Re: What to do if you don’t want your kids celebrating Halloween?
Maybe just have another separate party of your own for them without any of the Halloween stuff? They could have the candies but without the Halloween theme ?
When were little kids (primary school age) we did** loads** of Halloween activities. Even if the parents don’t have any of that at home there’s a good chance they’ll be having fancy dress, apple bobbing and all sorts of Halloween related stuff in school anyway, esp the younger kids.. We did the same sort of stuff for Easter and even Chinese New Year in school..
Re: What to do if you don’t want your kids celebrating Halloween?
Queen, I can share a successful technique. Dressing up and candy collection are the two things that attract them the most. You can distract them by keeping a fancy dress get together for the kid and his friends, a few days before or after Halloween.
Candy collection , is a tough one. Explaining your child why you arent asking random people for candy , might help. Also you can form a little group of friends at the nursery or if you have family here and get the child to share food or candy or what ever they like with friends on an occasional basis, llike how we sometimes send food over to neighbours and then they send some back to us etc…
Re: What to do if you don’t want your kids celebrating Halloween?
I like the way kattichic explained it. I loved Halloween and always looked forward to it as a kid (still do haha), but there are no kids in the house at the moment so we don’t do anything other than watch Halloween movies. As far as kiids go, it’s very difficult to explain the whole religious aspect to a small child who just wants candy etc. Like khatti said as they grow older they will learn what is acceptable and not. My parents never really emphasized the whole religious aspect of not celebrating it and left it up to us. In the end we don’t really do anything on Halloween. Let me tell you kids love it!
Re: What to do if you don’t want your kids celebrating Halloween?
I don’t want to come across as I’m picking on this issue but isn’t having an event to compensate for not participating in this one akin to "creating’ a tradition/ritual?
What to do if you don’t want your kids celebrating Halloween?
^ I agree. If dressing up on Oct 31/Halloween is not acceptable, then how is it alright to have a costume party on a other day, before or after the 31st, to compensate? You’re still creating a celebration and being festive.
Re: What to do if you don’t want your kids celebrating Halloween?
Sorry guys dont take me wrong, firstly the costume party doesnt have to be the same time as Halloween , upto us when we keep it through the year , or skip it all together .. the theme can be kept a positive theme , for example, at the nursery recently they had a theme , where kids were to dress up on an activity day and the theme was flowers ..similar activity was done a few weeks before then , theme being Alphabets !
Halloween has a deeper meaning to it, its not only about dressing up.
A mere dressing up is an exciting activity for the kids and to remain in line with religion , we keep it as positive as possible but do not make it a ritual with deeper or pagan roots ..
Similar example is Qurbani , if you do it on Eid Adhaa , it take a different kind of significance .. if you do it another time of the year , its a different meaning all together ..
Khatti, Halloween is not only about dressing up, its about belief in witchcraft, evil, etc etc , I made a whole post in that other thread in All views .. many people dont feel comfortable becoming part of that event for religious reasons. If today my community leader announces a fancy dress show for kids, I wouldnt mind becoming a part of it , coz it is not a religion based event .. and neither are believers asked to refrain from taking part in such community building activities.
the only reason i see it as an alternative is to let little kids know that we are not against their activity but against celebrating a certain event .. and its by no means a compensation for missing out on Halloween .. its an alternative , more Islam friendly way of enjoying with friends and family alike ..
Re: What to do if you don’t want your kids celebrating Halloween?
Well interesting point Sahar, only thing is , kids dont go house to house begging for eidi .. they dont even have to ask for it and they get it as a gift from the elder members of the family .. and eidi they get only from people known to them , not from strangers … while going house to house tricking or treating is a completely different ball game , in my opinion ..
Re: What to do if you don’t want your kids celebrating Halloween?
Also, no kids I know beg for candy on Halloween. They ring the doorbells of houses with porch lights on (indicating that trick-or-treaters are welcome), they smile and say trick-or-treat, and the neighbors smile back and give candy.
I’m not saying its history and symbolism are innocent. Just clarifying what actually happens today.
Re: What to do if you don’t want your kids celebrating Halloween?
I agree with you…but ppl have different ways of interpreting hence the “asking” becomes “begging” when it is not something that is condoned by an individual or group.
I always come to the same conclusion every year…
I grew up “celebrating” Halloween. I stopped “begging” for candies at/around the age of 9 or 10. Never in those years did anyone ever suggest to me or my parents that we were participating in a pagan ritual and therefore were outcasts from either the Islamic faith or the social circle. All the while that my parents permitted me to do this they practised the tenets of Islam inside and outside the home and ensured that I was educated in the same.
To this day I have never related trick-or-treating with any faith. Just as I don’t consider offering a Christmas Greeting to my Catholic neighbour as my indoctrination into their faith, I don’t see painting a cat face on my child as her right of passage to the Wiccan faith.
There are many improvements that I can make in my life and I hope that Allah will guide me to do so but by the same token, I refuse to accept that something as trivial is Halloween should be given the significance that it has been nowadays.
Re: What to do if you don’t want your kids celebrating Halloween?
I don’t think there’s any correct or incorrect answer here to this question. Bottom line is: you will have a hard time explaining to a child why they cannot participate in Halloween festivities when their entire class is. And no, they won’t get it for a long time.
My parents did not allow us to participate in Halloween fun as children in school. I understand why they did what they did and have no complaints…but let me tell you from the kids’ perspective how it felt: I went to school on Halloween day, no costume, no trick or treat bag, no candy to pass out, no indication that there is anything special about today. My teacher had strict orders from mom and dad that I am not to be “begging” for candy. So, when all of the KG’ers did their Halloween thing…I sat in my seat in my classroom and waited it out. I was the only one in my entire grade who was not allowed to be a part of it and it wasn’t fun. I stood out like a sore thumb.
Funny thing is, they have completely relaxed now! They don’t care at all if we dress up, the grand kids dress up, they pass out candy and now my mama even decorates her porch for the kids to come on by so she can give them candy!!! I tease her all the time about why she couldn’t be this cool when I was little and her reply is…“us waqt kuch pata nahin tha…choti choti baton se dar jate thay ke bachay kahin bigar na jayein”. She loves little kids. They realized its not a big deal. This stuff is just stuff…it should have no impact on your Iman or your upbringing IF you’re actually doing your part.
The other option you have is to keep them in Islamic schools…no explanation needed
Re: What to do if you don’t want your kids celebrating Halloween?
i easier to make the kids understand rather then parents… i have a younger sis 8 now this year i was proud of her for saying that muslin don’t celebrate Halloween… you just tell your kids that its the celebration of evil and as far as candy just buy for ur kid
Re: What to do if you don’t want your kids celebrating Halloween?
you want to tell your kids that their friends and neighbors are all doing a celebration of evil? i dont think that is a good idea pal…
if you are a very observant religious muslim family, all this makes sense. but people who don’t do hijab, dont keep a beard, watch movies in non-segregated theaters, listen to music etc. suddenly wanting to make life difficult for their kids.. its hypocritical from where i see it.
Re: What to do if you don’t want your kids celebrating Halloween?
^ oh come on you really just didn’t say that. Like I mentioned earlier, I know non Muslim families who don’t celebrate Halloween and their generations have been here forever.. Does that mean they shouldn’t have kids if they don’t want them to celebrate Halloween?
I also know many Christian families in Pakistan who don’t celebrate Eid.. Shall we tell them not to raise their kids in Pakistan?
I am not religious police but I don’t think my kid will be celebrating Halloween at home and neither do we plan to have tree for Christmas.. Does that take away my right to raise my child in the us? Seriously!!!
Never in those years did anyone ever suggest to me or my parents that we were participating in a pagan ritual and therefore were outcasts from either the Islamic faith or the social circle. All the while that my parents permitted me to do this they practised the tenets of Islam inside and outside the home and ensured that I was educated in the same.