Sunday Halloween Irks Some in Bible Belt
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Sunday Halloween Irks Some in Bible Belt
NEWNAN, Ga. (AP) - Across the Bible Belt this Halloween, some little ghosts and goblins might get shooed away by the neighbors - and some youngsters will not be allowed to go trick-or-treating at all - because the holiday falls on a Sunday this year.
"It's a day for the good Lord, not for the devil," said Barbara Braswell, who plans to send her 4-year-old granddaughter Maliyah out trick-or-treating in a princess costume on Saturday instead.
Some towns around the country are decreeing that Halloween be celebrated on Saturday to avoid complaints from those who might be offended by the sight of demons and witches ringing their doorbell on the Sabbath. Others insist the holiday should be celebrated on Oct. 31 no matter what.
"Moving it, that's like celebrating Christmas a week early," said Veronica Wright, who bought a Power Rangers costume for her son in Newnan. "It's just a kid thing. It's not for real."
It is an especially sensitive issue for authorities in the Bible Belt across the South.
"You just don't do it on Sunday," said Sandra Hulsey of Greenville, Ga. "That's Christ's day. You go to church on Sunday, you don't go out and celebrate the devil. That'll confuse a child."
In Newnan, a suburb south of Atlanta, the City Council decided to go ahead with trick-or-treating on Sunday. In 1999, the last time Oct. 31 fell on a Sunday, the city moved up trick-or-treating to Saturday, which brought howls of protest.
"We don't need to confuse people with this," Councilman George Alexander said.
In Vestavia Hills, Ala., a suburb of Birmingham, a furor erupts every time Halloween falls on Sunday. Local officials decided not to take a stand this time.
"About 15 years ago, we decided to have Halloween on Saturday instead. People went crazy. We said, 'Never again,'" recalled Starr Burbic, longtime secretary to the mayor. "It messed everybody up to move Halloween. Some people don't like having it on a Sunday, but we just couldn't find a way to make everyone happy."
The patchwork of trick-or-treat zones could work to children's advantage: Some might go out on both nights to get all the treats they can.
With so many towns split over when Halloween should be celebrated, many are going with a porch-light compromise: If people do not want trick-or-treaters, they simply turn off their lights, and parents are asked not to have kids knock there.
"Most people don't have a problem with it. It's a pretty universal compromise, so that's what we go with," said Grand Rapids, Mich., police Lt. Douglas Brinkley.
"It's a day for the good Lord, not for the devil," said Barbara Braswell, who plans to send her 4-year-old granddaughter Maliyah out trick-or-treating in a princess costume on Saturday instead.
Some towns around the country are decreeing that Halloween be celebrated on Saturday to avoid complaints from those who might be offended by the sight of demons and witches ringing their doorbell on the Sabbath. Others insist the holiday should be celebrated on Oct. 31 no matter what.
"Moving it, that's like celebrating Christmas a week early," said Veronica Wright, who bought a Power Rangers costume for her son in Newnan. "It's just a kid thing. It's not for real."
It is an especially sensitive issue for authorities in the Bible Belt across the South.
"You just don't do it on Sunday," said Sandra Hulsey of Greenville, Ga. "That's Christ's day. You go to church on Sunday, you don't go out and celebrate the devil. That'll confuse a child."
In Newnan, a suburb south of Atlanta, the City Council decided to go ahead with trick-or-treating on Sunday. In 1999, the last time Oct. 31 fell on a Sunday, the city moved up trick-or-treating to Saturday, which brought howls of protest.
"We don't need to confuse people with this," Councilman George Alexander said.
In Vestavia Hills, Ala., a suburb of Birmingham, a furor erupts every time Halloween falls on Sunday. Local officials decided not to take a stand this time.
"About 15 years ago, we decided to have Halloween on Saturday instead. People went crazy. We said, 'Never again,'" recalled Starr Burbic, longtime secretary to the mayor. "It messed everybody up to move Halloween. Some people don't like having it on a Sunday, but we just couldn't find a way to make everyone happy."
The patchwork of trick-or-treat zones could work to children's advantage: Some might go out on both nights to get all the treats they can.
With so many towns split over when Halloween should be celebrated, many are going with a porch-light compromise: If people do not want trick-or-treaters, they simply turn off their lights, and parents are asked not to have kids knock there.
"Most people don't have a problem with it. It's a pretty universal compromise, so that's what we go with," said Grand Rapids, Mich., police Lt. Douglas Brinkley.
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Halloween, contrary to popular myth, is NOT a day of the Devil, in the old Catholic tradition (which is where ultimately ALL Christian denominations came from whether they like it or not) it was a day of preparation for All Saint's Day (Nov. 1st) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2nd) the former to honor all of the Saints and the latter all those who have passed on. It is still such a day in such Catholic Countries as Mexico and the Philippines where in the latter it is the day of preparing foods and meals and sprucing up the burial sites for the Pista ng Patay (Feast of the Dead) where many families partake of their meals at the gravesites of their departed loved ones (combining Chinese with Spanish Tradition) on the following two days. It is to All Saints Day what Christmas Eve is to Christmas and Holy (or Black) Saturday is to Easter. As far as reading Harry Potter leading to Satan worship, that is a total joke since those who practice witchcraft don't even BELIEVE in the Devil of Hell and consider the former as a mere scapegoat to allow people to duck their personal responsibility for actions that hurt others.
Steve
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- therock1811
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chadtm80 wrote:No one is trying to Stop you.. I will be celebrating it as well.. But one can not fault a religious group from denouncing Halloween. Ghosts, goblins, and the Devil.. How could one fault them for having issues with it?
It doesn't matter to me what they think Chad. I'm just saying no one can stop me from making some little kid's night a little better.
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chadtm80 wrote:No one is trying to Stop you.. I will be celebrating it as well.. But one can not fault a religious group from denouncing Halloween. Ghosts, goblins, and the Devil.. How could one fault them for having issues with it?
I guess this is just one of the many areas where I see religious people taking themseves WAY too seriously. Halloween does have pagan roots, but then again so do most holidays - most Christian holidays coincide quite nicely with the pagan holidays celebrated before them. Christian societies also have a long history of celebrating these holidays - people in our country have celebrated Halloween for ages, and they have always been predominantly Christian.
If the modern celebration of Halloween involved some kind of ritual or rite, perhaps I would see things differently. But lets face it - modern day Halloween consists of dressing up like a cartoon character and gorging yourself on candy til you cant eat anymore! I cant think of a single way that playing dress up and pigging out contributes to the likelihood of devil worship

Modern Halloween is all in good fun. If you dont like the ghosts and the devils, dress your kid up like a princess or a clown or an animal. I guess the potential for having a really fun bonding night with your family seriously outweighs the risks of some evil spell in my mind.

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- streetsoldier
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Early Christian missionaries had a habit of taking local customs and celebrations and transforming them into Christian ones...using the former to illustrate "new" Christian teachings, which allowed the local peoples to understand within the context of their cultures.
Ingenious, and effective, IMHO...and I don't buy into the HP books as promoting "Satanism", either...I have all five now in print, and both of the screenplays on DVD (waiting for release of the third).
Ingenious, and effective, IMHO...and I don't buy into the HP books as promoting "Satanism", either...I have all five now in print, and both of the screenplays on DVD (waiting for release of the third).
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Oh dear lord.....my dad and stepmother live in Newnan, Georgia. I didn't know some folks were that way down there. I mean, geez...my baby sis grew up there, and I know she's gone trick-or-treating on Halloween Sunday, because I accompanied her for safety...so at least in one subdivision, the kids trick-or-treated on Sunday evening...and that was over fifteen years ago.
Around here, when Halloween falls on Sunday, the little kids go trick-or-treating on both Saturday and Sunday....I've never gave it a second thought. Sis and I did the same thing over three decades ago.
PW

Around here, when Halloween falls on Sunday, the little kids go trick-or-treating on both Saturday and Sunday....I've never gave it a second thought. Sis and I did the same thing over three decades ago.
PW
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