[Terry L Smith]

In reply: (i USED CAPS TO DISPLAY MY RESPONSES, ONLy, NOT SHOUTING.) <<#1 I don’t want anyone in my family to observe a holiday that celebrates death>> THEN WHAT IS MEMORIAL DAY???? <<#2 The average American spends $74.34 on the holiday. I would rather save the money.>> i LIVE IN APT. COMPLEX, AND ALL THE KIDS GO TO THE CITY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER, TO THE MALL, SO NO MONEY SPENT ... I HAVE NO KIDS. <<#3 Millions of women use Halloween as an excuse to dress like street walkers, and millions of men use Halloween as an excuse to act like sexual predators.>> I STAY HOME, AND DO NOT ATTEND ANY PARTIES. <<#4 Even little girls as young as three years old are being dressed up in sexually provocative costumes. What kind of message does this send to them?>> THANKS TO WHAT Y'ALL ALLOW TO BE BROUGHT ONTO YOUR TV SETS, AND WHAT 'REALITY' SHOWS YOU WATCH, INSTEAD OF THAT UNUSED OFF BUTTON. <<#5 Dressing up little children as ghosts, demons and vampires is not healthy for them. In recent years, there has been a trend to make costumes for children as hellish as possible.>> THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON AS FAR BACK AS 1957, AS I REMEMBER SO. <<#6 Originally, costumes were worn on October 31st “to change the personality of the wearer to allow for communication with the spirit world“. For 11 years in a row, dressing up as a witch has been the number one costume choice for adults in the United States.>> I SUGGEST YOU DO MORE RESEARCH INTO CELTIC FOLKLORE, WHICH WAS BROUGHT TO THE U.S. AFTER THE POTATO FAMINE IN THE EARLY 1800'S. <<#7 In ancient Britain, the festival known as Samhain was celebrated on October 31st. It was supposedly a day when dead souls would revisit their old homes. Personally, I don’t want anything to do with contacting the souls of the dead.>> ONCE AGAIN, IT IS NOT 'BRITAIN', IT IS THE CELTIC FOLKLORE, WHICH GOES BACK BEFORE THE ROMANS NAMED IT BRITANNIA. IT IS ALSO CALLED THE THIRD HARVEST, AFTER THE GRAIN HARVEST AND THE VEGETABLE HARVEST, WHERE THE LIVESTOCK WERE SLAUGHTERED FOR THE WINTER STORES, HENCE THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD. THE 'DEAD SOULS' THAT WERE SAID TO VISIT, WERE BELIEVED TO BE FAMILY MEMBERS. <<#8 According to the History Channel, Samhain was also the day when the Druids “gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities”.>> SEE ABOVE. ALSO, I SUGGEST A LITTLE LOOK AT THE WRITINGS OF RAYMONF BUCKLAND. <<#9 As I have written about previously, the fastest growing religion in America still practices a holiday known as “Samhain” to this very day.>> if, I UNDERSTAND YOUR SURMISE, YOU ARE REFERRING TO PAGANISM, WITH THE SUB-SECT OF WICCA, AS YOUR POINT OF REFERENCE. I FIND IT ODD, THAT IN 2007, MILITARY PAGAN VETERANS WERE REFUSED THEIR SYMBOL UPON THEIR HEADSTONE BY THE V.A., AND HAD TO SUE THEM TO GET IT! ISN'T THAT A LITTLE NON-FIRST-AMENDMENT SOUNDING? <<#10 According to Wiccans, Halloween is the time when the veil between the living and the dead is considered to be the thinnest. They believe that on this day their god “dies” and is reborn every year on the Winter Solstice. This year the winter solstice falls on December 22nd.>> ONCE AGAIN, ANOTHER CELTIC, PRE-ROMAN BELIEF. THE WINTER SOLSTICE, CALLED YULE, IS ON THE TWENTY-FIRST, WITH THE EXACT TIME OF 22:48 G.M.T. <<#11 In ancient times, the resurrection of the sun god required human and animal sacrifice. The following is what occult expert Bill Schnoebelen says that the Druids would do at this time of the year… Druids worshiped the sun god, called by names like Bel (Ba’al?) or Chrom. On October 31, they believed that he died and went into the kingdom of the dead, Anwynn. The purpose of Samhain was to insure his return. Even witches admit this involved human sacrifice.>> WHEN SOMEBODY WRITES SOMETHING BY A 'SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT', AND DO NOT SUPPLY THE REFERNECE FOR THE READER TO GO FIND IT THEMSELVES, THE ONE WRITING DOES A DISSERVICE. AND THE QUESTION, 'WHERE AND HOW WERE THESE WITCHES QUESTIONED OR POLLED, AS IS TODAY'S QUICKIE FASHION?' <> IT IS THEIR 'NEW YEAR', AS IT IS COUNTED ON THE CELTIC CALENDAR. <<#12 To this day, animal torture and sacrifice is still practiced on Halloween by occultists. Many animal shelters will not adopt out black cats during the month of October for this very reason.>> SHOW ME WHERE THE REFERENCE IS FOR THIS, INSTEAD OF 'WELLLL, YA KNOW...' <<#15 The tradition of carving out a “Jack-O-Lantern” also comes from paganism. The following comes from wicca.com… Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos. The Wee Folke became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. Traveling after dark was not advised. And as Bill Schnoebelen has noted, pumpkins eventually replaced turnips, but the meaning remained the same… Here it’s a pumpkin, but in Europe it was often a turnip, or a skull with a candle in it. This serves two symbols, 1) the lord of the Dead, a “god” just like a Buddha – in short, an idol. 2) The fearsome face represented the god, Samhain, who would drive off less powerful demons that night. The lights in the Jack-o-Lantern symbolize the “faery fires” or “Will’o the Wisps” which were believed to be the lost souls flitting through the night. They also hearken back to the huge Samhain “balefires” which were lit to help conjure back the god from the darkness.>> FYI, GAUTAUMA BUDDHA WAS A LIVING HUMAN BEING, NOT A GOD. SAMHAIN IS NOT A NAME OF A GOD. ONCE AGAIN, CONSULT CELTIC FOLKLORE, FOR ACCURACY. <<#17 For Satanists, Halloween is one of the most important celebrations of the year. On page 96 of the Satanic Bible, Anton LaVey wrote the following… “After one’s own birthday, the two major Satanic holidays are Walpurgisnacht (May 1st) and Halloween.”>> PAGANS HOLD THE THOUGHT THAT SATANISTS ARE STILL CONNECTED TO CHRISTIANITY, BECAUSE WHERE ELSE DOES THE EXISTENCE OF SATAN BE DEFINED, BUT IN THE BIBLE? <<#18 The Scriptures are very clear about this sort of thing. Deuteronomy 18:9-13 says the following: “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults with the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord”.>> SINCE YOU ARE QUOTING OLD TESTAMENT, DO YOU EAT ANY AQUATIC CRITTER THAT DOESN'T HAVE SCALES - LIKE CATFISH, CLAMS, OYSTERS, SCALLOPS, MUSSELS, SQUID, OCTOPUS, CRAB, LOBSTER, SHRIMP, OR CRAWFISH? HAVE YOU TAKEN MEASURES TO 'SUFFER NOT A WITCH TO LIVE'?

[Terry L Smith]

I did NOT write all that as one paragraph.
I had all that formatted to each number, with spaces and breaks!!