Every year we get invited to our daughter's for dinner on Halloween. She lives in an area with a lot of children. Many of their neighbours decorate their yards. When I drove by last week I saw yellow police tape covering a house. I thought it was another crime scene, but I took a closer look and saw skeletons hanging from trees and pumpkins all around.
My daughter usually gets around 300 children on Halloween. In earlier years she gave out full sized chocolate bars! This year she gave out bags filled with goodies. My granddaughter is too old to go out, but loves dressing up and greeting all the children.
The rain was very heavy at 5:15 when we arrived. On our drive there we saw no children. By 6:10 the rain stopped and the fun began. They have music playing at the door, a lot of decorations on the lawn and she made a Guinness beef stew for dinner that was delicious.
My daughter was Elphaba and granddaughter was Glinda.
They had 210 children which is lower than the 330 they had last year! I think the weather was a factor. However, the costumes were fabulous and very creative. Lots of firemen, witches and only one Marvel character. We saw six pre-teen girls dressed in blue jeans, white shirts and all had ball caps on every which way on their heads. Apparently they were a rapper that I'd never heard of. "Wednesday" was the most popular costume.
I didn't get my camera out fast enough to get a picture of a boy in a dinosaur costume that was lite up! The tail was huge and the poor little fellow was having problems walking from house to house. I don't publish pictures of children's faces but did get this one.
They live beside a large playing field and and elementary school so fireworks go off continually. If the police come, the kids just run the other way. We've had so many fireworks since Diwali and I doubt the police are even attending these calls as they have many serious crimes in our city!
This picture is from a previous year.
We watched a lot of very happy children come to the door. Most children were accompanied with their parents. We had a lot of "thank-yous" and happy faces. One little girl when we commented how nice her costume was, said "I made it". She was very proud of it and so she should be.
I like Halloween but there is always others who don't agree with me. I found this online. It's another viewpoint. I feel sorry for their children if they have any because they may resent their parents in future years:
✨ Why Our Family Doesn’t Celebrate Halloween ✨
(We don’t celebrate darkness — we celebrate the Light.)
Many think Halloween is just innocent fun — costumes, candy, and community — but when you trace its roots, you find that nearly every custom connects to paganism, witchcraft, and the worship of darkness.
🌑 The Origins
Halloween began over 2,000 years ago with the Celtic festival of Samhain, marking the end of harvest and the start of winter — the “season of death.” People believed the veil between the living and dead was thinnest that night, allowing spirits and demons to cross over. To protect themselves, they:
• Lit bonfires to guide spirits and keep evil away.
• Offered sacrifices, both animal and human.
• Wore costumes and masks to disguise themselves from roaming spirits.
• Used divination (fortune-telling, spirit contact) to seek guidance from the dead.
When the Catholic Church tried to “Christianize” it as All Hallows’ Eve, the occult practices continued under new names — and the darkness never left.
🍬 Trick-or-Treating:
This custom grew from “souling” and “guising.”
• In medieval Europe, people went door to door offering prayers for the dead in exchange for food (“soul cakes”).
• In some areas, villagers offered treats to wandering spirits (or those dressed as them) so they wouldn’t bring misfortune or curses on their homes.
• The phrase “trick or treat” literally means: give me something, or I’ll bring harm.
Even now, this tradition echoes a spiritual transaction with fear — rewarding darkness instead of resisting it.
“Do not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” — Ephesians 5:11
Jack-o’-Lanterns:
These come from the ancient Celtic legend of “Stingy Jack.”
Jack was said to be a man who tricked the devil, and when he died, he was rejected by both heaven and hell. Condemned to wander in darkness, he carried a carved turnip with a burning coal to light his way. People began carving scary faces into turnips or pumpkins to ward off wandering spirits — another attempt to manipulate the spiritual realm through fear.
Today’s glowing pumpkins may seem cute, but their origin was literally to keep away lost souls and demons.
“What fellowship can light have with darkness?” — 2 Corinthians 6:14
🍎 Bobbing for Apples:
This came from pagan fertility and divination rituals tied to the goddess Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and fertility.
• Apples represented love and future marriage.
• Young people would bite apples floating in water as a form of fortune-telling — the first to succeed was said to be the next to marry.
This wasn’t a game — it was a ritual invoking spiritual powers to reveal destiny.
“Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them.” — Leviticus 19:31
🕯️ Why This Matters Today
Even if we don’t mean harm, participation invites partnership. The enemy doesn’t need our worship — just our participation and silence.
“Do not give the devil a foothold.” — Ephesians 4:27
When we decorate with death, glorify fear, or dress up as darkness, we blur the line between light and evil. As moms, we’re called to guard the gates of our homes — what comes through the eyes, ears, and atmosphere.
“Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.” — 2 Corinthians 6:17
✝️ What We Do Instead
On October 31st, our family celebrates Jesus, the Light of the World (John 8:12).
We fill our home with worship, joy, prayer, and peace. We teach our children that holiness isn’t isolation — it’s invitation: to be a light in a dark world.
Let’s raise bold children who love purity more than popularity — who know that we don’t have to look like the world to reach it.
THIS IS THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE!!!!
💛 We don’t celebrate darkness — we celebrate the Light.
