual ward trunk-or-treat, gobs of candy and cute costumes. This year they have come to a better understanding of why I don’t like it. It gets easier to ditch as the costumes and decorations get more evil and disgusting. Thank you James for inspiring me and helping our family walk away from the foolish traditions of our fathers.

I agreed that satan is using such tradition to invite us to cerebrate with him the spirit of darkness. The fun in making up makes young christians like this cerebation. In my country in this day some of them made themselves like dracula the vampire,other like the living zombies the walking dead to chase people and scare. Few places the robbers cover with mask to rob people at the parking area after the party.we have reported of cases of sex harrassment during the celebration in the bars or night club.This is what satan wants our world to be.To Christians who love God must obey His teaching and totally refrained from any connection to this satannic cerebration. This respresented my personal view.

Do you guys ever leave the house. Man, you are missing out enjoying the life on earth our father in heaven gave us, choice, and the opportunity to work with others. I have had seventies etc come to Halloween parties etc. These are some over-reaching and quick leaps. As an MTC instructor I sure hope these opinions are not delivered as doctrine by the first presidency.

Satan is adept at taking things of God and twisting them for his own purpose. That’s how I see Halloween in a sense, accept in the opposite direction. I use it for good. I would be happy to do away with it, for all the negative reasons listed above that I agree with. But it’s a part of our culture and can be used for good, as long as we teach our kids both sides. Our entire family goes trick or treating together, any cosutmes are simple and cute, and we use it as an opportunity to visit with and get to know our neighbors that we otherwise don’t see that often. In several occasions the door was opened to ongoing relationships. We then get home and let them pick 1 or 2 treats and then we throw the rest of the candy away. It’s not even a celebration for us, just an excuse to visit with our neighbors for a while, it’s a great way to break the ice, my kids understand this. This topic is a metaphor for so much about our culture and the role we believers play in the world today. How you approach it and what you teach your family about it make all the difference.