Re: Halloween and other occasions
That is why I'm not against kids having a bit of fun with candies at Halloween or gifts at Christmas.
Re: Halloween and other occasions
well if you choose to avoid halloween, and your little kid goes to public school, how would you explain to him/her why he/she can't participate in the festivities his/her friends, neighbours and teachers rave about, in a way that does not sow the seeds of us vs. them in their own country? is your kid going to grow up a well adjusted adult in the society he is going to live in? well he probably will, kids are smart. but i'd be curious how many of the abcd guppies stayed away from this stuff as kids.
kids have grown up fine. not sure why you have a problem with it when they are perfectly fine. kuch na kuch.
Re: Halloween and other occasions
it’s ok if i say that the kids don’t do that? usually the kids that go trick or treating at like, at max, 10 year old. in the tween years it becomes really uncool to go trick or treating, and if there is a kid with a peach fuzz, people usually turn them away. so i really doubt any 5 year old is going to be TP’ing anyone’s house if they aren’t there.
Re: Halloween and other occasions
Oh btw, kids beg for eidi on eid. Everyone's done it. come on now, don't deny it. you remember going to your dada dadi nana nani chacha chachi puphi phupa khala khalu etc and asking for your eidi, and then bugging them until they gave you it. mhmmm.
Re: Halloween and other occasions
I never beg for it:D. And I got Eidi this Eid too:cool:.
Re: Halloween and other occasions
Wishing others, giving presents and sharing sweets is absolutely fine. But I dislike the fact when people start making more efforts to celebrate days which are absolutely pointless. Valentines day being one of them. And surprisingly in Pakistan it has suddenly almost become as hyped up as other occasions. Bus national chutti hone ki dair reh gai hai 
Re: Halloween and other occasions
I agree with CB. :)
Re: Halloween and other occasions
Oh btw, kids beg for eidi on eid. Everyone's done it. come on now, don't deny it. you remember going to your dada dadi nana nani chacha chachi puphi phupa khala khalu etc and asking for your eidi, and then bugging them until they gave you it. mhmmm.
was too poor to ask even
Re: Halloween and other occasions
Every year on Halloween, thanksgiving, Christmas etc we have similar threads. I fail to understand whats wrong if people do want to celebrate these holidays? We are part of a multicultural society and I do not see any harm in assimilating and adapting good thing from other people and cultures. In San Francisco, every year there is a big parade on Chinese new year and thousand of people attend it. Is that wrong too? This week kids made dewalli diyas at school and ate some desi mitahi. is that wrong too?
If anything we need more diversity and more festivities to celebrate.
Re: Halloween and other occasions
^ Right on!!
Re: Halloween and other occasions
Every year on Halloween, thanksgiving, Christmas etc we have similar threads. I fail to understand whats wrong if people do want to celebrate these holidays? We are part of a multicultural society and I do not see any harm in assimilating and adapting good thing from other people and cultures. In San Francisco, every year there is a big parade on Chinese new year and thousand of people attend it. Is that wrong too? This week kids made dewalli diyas at school and ate some desi mitahi. is that wrong too? If anything we need more diversity and more festivities to celebrate.
Agreed and similarly I fail to understand whats wrong if someone respectfully does not want to celebrate these holidays?
I know some people asked well if you aren't celebrating xyz then why are you celebrating abc? This isn't an action potential/all or none scenario guys. Who here follows every single rule of every kind? I doubt anyone does.
Just an fyi. No one does tp'ing or egg throwing. You only see that in movies or what not. It comes under vandalism and a punishable crime. At least you don't see that happening in a white collar neighborhood.
Re: Halloween and other occasions
Plus in white collar neighborhoods they throw like girls.
Re: Halloween and other occasions
kids have grown up fine. not sure why you have a problem with it when they are perfectly fine. kuch na kuch.
dude you are like a big jihadi and taliban fan. not sure you would know what "perfectly fine" means.
i think if you are the kind of guy who shaves every day and your wife doesn't do hijab etc, you really shouldn't make life difficult for your 4 yr old by imposing strange religious doctrines on him or her.
Re: Halloween and other occasions
I once grew a beard at halloween time, it really threw the uber right wingers maulvi hazraat and khawateen off.
Re: Halloween and other occasions
So over the past weekend, on an Eid get together, I met a couple of desi families and the discussion went on to halloween, christmas etc. A couple of people were firmly against the idea of even letting the kids dress up and have fun. When I asked them their reasons, I got varied responses
**'it's a pagan festival (regarding Halloween). If the whole concept is wrong why let the kids celebrate'
'aaj kul log Eid se zyada to ye sab manatay hain..bache as a result kehte hain hum Eid pe sotay hain sara din..bara boring hota hai'
'yea abi you are letting them celebrate Halloween and Christmas, would you allow them to celebrate Valentine's Day as well when they grow up or start dating, go to prom and after parties. where do you draw the line'
'I don't see anything wrong in it. if you are living in their country, you better well accept the cultural things and occasions too. we dont want our kids growing up as weird outcasts'**
So what do you think? Do you celebrate these occasions , days etc or not? If you do, how do you draw the line. Can kids learn to differentiate on the individual importance of Ramadan, Eids in comparison with Halloween, Christmas, Holi, Diwali etc?
Yes, Halloween by origin was a Pagan ritual. Some people will tell you it is the American version of Mexico's "Day of the Dead" but its roots go several millenia further back.
Now, I'm no scholar so I can't say my answer is definitely right, but if you know what you're doing is only out of goodness with no poor intentions, then you should be fine. On the other hand, Islam teaches us to stay away from things in which we're not sure of. I'll admit that I went out for Halloween. We don't go out often but I do take my wife out to make her happy especially when my siblings are out as well. That to me is a sufficient reason though it may be argued.
It really comes down to what you're comfortable with and your level of knowledge of both Islam and history. I would recommend seeking answers to questions like these through renowned scholars like Sheikh Hazma Yusuf, Yusuf Estes, or Imran Hosein, among many others of course.
A word of advice though, Muslims are supposed to stand out, not blend in with the crowd. Remember that we're supposed to be role models for society without ever having to even open our mouths. Don't do things just because your neighbors do, you're a Muslim first, an American second.
Allahu Alim
Re: Halloween and other occasions
Just like you explain to them why it's okay for their 13 year old classmates to be involved in romantic relationships but not them, why it's okay for their 18 year old peers to booze away but not them. This is something we as kids understood that we live in a diverse, multicultural society where some kids don't celebrate Eid and others don't celebrate Christmas. We didn't cry ourselves to sleep just because we didn't have a Christmas tree. We'd give cards and gifts to our friends and neighbours on Christmas and that's more than enough to build a sense of community, you don't have to believe in Santa and you don't have to go trick n treating to be able to integrate with the community. And celebrating Halloween has nothing to do with growing up as a sane human being, in my opinion.
PS: I'm not against kids trick n treating, we did so ourselves. But I don't get why it's a big deal if some families choose not to take part in these festivities. How many non-muslims living in muslim countries buy a bakra just so their kids don't feel left out on bakra Eid? That doesn't cut them out of the community, does it?
Salaam. Just wanted to applaud you for this answer. Very well said.
Re: Halloween and other occasions
dude you are like a big jihadi and taliban fan. not sure you would know what "perfectly fine" means.
i think if you are the kind of guy who shaves every day and your wife doesn't do hijab etc, you really shouldn't make life difficult for your 4 yr old by imposing strange religious doctrines on him or her.
we've come down to facial features in deciding how to raise our kids. wah ji
Re: Halloween and other occasions
I think its important to talk to your kids about why things are the way they are. Its wrong to deprive them of information that could make a huge difference in their understanding...answers like "because i said so" are examples of what I mean. Kids are smarter than we think.
I do remember feeling a bit left out, unhappy about not celebrating halloween as a kid, etc. However, it didn't traumatize me or affect my social skills. Yes, you get upset about it...but no more than when you're grounded because you've been neglecting your chores or not studying.
One more thing............lots of masjids and community centers have started Halaloween...which I don't even get.
And lastly, its not just Muslims that are uncomfortable with the idea...lots of Americans don't celebrate it either.
Halloween and other occasions
I dressed my kids up and took them out. It may be pagan to some, but am I paying homage to all that.. NO!! Take the good and roll with that!!! In my eyes, it doesn't make me any less muslim, any less paki or any more american. Judging can be left to Allah.