Is Christmas next?

Bullshit. You just made up my mind. Last Halloween I went to the offices in this building with candy and i said trick or treat. And the peeps loved it. I’m doing it again. Screw it, don’t take shit so seriously.

I would take that a whole lot more seriously if it were not published by an anti-government right wing lobbyist.

Nope. Christmas is a good Christian holiday that anyone can and should feel pleased as punch to celebrate no matter what their cultural beliefs.

The same people that ban Halloween sponsor the nativity scene on the city hall lawn.

This is a side effect of idiots not realizing that All Hallows is a Christian holiday, too.

@elbanditoroso You have to give EAGnews some credit for exposing the absurdity of this liberal witch hunt!~

Does it concern you at all that this situation fits nicely (too nicely) into the desired narrative of a victimized majority?

We don’t really know the details here. It’s just as likely that the school wanted to stop this frivilous activity during the school day and move it to the evening for years (which they did). Schools and teachers are under increasing pressure due to standardized testing to squeeze out anything that isn’t pure academics, and is in constant need to find time to teach to tests. I find it plausible that a school took one or two complaints from the devoutly-religious as an opportunity to just move the damn thing to the evening.

But the only references I can find about this school and its decision is drenched in political rants by parents who are “so tired (of) my kids missing out on some things we all got to do as children and are some of the greatest childhood memories I have due to others saying they find it offensive”. I’m confused. Is this mother upset that her kid can’t dress up during school on Halloween or this yet an opportunity to take a stand? And what exactly is making her so “tired”? Parenting can be quite exhausting, but you’d think she would have been able to find some energy to list the specific things that he kid can’t do any longer in public school due to risk of offense. Is this really about the Halloween thing and her kid?

And while I don’t think it’s fair to demand that only parents of kids in this school have an opinion on this, I wonder if the level of outrage or shock is there because it fits the “I’m a member of an oppressed majority” narrative, or if this really is a concern for the education and health of the nation’s children? Certainly, we don’t need to wait until this school’s move of Halloween celebrations to the evening to call for action or complain about the loss of valuable school activities. I’m sure you’ve heard that recess time has taken a huge hit. So has art and music. These are things that affect children throughout the year, and arguably have a greater affect on their education and happiness than the move of Halloween events at a single school. Maybe we should be evaluating our relative outrage to determine what we’re really objecting to.

Many schools in this area (I live in the area described by the article) have also refocused the mid-December events and call them “holiday” events. I have no problem with the public schools not wanting to recognize religiously affiliated holidays AT SCHOOL. Nobody’s banning the holidays, just removing them from our publicly funded things. Snide remarks about Christians aside, this applies to the Christian holidays as well.
This is a good thing, IMO.

Celebrate any damned holiday you want, just keep it the hell out of my tax funded public stuff.

To expand on what @DoNotKnow said, I am friends with some teachers in that system. A big part of the problem is about time taken away from the demands of an ever-more-rigidly-controlled curriculum that requires that general testing results (and training for same) take priority over all. That leaves little time for other things.

When I was a kid we always dressed up for Halloween at school, and had Halloween themed activities and crap. Back then this wasn’t even an issue. I’d like to say, what the fuck, man?

@canidmajor I see this “controversy” from the opposite side of the mirror as you do then. School and the curriculum students are forced to adhere to sucks enough and I am sure most any kid embraces and so looks forward to any break in the regimen they are forced to endure. This is not a kid issue as much as it is a stick up their ass parent issue…and I for one would gladly pay more in educational taxes if it meant an opportunity like Halloween to putting a rare smile on the face of a kid that has to endure common core bullshit!

I live about an hour away from there and am in that area often. A town near Milford is doing Trunk or Treat. Sponsored by the town, so the Halloween tradition is obviously still in full force. Read more:

http://placesforkidsct.com/2015-orange-trunk-or-treat/

@jca, can you correlate the following demographics in the Milford district and compare them to the nearby town?

- average annual income (Milford vs. other town)
– average educational level
– voter registration by party
– average house square footage
– religious affiliation of residents

my guess is that there will be a correlation between demographic factors and holiday celebration.

@elbanditoroso: That’s a lot of info for me to compile and type up. I can (or you can) post Wiki links so people can read for themselves.

Orange CT: Read on:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange,_Connecticut

Milford CT: Read on:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milford,_Connecticut

As far as house sizes, etc. I am not going to do that. If anybody wants to, they can feel free. I’m not taking sides here just posted what I knew about Orange CT Trunk or Treat. If anybody feels so inclined as to do research for this on either side, they can. I have stuff to do.

Milford is fairly white-bread blue collar. A little wealthier than West Haven, poorer than Orange. It’s in New Haven County, so a lot less affluent than its immediate neighbor to the west, Stratford, which is in Fairfield County.
The demographics vary by the source you use.

@Cruiser: My point was that time taken up by these things is time taken away from the actual teaching that might happen. The area is full of activities for various holidays and events, removing this from the school is not removing it from the town, or depriving the kids of fun activities.
Neighborhood trick-or-treating is rampant all through the area. Churches, merchants, the malls all have activities. There are town sponsored events in most of the towns. Really, those poor kids you are worried about have lots to smile about.

On Halloween when I was a senior in school a bunch of us wore togas and workboots. I also bought a bottle of brandy the day before. We went out for breakfast and were running a bit late, so we didn’t drink it then. I couldn’t get out for lunch, but they did. Guess who found an empty bottle when he got out that day? Your kids, god loosen up.

To my mind it falls into the same category as participation awards; designed so that no one feels left out.

Another case of good intentions gone awry.

@canidmajor I get all that but I know how excited I was and my own kids were to get dressed up for one day in school that brought joy and excitement to not only the kids but the faculty as well….and guess what? Lessons were still taught and learned at the taxpayers expense.

I wonder if the real reason behind this is the belief that Halloween is a celebration of paganism. I know there are some Christian fundamentalists who take that view. In that case you would have nothing to fear about Christmas, which these people view as the one true way.

@Cruiser: yeah, but you weren’t doing Common Core, and the stress and certain kinds of funding were not dependent on test scores the way they are now.

@LostInParadise: Christmas has already been banned in a lot of districts in this area. This isn’t any kind of a Bible Belt, this is an extremely liberal area.

@canidmajor Gee I wish I went to your stress free school as a kid because common core or not, in my world where you went to college was entirely dependent on your GPA AND I got to dress up as a Pirate every October in grade school.

Oh, good grief @Cruiser, what a silly attitude. You are over 40, no? Things were different. Dressing up for Hallowe’en doesn’t make for a stress free childhood, no one is warring against against childhood fun, there are a bunch of other wonderful things to do, all that has happened is that the elementary schools aren’t having a costume parade.
So the fuck what. The children here are so unlikely to be more stressed by this than they were by Sandy Hook (and what a shame that schools have security measures in place, huh)
A few parents made a huge fucking deal about a small thing. Really.
Those of us who moved here from other places have laughingly called Connecticut “The Entitlement State” and this is a good example of why we do.
This isn’t an example of religious persecution or oppression of children.
Enjoy your outrage, it’s silly, IMO.

@canidmajor I expect then that you will not be answering your doorbell on Halloween.

@canidmajor, If Christmas has already been banned then why not ban Halloween as well? If a Christian holiday has been banned then it makes sense to also ban a pagan holiday. There should be complete separation between church and state. If people want, they can celebrate Halloween outside of school. In school you can have a general seasonal holiday.

The argument for banning Christmas in school is even stronger than the argument for banning Halloween, since most people don’t know or care about any meaning for Halloween.

How about a holiday celebrating rational thinking? Children can come dressed as their favorite scientists, discoveries, inventors and inventions. To appease humanists, you can throw in artists and works of art. Now that is something worth celebrating!

Banning a cultural activity in the name of cultural sensitivity is, to my way of thinking, somewhat askew. Why can I not celebrate my culture if I am not denigrating yours?

And for that matter, you did come into my culture, it is really your responsibility to adapt and integrate yours into mine. I would expect to adjust mine to whatever society I moved to.

@rojo – ^ While I have already expressed skepticism that the Halloween thing is a case of cultural sensitivity. But for the sake of discussion, let’s explore this as though it were the case….

1. You present culture as static and one that is not changed by people entering a culture. I’m not sure how accurate this is, or how far we’d have to go back to determine the “authentic” culture of a place. Culture is fluid.

2. We’re talking about children in public school here, right? Do you see any value in creating an environment of inclusion and some effort to minimize alienation?

@Cruiser – While you haven’t responded to my initial comments, I’ll assume you take them to be way off (or agree with them?). Anyway, your comments to @canidmajor seem to express a disconnect between what is currently going on in public schools and an image of what schools were like when you were a kid. I’m still curious as to your level of outrage when it comes to other changes in public education, like the shrinking of (or loss of) recess and the arts, or the large percentage of the school year spent training to take tests. Complaining that a single school moved Halloween dress-up from the day to the evening as though it’s the downfall of civilization and oppression while expressing indifference to genuine changes in public education leads me to believe this isn’t about education at all. It’s an excuse to feel like a victim.

@DoNotKnow

(point 2 first) sure, but the key word is “inclusion” not “elimination” as in doing away with because it causes discomfort in a few individuals. Those unfamiliar need to be introduced to it, have it explained and allowed to participate as much or as little as they want. If mommy or daddy object, for whatever reason, well then, they don’t need to do it but they should be given the opportunity.

Point 1 I did not mean to present that culture is static. I understand it is dynamic, ever changing and evolving, that is why I indicated that it is the responsibility of the incoming culture to integrate into the existing. I did not mean that the newer should disappear or be dropped but that the existing culture is not really obligated to change to meet the new.

I look at how we are here in Texas and many other areas of the Southwest and how the infusion of Mexican culture into the existing Texas culture has integrated traditions, foods and language, to the betterment of us all who live here. But, no one demanded that we eat enchiladas, speak spanglish or celebrate Dia De Los Muertos, it just happened and is still ongoing acculturation.

The Board of Ed reversed the decision. All those concerned about the well-being of those poor, stressed out children can relax, now. Once again, the saying of “no” to children has been shouted down.
@Cruiser, reread what I wrote. There was no objection to Hallowe’en whatsoever, I also mentioned that there are large numbers of activities in these towns for Hallowe’en. I appreciate your need to render what I said down to such a simplistic statement because I disagree with you on the point that a costume parade at a couple of elementary schools in a town you never heard of is necessary to the happiness of children.

Again, kids (now pay attention!), my feeling is that this stuff isn’t necessary AT THE PUBLIC SCHOOL. That’s all.

But geez, if these same people would put this effort (petitions and overblown outrage) into some of the issues that could really make a difference to these communities, that would sure be nice.

@LostInParadise Please do not be offended that I did not respond to your comments….been a little busy is all

Somehow I get the feeling that there is a little more to it. That it’s a cover story.

One possiblity; since one Reese’s cup could kill a kid with a peanut allergy at 150 yards, it’s a liability issue. And when are you most likely to have candy going around a classroom? Around Halloween/All Saints Day/Samhain.

Or maybe it’s a retributive strike; there is a pissing contest between administrator’s and/or local politicians, and the voters and kids are getting splashed as the rulemakers fight.

Ok, so people are concerned that their tax dollars should be keeping the child-rowers in conformative beats per minutes? When was the last time you volunteered at a school? You are out of touch.
All kids, all grades, start back in August/September and go without a break until the Halloween ‘holiday’. They are not in a collegiate setting. (although at times more mature)
What happens when accommodating everyone? Absolutely nothing. No fun, no celebrations.
But Hey Kids! Celebrate only at home. In the dark. Keep the shades drawn.
What if that school fun is the only kind they have at all? Not everyone lives in the Magic Kingdom Castle.
Did you ever think that school is a reprieve for some kids? More than you’d guess.
You ‘not on my tax dollar’ people. Seriously?
Don’t sing holiday songs. Don’t have any observances. Let’s crack that whip! And people wonder why some hate school?
Screw learning! Lets have a test and by God, everyone had better conform!
Or what?
Don’t dress up. Don’t sing songs. Don’t decorate. Don’t have any arts nor creativity! No pictures either! Waste of materials! Gives more room on the page for educational words. We need every minute regimented.
Oh yeah, and No Valentines Day! Waste of paper, shoe boxes, glitter, decorations or gee-gaws, etc.!
And most importantly:
It incourages loose and lascivious behaviors in second graders!
Jeesh. :/

School is not an appropriate place for celebrating ghosts, demons and witches. Instead of superstitions, students should be celebrating the natural world and human discovery and artistic exploration. There are a whole lot of ways this can be done that are both fun and educational.

Here is more info on the whole thing.

Wow, @msh, what an overblown reaction! It was about a costume parade at some elementary schools. This isn’t a slippery slope situation. And, just FYI, I do a lot in my local schools. What about you? If not, why not?

I am acquainted with some of those loud voices that made such a fuss, generated petitions, etc about this issue. Two of them don’t bother to vote because (and I quote) “It’s inconvenient to get to the polls sometimes.” So they put the effort into this? I go to the meetings in my community and argue for the creative programs, I vote on the bond issues, I actually do more than a lot of those parents who buy a costume and bitch about the loss of a parade.
This should not have become such a big deal.

My kid is currently homeschooled, but the elementary school he went to Kindergarten for didn’t have a “Hallowe’en” thing… they had a Book Character Parade. Each kid could wear a costume, provided they could bring a book that costume character would have appeared in.

Thanks to corporate merchandising, there were still a kabillion Queen Elsa and Spongebob characters. My kid went as Bilbo Baggins (we had been reading The Hobbit at home. I think we read Riddles in the Dark five times before he let us move on).

I would have felt better about it had they put any actual effort into reading the books in school, but that particular school was much more show than substance (thus the pulling the kid for homeschooling).

canidmajor.
I am pleased to hear that you are in the trenches.
I taught in the mire of just such slippery slopes of these types situations for twenty years.
I vote. I volunteer. So go gently into the night with that paint brush.
I still cannot wish folks a ‘Merry Christmas’ to this day because the school system’s dump of PC ‘to infinity and beyond’ upon those who are on the front side of some incredibly ludicrous decisions made by blobs of shivering gelatin. Reversed, implimented, re-reversed, re-implimented so on….