When I was younger we rarely celebrated Halloween. And it really wasn't like it was something we weren't allowed to do...more like something we just didn't do. We always participated in the school costume parades and on rarest of occasions, we would pass out candy... But we NEVER went trick or treating. At some point in my childhood I used to think it was because Halloween was "evil"... As I got a little older that theory didn't make any sense to me...seeing that we would still dress up for school...and never seemed to miss "It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!" That's when I figured the trick-or-treat thing was just our parents being overprotective (as usual...)
By the time I reached my teens, however, I started to wonder whether or not it was an "evil" thing to celebrate. A lot of that was brought on by my highly religious grandmother, and my uncertainty about my own spirituality. Now that I am an adult, I have come to believe that there is nothing wrong with it...as long as I'm not worshiping the devil or anything...I'm free to do what I please in terms of acknowledging the day.
I recently received and article from About.com, (to where I have a subscription to "About Catholicsim...",) that gave the Catholic point of view of Halloween. Without pasting in the entire article, it basically reinforced my new found belief. The day of Halloween was actually determined by a Roman Catholic Pope in association with All Saints Day, November 1, 2006. All Saints Day is a Catholic Feast day in which we celebrate those who have died. The eve before the celebration was dubbed "All Hallowe'en." During the 15th century in the days of the Black Death, people started wearing costumes...to remind them of the own mortality. Americans later added in "trick-or-treating."
http://catholicism.about.com/cs/holidays/a/halloween02.htm
Needless to say, I celebrated to the fullest this year...as the "Bride of 'White Trash Dracula'"! :)
