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Message board > About Halloween celebration
About Halloween celebration
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lapaoiza
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About Halloween celebration
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Hello Everyone!
I�m writing today because when 31st October arrives, a lot of people start arguing about celebrating Halloween in my country.
Since I went to an English institute, Halloween has been celebrated here and it was a lot of fun... but now, that I am a teacher, there are people who don�t like children dressing up because they say it is an evil celebration...
What I do is to let them know that, as it is a tradition in some English speaking countries, we celebrate it to have a different activity in our class, to have fun, dress up, sing and play in English, creating another environment for learning...
What to you do in your countries? Is there this feeling of "rejection" for Halloween? Is correct what I say / think or am I wrong?
I sometimes feel disappointed by the people who says (in my country) that Halloween is WRONG... but they don�t really know anything about it... so I would like to have your sincere opinion about it... (I hope I have been clear explaining this post)
Have a nice weekend you all... and a  HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  LOL |
31 Oct 2010
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manonski (f)
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Hi
Halloween is a well celebrated holiday here. Even adults get dressed up and have costume parties.
We also celebrate it as school and everyone gets in the spirit of this holiday. Candies are not allowed at school but we make an exception for Halloween. I �m not a fan of costumes for myself but I always "decorate" myself.
I �m pretty certain that some kids prefer Halloween to Christmas. |
31 Oct 2010
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lapaoiza
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Christian people -here in Argentina- say it is a pagan celebration, inspiring demons and bad spirits... and that it is against their religion... is that true? What is the meaning of Halloween for you? (Sorry if this post becomes annoying, but I want to have a strong answer to try to change theor minds) |
31 Oct 2010
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manonski (f)
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Most of the province of Quebec is catholic and for us, Halloween has nothing to do with religion, demons and spirits. It �s just a day for kids to dress up, celebrate and get candies.
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31 Oct 2010
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libertybelle
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All Hallows Eve originally was called Samhain is an old Celtic tradition.
It really has nothing to do with Christianity.
I know there are many explanations, but I learned
it was the day where you said goodbye to the dead-
summer has ended and the harvest is over.
Each country has it �s own traditions.
You can always call it a costume party.
There is no real celebration anymore.
It is harmless. But if it is not a tradition in your country - call it something else.
L
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31 Oct 2010
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lapaoiza
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@L It has been traditionally celebrated by the English institutes... and it goes on being celebrated... Please, I don�t want to offend you... I need a correct answer to everyone who is against it without a justified reason. (just in case)
@Manonski Your answer is really helpful, as L�s... thanks a lot! (L)
Paola |
31 Oct 2010
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cacucacu
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Paola: I know the feeling. Our headmistress at our school doesn�t allow us to celebrate it with our kids at the primary school. She is afraid some parents may not like it because of religion issues. What we do with the rest of the teachers is we present to our students the origins of Halloween, but then we do a costume party. Last year we designed some lovely masks and children wore them during breaks. They were really happy. Luckily the stupid idea of relating Halloween to religion is disappearing and some country clubs are giving great parties and are ivinting all their members to celebrate it decorating their homes and giving candies to children. I really hope it is a matter of time util everybody realizes that religion has nothing to do! Love Naty |
31 Oct 2010
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JudyHalevi
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I never allowed my kids to take part in Halloween when we lived in the U.S. Not because of religious issues, but the idea of allowing kids to go and ask people for candy, and if they don �t give then you have the right to vandalize their house. This bothers me. They used to dress up when they went to school, but not trick or treating.
 from Israel Judy
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31 Oct 2010
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David Lisgo
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To try to divorce Halloween from religion is like trying to divorce Christmas from the birth of Christ and to say it is a "stupid idea" to relate Halloween to religion is to fail to understand Halloween. Most of the traditions of Halloween have their roots in religion, take the story of the Jack o Lantern for example. Here is a link of which there are many http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Halloween/jack-o-lantern.asp#; do your own research and you will see that this is not an isolated case. Of course it is a religious and secular tradition and one is to respect that, though some of the extremes that Hollywood has gone to will hopefully be avoided.
As for myself. I didn �t grow up with a tradition of celebrating Halloween so I don �t get excited about it at all. |
31 Oct 2010
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mrnicolas
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There are 2 main reasons for Argentina �s rejection towards Halloween. First, almost the whole country is Catholic, and catholicism is against pagan thoughts. Halloween has a pagan origin. Second, it is mainly a yankee celebration, so my country thinks it is something that has been imposed by this country. Hopefully, year after year it is celebrated more and more but I regret to tell that I dont believe people will change their minds. This may probably happen in the long run. |
31 Oct 2010
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blunderbuster
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Halloween came to Germany because the toy industry was looking for a new market. When I left my country to attend university there was no Helloween, when I came back I noticed that German children didn �t really know how to deal with it, I once found a raw egg sticking to my car �s door handle....it happened anonymously on a supermarket parking lot....I grew up in a Catholic area, All Saints � Day was and is a somber holiday here, it seems kind of weird to go out to party the night before.....but my students liked Katiana �s Helloween reading sheet and practiced the irregular verbs, so, fair enough ;o)
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31 Oct 2010
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