Halloween- we say YES!

I think that Halloween is a controversial Jewish holiday.  Okay, that's incorrect. It's not a Jewish holiday, which is what makes it controversial for Jewish families.

And when I say controversial, I mean it.  A quick check of the Internets shows that there are two widely separate theories:

1. Absolutely not.  It's a 'gentile' holiday, and Leviticus specifically states that you shouldn't celebrate it.  Not to mention, if you want to dress in costume, celebrate Purim.  It's Jewish, it's fun, and it involves giving treats to your neighbors.


2. Go for it!  It's American, not religious.  It's good solid fun, community building and not in any way counter to our current Jewish ideals.

Since EG goes to an Orthodox daycare, they do not celebrate the holiday.  No trunk or treat, no Halloween parade, and no candy passed around.  They do have farm day in October, so there is some sort of celebration, and it's typical for the kids to dress up to participate in that event (yes, riding donkeys in costume!)

We celebrate Halloween.  We have a costume for EG, and we look at it as a community building exercise. However, now that I've acknowledged that we do something for it, that doesn't mean that the case for Halloween is over.

Do you go trick-or-treating? I've already commented on some of the questions for this year, with EG being so, so young. 

This year, we've decided we're meeting up with another little girl (also under 2) and we're all going out together.  That way EG has a friend to play with, and we'll all have fun together.  We're using it as an opportunity to connect with family.

Then, I think we'll try to donate the candy.   We certainly don't need it.

If nothing else, everyone seems to agree that giving out candy is a good thing for the holiday.  So we'll spend the evening welcoming neighbors, passing out treats, and trying to avoid to many tricks.

Happy Halloween!