Which is why it really disturbs me that some public schools aren’t even allowed to celebrate Halloween anymore. According the Seattle Public School district, “costumes could offend or upset students who come from other cultures”. The pagan origins of modern Halloween can be found in the Celtic celebration of Samhain, or "End of Summer." The Celts believed that on this agricultural harvest festival the dead revisit the land of the living and communal fires were needed to ward off evil. Many feel that celebrating Halloween is somehow promoting paganism, witchcraft and the occult.
I’m not sure how dressing up as a comic book hero and knocking on doors for candy is related to paganism, but it did get me thinking. In a few weeks, we will be discussing our First Amendment rights, and the separation of church and state. Halloween isn’t the only holiday that schools have banned in the interest of not offending anyone. So my question to you this week is, “What do you think of school’s celebrating holidays? Should they celebrate all holidays, some holidays or none at all?” For an added twist, “What are your Halloween plans?” I’d love to hear what you’re dressing up as! Answers are due no later than Monday, November 3rd, 2014. Have a happy and safe Halloween!
I think if your not going to celebrate one holiday you shouldn't celebrate any. That just seems like it has more sense. If its one holiday someone doesn't celebrate than it could be another someone else doesn't celebrate as well. the only plans I have is taking my little brother trick or treating
ReplyDeleteFor personal reasons, I love and celebrate All Hallowe's Eve, I truly believe that there should be a seperation of church and state. I believe that if you are going to have a big celebration of a commercialized,totally altered from pagan beliefs holiday like Christmas, even if you don't approve of or celebrate another's belief, at least show enough respect to acknowledge it and keep negative opinions to themselves.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion I think all public schools should celebrate all holidays. The students can choose whether they want to participate based on their religions or etc. For Halloween this year I'm a cute witch. That wasn't my original costume(Bat Girl) but that's what I had to go with this year. I plan on going to a Halloween Party and eating lots of candy :)
ReplyDeleteI don't celebrate halloween because i am from America so our culture is different in Nigeria and hardly celebrated any halloween in our country thats why we dont do things the way they do it here.
ReplyDeleteI believe that schools should celebrates all holidays because that way everyone feels like they are getting left out. Holidays in school are always fun and I enjoyed them greatly as a kid. This year I had to work for Halloween, so I was a Sun Tan City worker for Halloween. Let yourself shine!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI think if you don't want your kids celebrating Halloween and the school has a Halloween party then they better be prepared to take their kids out of school for the day. I think it is unfair to ruin fun for a group of people for the 2 or 3 that don't want to participate. With that being said you cant please everyone. This Halloween I dressed up as a nerd and my bf and I went to a party in my friends barn everyone was dressed to impress and hardly recognizable.
ReplyDeleteI don't really celebrate the holidays, so if there's a holiday going in schools then ,if i had children, I'd prepare them for what to expect because its very rare that kids don't get teased for not celebrating the holidays these days.... but anyhow I worked during Halloween so yeah.
ReplyDeleteI think that schools should celebrate or at least acknowledge every holiday. I mean if people don't want to celebrate holidays due to their beliefs or religion then its their choice to participate or not. My Halloween experience this year was pretty good I only had to work at one of my jobs, Studio Movie Grill, and we were able to dress up. I was Pebbles Flintstones, I think the only reason why I had a good time is because we could dress up and my coworker went all out.
ReplyDeleteI think all schools should celebrate holidays because it brings school spirit and individual creativity. Halloween is a sensitive topic in school because not everyone will dress up as a super hero. Some students might even start getting the most scary costume you can think of and start "scare camming" students just for fun. If that starts its only a matter of time before the pranks go too far and the victims are humiliated. So I think Halloween should be only celebrated with candy and decorations in school. Maybe a school dance with costumes as well. I did'nt have Halloween plans because to celebrate holidays you need the funds first.
ReplyDeleteWell I went to a halloween party as a minion from the movie Despicable Me. My opinion on this subject is I do not find it offending, I think that schools should be able to dress up and celebrate all holidays. But I went to Tipton and we never were allowed to dress up for halloween at school and we did not celebrate certain holidays, so i feel like my opinion isn't very strong because we did not have the option to participate.
ReplyDeleteHalloween should be fun for everyone. Seeing that I am quite a bit older than everyone else in the class, I'll tell you what my Halloween experiences were. We dressed up and we stayed out until people quit passing out candy. You hardly heard of people doing bad things to the candy or of people trying to take kids. We pulled pranks, ut nothing that would cause property damage or hurt anyone. Now kids just want to destroy property, steal things and generally create chaos. As a result, kids can only trick-or-treat from like 6 pm to 8pm. The kids still have fun, but you can't scare anybody when it's still light out. As far as schools not celebrating some holidays because it might offend other cultures, bull%&$#$%. They are in the United States. If they don't like our traditions and customs then they can go back to where they came from. If I want to fly my flag or say I love my country or think that kids should say the Pledge of Allegiance before class every morning, then I don't care who I offend. They'll just have to pull up their big girl panties and get over it. If you don't like it, LEAVE! Let the kids have fun. This year I'm just going to sit back and pass out some candy and enjoy the time when my grand kids come over to scare me. I am a little old for the dress up part.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone believes in witchcraft and paganism or evil spirits so I don't think it's fair for the adults who do believe in it to impose those beliefs on children (who only want to dress up as their hero and get candy. Seriously, they have no clue what 'paganism' even is.) As Americans, we pride ourselves on all our "freedom" and that includes freedom of religion and speech, meaning we all have the right to openly share what we believe. While I think the connection between Halloween and the occult is nonexistent now and Halloween is a completely innocent holiday, even if it wasn't, if people want to celebrate a holiday celebrating evil spirits and the occult, then they have the right to!
ReplyDeleteWe should be respectful of all cultures/religions but we cannot force everyone else to conform to your beliefs just because it offends you. If you do not want your child to be part of the Halloween celebration then the school should write out permission slips to all the parents informing them of what they want to do (something fun and innocent for the kids) And if it's really a big deal for you then keep your child home and away from it.
However, I do agree that schools shouldn't force prayer in school or the pledge of allegiance on children. What about children that come from atheist families and don't want to pray? Just because you're a citizen, you shouldn't have to announce your loyalty to it. But the fact is, holidays like Halloween/Christmas are simply a popular part of American culture and a majority of people DO celebrate them. If you don't agree with it, don't be part of it. A person's personal beliefs should never dictate the rights of others.
As for my Halloween, this was my first Halloween as an adult not living under my parent's roof. So I used this opportunity to dress as a provocative maid and I went to my first Halloween party with a bunch of friends and had a great time!
I never celebrated Halloween as a child because my mom felt it went against our faith. My boyfriend and I share the same faith, yet growing up his mom allowed him and his siblings to celebrate Halloween. I feel that schools should celebrate all holidays and parents should choose which ones they want their children to partake in.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any problems with schools celebrating holidays as long as no student/faculty is being offended, secluded, or excluded because of it. I think Halloween is a good example of one holiday that everyone is typically okay with celebrating amongst their classmates.
ReplyDeleteMy costume this year was an undead Julius Caesar brought back to take revenge upon the people who betrayed him during his life. Just went downtown with a group of friends and had a really good time even though it was freezing/snowing outside.
I do not have a problem with schools celebrating holidays at all, so if we celebrate a holiday from one religion we should make it fair and celebrate others as well..then again it is so hard to please everyone because eventually someone will have a problem with that too, so at times i do agree with schools banning holiday celebrations.
ReplyDeleteI had to work but but I dressed up as a nerd.
Banning all holidays, although I'm sure many schools would prefer to do this, is not the solution to this issue. I can't think of any holidays (at least the major holidays that we have) that would directly offend anyone. I believe all holidays should be allowed to be celebrated at the discretion of the students, given that they don't break any school rules in doing so. This doesn't mean the school has to hold holiday events or even decorate the school for different holidays, but they should still allow students to celebrate however they want.
ReplyDeleteI feel all schools should celebrate all holidays, but students should no be forced to participate in the celebration if they choose not to. Yes they still need to attend school the day of the celebration but using Halloween for an example, if kids choose not to dress up that should be accepted. I worked all weekend so I was my usual costume a "kilt girl" (I work downtown Indy at tilted kilt)
ReplyDeleteI don't see a problem with schools celebrating holidays. I think it is unfair for them to single out certain ones because they 'offend people' or because 'they are a distraction'. I think allowing the students to enjoy these holidays at school will help them to learn more in the long run.
ReplyDeleteAnd my Halloween plans were not special unfortunately. I worked at a boutique then went home and slept! I had a great night.
I think in a country like America, which was founded with freedom being very important it should be allowed to celebrate as much and whatever people want. With as many different cultures and traditions as a result of this country kind of being a melting pot, i think schools should celebrate every holiday the school and students want. I'm not saying if one person has a certain tradition that should be imposed on everyone at school, but as a democracy we should at least be allowed to celebrate whatever the majority of people want to celebrate. And i am pretty sure that in this case, most Americans are very much for celebrating halloween! I think our society in general is becoming a little to politically correct, it seems like we would rather accommodate a single persons needs and feelings rather than the majorities, simply out of fear of insulting someone or hurting their feelings. I think this is true in many aspects, not only the halloween celebration issue.
ReplyDeletePersonally, i don't celebrate halloween. It is not a holiday in Denmark the same way it is here. We do celebrate a more old fashion and religious version of all hallows eve, we believe it is a day to remember and cherish the people we lost. We usually go to church with our families and light a candle for lost loved ones, the local priests will have a special sermon, reading the names and short stories about the people who passed during the year in that particular church.
I also kind of think (as a person not accustomed to halloween the American way) that it seems a little weird how 50% of people make an effort to look like they are dead (lol too scary for me) and the other 50% look a little like they work in a strip club. Sorry, i know i sound like such a prude but it is just such a funny way to me to celebrate this holiday!
I spend halloween going to costco and the gym, fuuuuun.
All this being said, i really do understand why most Americans loves this holiday, i don't mean to hate on it at all i am just not used to it and i'm sure it will grow on me eventually :-)
I don't think students should be banned from wearing costumes as long as they follow the school's dress code. I believe that students should be able to celebrate the holidays that they wish to, but no one should be forced to go against their heritage or religion.
ReplyDeleteThis Halloween I dressed up as a deer and I'm really proud of how it turned out. I did my makeup and made deer ears, and then showed off my work at a party! Despite the freezing cold temperatures, I had a great night. :)
I think that schools should be allowed to celebrate holidays that we have in America. They are traditions that have been around for many years now. If schools are deciding to do the holiday celebrations it definitely should be censored to some sort of dress code of what is appropriate and not appropriate to wear. During Halloween we had a special day to dress up at work, so I went as Wonder Woman! The blue star shorts and red corset top all put together with some gold cuff bangles and a golden necklace! We had a lot of fun at work and definitely took a lot of pictures! (:
ReplyDelete-Christina Padro
ReplyDeleteI think schools should celebrate holidays. If the students religion doesn't celebrate it or if they're "offended" then they can simply ignore it. Just because you're offended doesn't mean everybody has to stop just to please you. I think it's absolutely ludicrous that schools can't celebrate a holiday because they dont want to offend somebody. People can't do anything without offending somebody. Halloween has been around forever people need to get over it or turn the other way.. I got a brand new car for Halloween. That is my adult version of Halloween I suppose.
I honestly feel every holiday should be celebrated, as far as days off for school. But they should not be celebrated as far as events of assignments in school. For many reasons such as religion, individual beliefs, wealth class etc
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with schools celebrating holidays. My family and I don't celebrate Halloween anymore because of it's Pagan background and how the Pagan's are associated with witchcraft. I can say that, as kids, my parents let my siblings and I celebrate it. I see no actual harm in most peoples' Halloween's practices but I don't participate in at all. I don't feel like I'm missing anything.
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