Trick-or-treating not for everyone

Trick-or-treating is a pastime not everyone is familiar with. Some Ohio State students have never celebrated Halloween.

Cassandra Dees, a sophomore in pharmacy, said her family always attended a church service called "Hallelujah Night" where they showed a video about hell and went on hay rides.

"I loved going to church on Halloween. Those times are my best memories," Dees said.

Other churchgoers said they do not celebrate Halloween either, but do not see anything wrong with getting candy and dressing up.

"I don't see anything wrong with trick-or-treating. Most people don't even know what Halloween's about," said Jordan Green, head of the New Salem Missionary Baptist Church's college ministry.

Dees said people should do some research on the origin of Halloween.

"Halloween was originally a pagan holiday where people sought to make contact with the dead, where witches and ghosts are involved," Dee said.

Many Christians do not really address the holiday or give kids an alternative, Green said. New Salem had a Fall Harvest Party Friday for youth, where kids came dressed as Bible characters. The New Salem college students would go to Hell Escape at Fairfield Christian Church in Lancaster, Ohio, which depicted hell with actors being in situations that led them there. It concludes with church members asking each person to choose a door: "heaven," "hell" or "the unknown."

"Events like these gives kids an alternative to Halloween. You can be a Christian and still have fun," Green said.

Kay Robinson, a senior in women's studies who also has never celebrated Halloween, said her church in Cincinnati, Shiloh Seventh Day Adventist Church, had a function called Trip Around the World. Church members would go to seven other members' homes and each one represented a country with decor and food prepared from that region.

Although Robinson said she enjoyed the program at her church, she said she felt left out of Halloween activities.

"I felt like I was missing out a bit, but I had to consider how unsafe trick-or-treating and Halloween parties could be," Robinson said.

Dees said her family would never open the door for trick or treaters and does not understand the purpose of Halloween.

"I don't get the craze about candy. You can get candy at the grocery everyday," Dees said.

Robinson said too many people use Halloween as an excuse to wear revealing clothes.

"Halloween is more like 'Ho-laween' with the costumes girls are wearing. It's the one day a girl can dress up like a slut without being criticized," Robinson said.

Green said Halloween is one of those holidays that Christians can be confused about, and it ultimately becomes a personal decision.

Dees said she does not understand how Christians could celebrate the holiday.

"It symbolizes a day of evil and death, and God is life. So how could a true follower of Christ go against what the Bible says?" Dee said.

"The Bible does not say explicitly that Christians cannot participate in any Halloween activities, but it does call us to be a peculiar people," Robinson said. "So since we know that God has not given us a spirit of fear, and that magic and witchcraft are contrary to his words, then we can see that we're not supposed to be involved with Halloween at all."

Heather Hope can be reached at hope.27@osu.edu.