Halloween Candy | Imamother

JRKmommy

Tue, Oct 03 2006, 3:08 pm

Brooklyn - Thanks for the compliment!

It gets dark pretty early here by Oct. 31, so no one really rings the bell before dark.

Our area is a new subdivision, with TONS of kids. If we put the light on, we'd be swamped and answering the door would be the activity for the night (as it was when I was growing up).

healthymama

Wed, Oct 04 2006, 1:18 am

Quote:

Dh and I made the decision to emphasize Jewish holidays only with the kids. They know that Halloween exists, but we just say that it's not "our" holiday. I don't think it would be possible for us, personally, to be answering the door and giving out candy all night without making it seem like "our" holiday, and it would be very hard to explain to the kids why the other kids in the neighbourhood were going out (including some of their friends) when they couldn't.

Our friends have several kids and they let them answer the door and give out candies. Her kids like being nice to the neighbors and the family doesn't have to pretend they are acting out choshech mitzrayim in their home on Oct.31st. The kids also do not ask to go out and gather candy- they understand very well that this is "their" holiday and as neighbors, they are just being friendly.

JRKmommy

Wed, Oct 04 2006, 3:50 pm

healthymama wrote:

Quote:

I understand their reasoning. However, my kids are still fairly young (2, 4 and 7) so I think that seeing all the other kids having this fun and not being a part of it would be hard for them. It might be easier if we lived in a non-Jewish neighbourhood - but around us, many of our friends and neighbours are less observant Jews. They know that some Jews aren't as observant - but I see no need to bang them over the head with this and emphasize the differences between Jews. To a certain extent as well - I don't particularly want to be encouraging my Jewish neighbours to do this. I don't preach and lecture, of course - but the lights off is also a subtle message that I'm not going along with the idea of emphasizing a very non-Jewish holiday over Jewish holidays.

shopaholic

Wed, Oct 04 2006, 9:42 pm

Wow Lubcoralsprings! Bet you didn't expect such a long string of answers! Give it up peopl! I can't believe you are making such a big deal! Have candy available if necessary. Poor kids. They don't know Jews from none Jews & they may not have an adult with them to tell them which are houses to avoid. They may not also know that Jews don't celebrate Halloween. Don't disappoint them! Besides, maybe you'll get no knocks anyway.

ny21

Wed, Oct 04 2006, 10:04 pm

[quote="chavamom"]

momoftwins wrote:

Rabbi Kaminetsy is a good friend of our family

he married us - and he comes to all our familys simchas

Perhaps you mean Rav Shmuel

no I dont know who Rav Shmuel is

the rabbi Kaminetsy that I know is alive and well - I just spoke to him a

few weeks ago ,

chavamom

Wed, Oct 04 2006, 10:20 pm

[quote="momoftwins"]

chavamom wrote:

momoftwins wrote:

Rabbi Kaminetsy is a good friend of our family

he married us - and he comes to all our familys simchas

Perhaps you mean Rav Shmuel

no I dont know who Rav Shmuel is

the rabbi Kaminetsy that I know is alive and well - I just spoke to him a

few weeks ago ,

Generally when someone speaks of 'Rabbi Kamenetsky' they mean the gadol, Reb Ya'akov who was niftar in 1986. Or they might mean his son, who is one of the roshei yeshiva of Philadelphia, Reb Shmuel. There is also a Rav Shalom.

So I'm not sure who you mean!

leomom

Wed, Oct 04 2006, 10:43 pm

Quote:

Saying "give it up people" just dismisses others who disagree with you and does not make any real point. Same for telling people they are "making a big deal" when clearly this is a controversial subject (hence the Controversial Topics board) and there are two (or more) valid sides to this question.

Kids who are old enough to be trick-or-treating without their parents are old enough to know that not everyone celebrates Halloween. It is the responsibility of non-Jewish parents to teach their children that not every home on their block will be participating, and only to go to houses whose lights are on, or have decorations, or whatever.

Also, I really don't think it is our responsibility as Jewish parents to "not disappoint" the kids who come around. Our responsibility is to our own children and their chinuch first. Again I return to the Xmas cookie analogy. If everyone expected Xmas cookies when they came around caroling, would you make sure to bake some so as not to disappoint all the neighborhood kids?

chavamom

Thu, Oct 05 2006, 2:35 am

I'm more worried about my house getting t.p.'ed! Seriously, I think there is an inyan of 'darchei shalom' and it's not the same as X-mas cookies. X-mas cookies is not just a 'non jewish' celebration, but a religious festival of another religion. Halloween, at least at this point, is a secular observance.

Raisin

Thu, Oct 05 2006, 7:35 am

Chavamom, do you really think that all the people with trees up beleive in G-d, never mind the whole virgin birth stuff?

here is wikipedia to tell you what it is all about. I don't know, maybe it is worse than X-mas? Pagan harvest festivals, witchcraft or x-ianity...take your pick. Go here for the full article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

Quote:

Halloween originated in Ireland as the pagan Celtic harvest festival, Samhain. Irish, Scots and other immigrants brought older versions of the tradition to North America in the 19th century. Most other Western countries have embraced Halloween as a part of American pop culture in the late 20th century.

The term Halloween, and its older spelling Hallowe'en, is shortened from All-hallow-even, as it is the evening before "All Hallows' Day"[1] (also known as "All Saints' Day"). In Ireland, the name was All Hallows' Eve (often shortened to Hallow Eve), and though seldomly used today, it is still a well accepted label. Halloween was also sometimes called All Saints' Eve. The holiday was a day of religious festivities in various northern European pagan traditions, until it was appropriated by Christian missionaries and given a Christian interpretation. Halloween is also called Pooky Night in some parts of Ireland, presumably named after the púca, a mischievous spirit. In Australia it is sometimes referred to as "mischief night", by locals.

Halloween is sometimes associated with the occult. Many European cultural traditions hold that Halloween is one of the liminal times of the year when the spiritual world can make contact with the physical world and when magic is most potent (e.g. Catalan mythology about witches).

[/quote]

Marion

Mon, Oct 09 2006, 10:25 am

I remember when I was in elementary school and the Rav sent home a letter every year reminding parents that while trick-or-treating was an inappropriate activity for Jewish children, there was no reason to dampen the excitement of other people's holiday, and therefore it was acceptable to answer the door and give out candy.

To this day I know that the only time my parents don't answer at all is when Hallowe'en falls out on Shabbos. During the week they turn the lights off after 9:00, as they feel than anyone young enough to really be going door-to-door should be home by then anyway. It's the one time my mom buy treif candy...it doesn't come into the house and the leftovers she takes to school with her the next day (she teaches in public school with no Jewish kids).

chavamom

Mon, Oct 09 2006, 12:17 pm

Rifky wrote:

Chavamom, do you really think that all the people with trees up beleive in G-d, never mind the whole virgin birth stuff?

OK, and how is this relevant? No one is asking you to put up a tree. Everyone agrees that Jews shouldn't go trick-or-treat'ing. The question is different. I think I pointed out that I didn't make this up or decide on my own. You want to disagree, fine. But 'yesh al mi lismoch'!

chavamom

Mon, Oct 09 2006, 6:30 pm

The majority of people that put up trees do so b/c of a religious observance. Living in the midwest, I can tell you there are a heck of a lot of people out there that buy the whole story - virgin and all. Now, how many people out there do you think even KNOW the origins of Halloween? How many are out there 'observing' it for religious reasons? One? Two? ANY?!?!?!

Ruchel

Mon, Oct 09 2006, 8:09 pm

Quote:

Yeah, I'm sure it is very cultural. Here in France, all people have a Xmas tree but only 7% go to mass for Xmas, for example. Might be why a number of Jews also have a Xmas tree. Confused

Quote:

Now, how many people out there do you think even KNOW the origins of Halloween? How many are out there 'observing' it for religious reasons? One? Two? ANY?!?!?!

The Neo pagans?

Piper

Wed, Oct 11 2006, 10:06 pm

Ruchel wrote:

Quote:

Yeah, I'm sure it is very cultural. Here in France, all people have a Xmas tree but only 7% go to mass for Xmas, for example. Might be why a number of Jews also have a Xmas tree. Confused

Quote:

Now, how many people out there do you think even KNOW the origins of Halloween? How many are out there 'observing' it for religious reasons? One? Two? ANY?!?!?!

The Neo pagans?

yes
There are a lot of people who celebrate Halloween as a religious holiday. They just don't advertise. BTW. in Mexico, they celebrate a holiday on November 1 called "Day of the Dead" where they picnic in cemetaries and eat skeleton shaped cookies, etc. Creepy, IMO. Oh, and they are Xtian.