# My neighborhood megachurch is holding a "fall festival" on guess what night? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 23, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667 "2012-10-23T21:32:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/41 "2012-10-24T16:36:56Z")
What kind of an asshole puts a jack-o-lantern in his window but then doesn’t give out candy? If you don’t want to give out candy, just go about your life as usual. If you think a harmless chidhood ritual would be a great opportunity to indoctrinate children (further indoctrinate, since you have them the other 364 days anyway), go ahead and put up a bouncy tent in your church parking lot, have the parents bring treats, etc. instead of going trick-or-treating. But don’t lament that it’s not your fault that the social fabric is decaying: because, by golly, everyone is welcome to come to your church. (But you and your kids greeting your neighbors at their door on one special night of the year - hell no!) And you say I’m not respecting diversity. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/42 "2012-10-24T16:51:23Z")
My mom’s quite the fundy, but thankfully regular Halloween was OK with her. Or maybe they didn’t have these obscenities in the 70s yet. Actually, my Mom is quite the fan of horror in general, so maybe that was a factor. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/43 "2012-10-24T17:08:54Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > The first year I lived here, I’d bought candy and nobody came to the door. The next day I offered it to the kids who played in my yard (at least their parents weren’t that overprotective - or maybe they preferred my turf be scuffed up not theirs) They said they could accept it only if it didn’t have witches or ghost on the wrappers. Sounds to me like you picked a shitty neighborhood to buy a house in. Me, I bought a house in a neighborhood named after John Irving and has Masonic Lodge #666 - it has, as you can guess, a thriving Halloween season. Better luck next time. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/44 "2012-10-24T17:27:05Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > My grandparents’ Mennonite church has some sort of “trick or trunk” thing where they all stand around in the parking lot and give kids CANDY from their trunks. > > Churches like candy too, yo. > [@StuffLikeThatThere](#): > > I’ll bet it’s “Trunk or Treat” - my church has had those. There’s never been any pretending that it isn’t a Halloween party. Yep Trunk-or-Treat! In the case of our local (United Methodist) church that does it, it’s usually on the Saturday or Sunday night before “official” Halloween. And it is an unabashed Halloween party. Kids love it, grown-ups plan for it for months (it’s amazing what some of these folks put together for it). Fun time and we are going! ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/45 "2012-10-24T17:56:06Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > What kind of an asshole puts a jack-o-lantern in his window but then doesn’t give out candy? > > If you don’t want to give out candy, just go about your life as usual. > > If you think a harmless chidhood ritual would be a great opportunity to indoctrinate children (further indoctrinate, since you have them the other 364 days anyway), go ahead and put up a bouncy tent in your church parking lot, have the parents bring treats, etc. instead of going trick-or-treating. > > But don’t lament that it’s not your fault that the social fabric is decaying: because, by golly, everyone is welcome to come to your church. (But you and your kids greeting your neighbors at their door on one special night of the year - hell no!) And you say I’m not respecting diversity. This is a bit of an overreaction to a typical kind of church social. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/46 "2012-10-24T17:58:02Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > So you think that normal kids who want to dress up for Halloween are going to flock to this “fall festival” and ruin Halloween for you? Okaaaaay… If they are giving out free candy, yes. Most of the kids could care less about the message as long as there’s free candy. My neices and nephews usually hit every Fall or Harvest Festival can. They also go trick or treating and attend Halloween parties. I have long suspected they would attend an Osama bin Laden Festival if they gave away full size free candy bars. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/47 "2012-10-24T17:58:35Z")
Just giving candy to kids isn’t enough, now it has to be from the trunk of a car? Why not go all the way and hand it out from a white Econoline? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/48 "2012-10-24T17:59:15Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > But you and your kids greeting your neighbors at their door on one special night of the year - hell no!) And you say I’m not respecting diversity. No, you just want everybody to do it your way. You first say in your OP it’s okay if people don’t want to participate in your Halloween tradition, they can just turn off their porch light. But they shouldn’t be hosting a fall festival at their church. In the above post, you now say they should be following your tradition by answering their doors for trick or treaters. Can you not decide where your tolerance lies? Clearly Christmas is a bigger tradition in our country than Halloween, how would you feel if your neighbors bitched you out for not attending the Christmas eve service at their church and accused you of destroying the social fabric of our nation! :rolleyes: I will say this that if this is the biggest gripe you got going on in your life right now…you got it pretty damn good. Lighten up Francis. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/49 "2012-10-24T18:47:32Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Can you not decide where your tolerance lies? Let me guess: at Renfair you’re the guy who likes to dress up as the prosecuter from the Bloody Assizes. But I can see the consensus of this thread is that a secular American tradition will disappear, as all things do in time. I’m just an old man yelling “hey you kids, get on my lawn.” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/50 "2012-10-24T19:37:48Z")
Around here, someone’s been posting [a certain Chick tract](http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0058/0058_01.asp) in bus shelters. I doubt they got permission to put those things up so they’ve been breaking the law. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/51 "2012-10-24T19:46:20Z")
[Cracked.com](http://Cracked.com) has an article that relates to this: [5 Things That Have Almost Destroyed Halloween | Cracked.com](http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-things-that-have-almost-destroyed-halloween/) ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/52 "2012-10-24T20:36:41Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Halloween? I think you mean [Jesusween](http://jesusween.com/). Some people want to take the joy out of everything. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/53 "2012-10-24T20:52:00Z")
Yeah, the OP wants to take the joy out of halloween for church go-ers. Fucking asshole in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/54 "2012-10-24T20:53:47Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Yeah, the OP wants to take the joy out of halloween for church go-ers. Fucking asshole in my opinion. I was referring to the Jesusween link, which is about people giving out bibles instead of candy. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/55 "2012-10-24T21:05:27Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > But I can see the consensus of this thread is that a secular American tradition will disappear, as all things do in time. I’m just an old man yelling “hey you kids, get on my lawn.” It’s not non-Halloween-celebrating Christians who will kill Halloween, it’s our increasingly car-centric society, urbanization, and “helicopter” parenting. You’re barking up the wrong tree, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/56 "2012-10-24T21:21:38Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > It’s not non-Halloween-celebrating Christians who will kill Halloween, it’s our increasingly car-centric society, urbanization, and “helicopter” parenting. > > You’re barking up the wrong tree, I think. Amen, brother! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/57 "2012-10-24T22:57:38Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Just giving candy to kids isn’t enough, now it has to be from the trunk of a car? Why not go all the way and hand it out from a white Econoline? 😃 It’s too hard to find one without windows. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/58 "2012-10-24T23:28:03Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > You may be correct. Since All Hallow’s Eve came about around 600AD, we know almost nothing of pagan history for sure before that. In fact the earliest written celtic writings of any length come from aroudn that period. No doubt, some of the trappings of Samhain were pilfered for the pagans, just like for Christmas and Easter. Easter. The very _name_ is Pagan. At least in English and a few other languages. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/59 "2012-10-24T23:32:27Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Easter. The very _name_ is Pagan. At least in English and a few other languages. So’s the book of Esther, but good luck convincing great aunt Esther that she’s named after some Babylonian Floozy Goddess. If you’re lucky, she’ll crack you across the knuckles with a ruler. If you’re unlucky, she’ll believe you, and start dancing skyclad in the afternoons. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667/60 "2012-10-25T02:51:23Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Easter. The very _name_ is Pagan. At least in English and a few other languages. Well, actually, there’s like NOTHING on the Deity Eostre except this by the Venerable bede: \*Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated “Paschal month”, and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the old observance. \* wiki _The modern English term “Easter” is the direct continuation of Old English Ēastre, whose role as a goddess is attested solely by Bede in the 8th century.[2]_ In other words, the holiday is named after a ancient name for the Month- which may or may not be named for a deity. Maybe the Bede was just making shit up and using reverse entomology . In other words, he knew that the old name for the Month was Eosturmonath, thus there must have been a Eostre. Otoh, the root word seems to come from the moon, not any particular deity. So yeah, it’s Old English. But there’s little evidence there was ever a deity by that name. Nor do we have _anything_ at all about her worship, if she did exist. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-neighborhood-megachurch-is-holding-a-fall-festival-on-guess-what-night/638667.md?page=4)