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Oct

26

What do Jews do: Halloween


I couldn’t say it any better than this Cleveland Jewish News article that provides some historical background for Halloween and the positions of the different Jewish branches on observing or participating in it.  But the basic point is:

Because of its religious origins, Halloween has always netted mixed reactions from religious leaders, rabbis, parents and children.

That’s my feeling too – it’s a mixed bag of rocks and candy a la Charlie Brown.

I never really enjoyed dressing up, but I did like the running around and the candy.  My kids participate but we don’t make much of a deal of it.  Mostly, it’s a non-issue that we face annually – which, when you think about it, seems counter-intuitive if something is really a non-issue.

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:16 am October 26th, 2007 in Culture, Judaism, Parenting 

Comments

5 Responses to “What do Jews do: Halloween”

  1. 1 Bill Callahan on October 27th, 2007 11:19 am

    Jill,

    So you understand that Catholics (even Irish Catholics) don’t think Halloween is a religious holiday, right?

  2. 2 Jill Miller Zimon on October 28th, 2007 9:39 am

    Personally, I haven’t imagined that anyone considers it a religious holiday at all. But unfortunately, in some Jewish settings, you still get letters and lectures on it – and kids ask about it too.

  3. 3 Jason Sonenshein on October 28th, 2007 7:26 pm

    It’s too bad I have a Wednesday evening class this semester. It would have been fun to hand out candy cigarettes and chocolate gaming chips. Oh well, maybe next year.

  4. 4 Jill Miller Zimon on October 28th, 2007 9:08 pm

    Jason – couple of things: first, love that $2 window blog – it’s more than a year old – very cool. I had no idea. Have you ever heard of the author, Nan Mooney? She’s a commentator on thoroughbred horseracing and has written article for thoroughbred horseracing mags before and has a book out about growing up with it.

    Also – candy cigarettes: my older brother was a real prankster and our very old great-grandmother lived with us when we were young. Well – he gave her a candy cigarette once and I remembere sitting there watching it melt after she tried to light it – I was probably three or four or something. It’s a story in the annals of my brother’s somewhat prank-filled youth.

  5. 5 Jason Sonenshein on October 30th, 2007 12:05 am

    Thanks, Jill! No, I’m not familiar with Ms. Mooney. I’ll have to read her book.

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