Why I hate Halloween

Disclaimer:
I write this not to condemn anyone or even change the minds of those who are inclined
to celebrate this "holiday" ... these are my own thoughts and beliefs, you may share them,
or not. If you don't agree with me, that is perfectly fine. That is your choice. I just had to 
describe why I feel the way I do. Again, no condemnation if you disagree.  TONY. 

I have several reasons why I and my family do not celebrate "Halloscream" (as I call it),
and many reasons why I feel the way I do about this so-called "holiday". There is a whole
entire history that I could delve into, the origins of Halloween, Samhain, etc. But other writers have already gone there. I'm just going to share my feelings and beliefs, and well,
Here I Go.

SCARE FACTOR

I was raised up in Christ to believe that God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power/love/sound mind. That my thoughts should line up with Phillipians 4, the "think on these things" passage. I don't have the time or desire to clutter up my brain and soul with fear, howbeit be generated by media or by people or other stimuli. I have also watched little children be actually TRAUMATIZED by experiencing real fear, by entering into this or that spook house. I have watched parents laugh about the episode, while the child was visibly shaken up. FOR REALS. I don't think it's funny. I think any child, between the ages of 0 and 7 should never be exposed to such an ordeal.
We as a society have desensitized our children, and ourselves to evil. We have called "good, evil" and "evil, good". We create images of monsters and other creatures, with blood and gore and guts, and then present it to our children, as if it is NORMAL. Oh, it's OK, it's only once a year. Yeah, right. When I was growing up, "trick or treat" was usually harmless (except for the warning stories we heard about razor blades some whackos would place in apples) . . . but there was not a penchant for ultra-scary or horrific costumes and the like.
Also, notice how all the horror flicks/slasher films start to come out of the woodwork in October. Great genre, right? I know some peeps who just watch this junk and then laugh about it. Man, I was bothered when they had Alice Cooper in one of these films, and he was plunging a spear into somebody's body. That bothered me. I mean, I like Alice. I never thought of him as that macabre. I knew his shows were all an act.
Churches like to bring out their haunted films to scare kids to accept Christ. They drag in their productions of "Heaven's Gates/Hell's Flames" or even "Judgment House", and it all just glorifies the devil. All of this is crap and isn't even necessary.

GLORIFYING THE DARKNESS

So, once a year it is AOK to worship or, er, I mean publicize and focus on the powers of darkness. Ghouls, goblins, witches, demons, zombies, dead people, tombstones and cemeteries, blood and gore and guts galore. Hey, it's ok, its just ENTERTAINMENT, right??
I refer you back to the Phillipians 4 passage:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

It's like this folks:
There was this big to-do about backward-masking, once upon a time.
Petra had the best response to it. They recorded a short message on the beginning of one of their tunes, Judas Kiss. It was a message recorded backwards.  You had to play the vinyl backwards to get the 'forward' meaning:
 "Why are you looking for the devil when you should be looking for the Lord??"
 Brilliant. The question makes the point. Why are good people, good christian people focusing on and spending any time on the powers of darkness?? Unless it is to expose them and to defeat them?? There's already enough darkness in the world, without having to drag it back into our own lives.

DRESS-UP, PARTY AND CANDY

These traditions of Halloween, I've discovered, came over here mainly with the Irish.
Certainly things have evolved since the days of Samhain, and the actual horrendous
traditions that has come to be known as "trick or treat".  But hey, there's nothing wrong with having some FUN ... dressing up, and binging on candy and sweets etc. Nothing wrong with an occasional sugar-rush, right?? Except for those who are watching their quota of dental caries. But I'm always up for a good party. Bring it on. It's just . . . we can do this any day of the year. Why "that day"?? Why October 31?? Why during the biggest feast day and heyday of many groups of WITCHES, who yes, actually do engage in evil, debauchery, blood sacrifices and the cursing of church groups?? Yeah, that really goes on. I for one would NOT line myself up with them.
I have dressed up before. I was Moses one time. The Apostle Paul on another occasion. So, what's the big deal??? We don't do what those folks of ancient times have done, and we certainly don't believe like they do.
Answer: I sum it all up by saying, if you're going to celebrate something, let it have some meaning. Halloween is really a stupid, meaningless holiday, that has actually done more harm than good. And the majority of the world isn't commemorating a bunch of dead saints. Although, the Latinos have their own version, "The Day of the Dead". I don't care much for that "holiday" either. I saw some really bad fruit coming from that. No offense to my fellow Latinos, I love ya'all anyway.

IN CONCLUSION, if you can celebrate this time, this day with a clear conscience, then by all means, do so. Just do me a favor. Don't hurt anybody in the process. Have fun, be cool and don't be a ghoul.

TONY