I finally found someone who agrees with me. We have four girls and they have never gone out on Halloween. I hate the day. We live on a street with no sidewalks or streetlights so in 40 years we have never had a trick or treater and that's just fine with me. I know few will agree but we looked into the origins of it and we didn't want to celebrate a day of death and spooks with our girls. We celebrate the positive days of the year and they've never been the worse for it.

I have two friends who are school teachers and they say the following week there are more discipline problems and kids having fits than any other days of the year due to all the sugar. No thank you!! Bah humbug should be reserved for Halloween!

I enjoy seeing the kids in their costumes, but I seriously believe that Halloween is like any other holiday now, it's all about how much money they can get you to spend. I also think that it's for YOUNG kids, say younger than 13, but this is my opinion.

I don't like Halloween: here in Britain it is a very recent phenomenon, and very much a Stateside import. As a child, I remember "All Hallows Eve" where we used to have a party and do apple bobbing and tell scary stories (not necessarily ghost stories, just scary). All very innocent really.

I don't understand the logic or the appeal of Halloween: to me, it all seems rather pointless and silly.

Yes its shocking how every year Halloween gets so much bigger here, noticed this year the stores have even delayed putting the Christmas stuff out to have big halloween displays, quite nice to delay that, but I don't like halloween either and my children have never been allowed to dress up or take part. They went to a church school who would usually have what they called a "light"party so they could go there if they wanted to.

Don't like it! It stopped being fun when the parents drove kids from one end of town to the other and we would get 400 or more! Little ones were cute but a lot of the older ones get so rude, very few even say thank you. When I was growing up you walked around your neighborhood and that was it. My mom made our costumes and of course there was no Wal Mart advertising every gimmick known to man about Halloween for 2 months.

Bonfire Night, aka Guy Fawkes Night (Nov. 5th), celebrates the failure of the gunpowder plot that tried to kill King James I. The kids used to make effigies of Guy Fawkes and try to get "a penny for the Guy". "Guy Fawkes" is later burnt on a bonfire and people set off fireworks. We also used to get toffee apples, bonfire toffee, mushy peas etc. Lots of fun.

A few years ago halloween was very minor and bonfire night was the big one. I think they are about equal now, we don't see the kids doing penny for the guys anymore, not around here anyway, but there are lots of organised displays or neighbours have a party. Its just a pity kids still seem to be able to get hold of fireworks, we live next to fields and they have been going off for days late at night and one off my dogs is terrified of the loud bangs.

THANK YOU !!!! You only scratched the surface, but the moderators here will probably send you nasty emails because you exercised your right of FREE SPEECH, and oops, mentioned God. People have been so desensitized of all things evil, they don't even know what they are involved with. No Christian should even entertain the thought of participating in this abomination.

We have several options around here. A family from church hosts a Fall Festival at their home - out in the country with lots of land around it. They have bobbing for apples, a pinata, costume contests, chicken chasing - yep - country folks here, a hay ride, and games of 42 for those who want to just sit and play. The best idea they have is there's a chili cook-off and a pie cook-off. You bring your best pot of chili and a pie (I don't do pies - brought rice krispie treats). The ones considered the best get a prize, but ... here's the good part - the food is then all there for the party! Chili and pie! We sign up to bring things like Fritoes and grated cheese. That was on Saturday. Our church also had a Trunk or Treat on Monday night. My two little grandboys were cowboys. Such fun!

Tried to add picture, but no luck. :(

Wow, I generally only read the quilting discussions, but I'm glad I found this thread. Growing up Halloween was innocent fun. Both my grandmother and brother were born on Halloween and it was a fun holiday: Jack o' lanterns, costumes, the school party, trick or treating in the neighborhood with good manners, and roasted pumpkin seeds. I let my kids dress up with their preschool classes and carved pumpkins a couple years before deciding that Halloween is really in conflict with our religious values, especially as the holiday has become now. It's terribly overblown, with a focus on gore, violence, and smut. I actually had no idea about the deterioration in the "etiquette" of trick or treating, since I haven't participated in years. I do resent how folks will pound on the door, even though the lights are all off. I'm glad I'm not the only one to drop-out of Halloween. :)