Should companies that ban Christmas decorations encourage Halloween decorations?

No, not really. The origin of Christmas has as much of a religious beginning as Halloween does. Neither one of them are celebrated the way they originally were, so banning one or both is ridiculous in my mind.

Whereas Halloween is essentially a giant masquerade party for kids and adults alike, Christmas is clearly a religious holiday (albeit with a very materialistic bent these days). I can understand why a company might want to limit the degree to which people display overtly religious symbols (like baby Jesus, etc.). The two holidays are not really the same.

It sounds like you work for Ebenezer Satan.

I agree completely with Shilolo. While Halloween had a religious meaning at one time—and still does for a small minority—the normative celebration of Halloween no longer has religious meaning or context.

Christmas, however, does. Better to ban all holiday stuff in winter than to have to police the appropriateness of all the winter holiday religious displays.

I’ve never been able to understand why people are “offended” by Christmas decorations. I’m not Jewish, but I would never be offended if someone put up a Menorah in my workplace.

@EmpressPixie Christmas doesn’t have a religious meaning for most people, either. It’s secular. I know Jewish people who give gifts on Christmas “just because”. Christmas isn’t even when Jesus would have been born.

Why are companies encouraging any holidays? give us the day off or shut up. i don’t want to look at any damn “decorations” for anything. you see enough of it already – they already have damn christmas stuff up in home depot. wtf is that?

They are most likely doing it to avoid potential lawsuits from any who could perceive Christmas symbols as “discriminatory”. Basically a strategy of C.Y.A.

But it is nonetheless true that the origins of Halloween are also religious in essence. The date is not accidental as it is the night before All Saints Day (Nov. 1) thus the name Halloween which is a shortened form of Hallowed (Holy) Evening.

But as was mentioned, that has largely been overshadowed by the goblins, witches, etc.

But a simple look at the Liturgical Calendar confirms the connection even tho the entire thing was a compromise with Paganism even back in the third or fourth century when the RCC created the church calendar. So it’s roots are more religious than spiritual and as man made and artificially created as Christmas. Extremely doubtful that Christ was born even close to December, much less the 25th.

@Buttonstc – it’s not that a Christian holy day before All-Saints is now overshadowed by witches. It’s originally a Celtic holy day (“Samhain”) that the Christians put their feast on top of. :)

Much like Christmas.

I’m Jewish :). Christmas decorations do not offend me at all, but I do agree that Halloween is completely secular and about candy at this point, and Christmas isn’t. Christians say all of the time that the tree isn’t religious blah blah, but to a jew it represents a Christian holiday. But, as I said, it does not offend me if Christmas decorations are up, in fact, I love the lights and trees, festivities, songs, Nutcracker, all of it. If someone says Merry Christmas to me I just say it back, no big deal. But, Christmas is not the same as Halloween in my mind. I do not put up Christmas decorations in my home, but I would put up Halloween. I kind of agree with @eponymoushipster on one point, why does your place of work have to put up any decorations?? Unless it is a public place like a retail store. Would it bother any of you if they just didn’t bother with holiday decorations? Once you start with one holiday like Christmas then you might have to deal with someone saying, “you don’t have Chanukah represented, you don’t have Kwanza represented,” etc.

I have to agree with @eponymoushipster‘s uncharacteristically cranky point of view on this. Why do offices even need holiday decorations at all? The supermarkets, malls, dry cleaners, dentist, and car dealers are overrun with them, who needs more at the office? As an aside, when my boys were younger I hated all the Halloween decorations because every time we turned around they were terrified by a hideous cackling witch or a skull with flashing eyes. Enough already, let’s ban all the decorations. Except for hearts on Valentine’s Day, I’m a sucker for hearts. Best Plan: decorate with hearts year round!

@SuperMouse bah, humbug!~

@eponymoushipster your posts never strike me as cranky, that’s why I felt compelled to mention that it was uncharacteristic!

@SuperMouse no, you’re right. :) it’s just one of my pet peeves.

I believe that schools and businesses make such a huge fuss about Halloween because it is just about the last safe one. Sure, its origins are religious, but it doesn’t favor or exclude any religious or ethnic group. Nobody is aggrieved by it. It’s just for fun and mainly for the kids. As a result we blow it way up out of proportion just because we can (with a resulting potential letdown to kids whose expectations are overly aroused by all the hype).

In the U.S. it used to be far in the background, behind Christmas and Easter and Thanksgiving, and about on a par with Valentine’s Day (which is another one that is now overblown because nobody’s offended by it).

Now some schools don’t do Halloween. Maybe it is for the Jahovah’s not sure.

Straight from wiki although not very accurate, but close enough. “The ancient Celts believed that on October 31st, now known as Halloween, the boundary between the living and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, into which the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks being worn at Halloween goes back to the Celtic traditions of attempting to copy the evil spirits or placate them, in Scotland for instance where the dead were impersonated by young men with masked, veiled or blackened faces, dressed in white.[8][9]”

Anyone who knows about Paganism and Celtics would understand how it would be considered religious, but I don’t wouldn’t quite agree with that statement either.

Another a different note. I myself love All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween) & it’s always been my favorite holiday, but X-mas is not as good as it used to be. When you were a kid it was great, but now that I’m out on my own with very little friends…. It’s just another day. I’m not really bothered with “in office” or whatever decorations, but it does make me a little sad that I can’t enjoy the “holiday spirit” with people whom I feel special toward.

@Axemusica i’ve also heard that the date of Halloween corresponds to the date the Ancient Jews believed the Flood (with Noah and the Ark) occurred. So, to some degree, it’s a memorial to those that died in the Flood. In other words, those who were destroyed by God.

@Axemusica Awww. I think my husband finds Christmas dissappointing, and we are usualy with his family for Christmas. As a child it was a fantastic day with many many gifts and magical. For me, I am Jewish, Christmas as a child was the most boring day of the year. My friends were with their families and everything was closed. There were some christmas’ I spent with friends, but for the most part boring. As an adult, working in retail, I started to understand the Christmas spirit a little more and began to enjoy it.

@eponymoushipster interesting. I did not know that.

All holidays have become nothing but advertisements! They are all too commercial there’s no enjoyment anymore! It only adds to the stress of what you cannot afford!

@ShanEnri I find buying and receiving gifts rather stressful too. I thought maybe because I never had much practice. In my family, and many Jewish families gifts are only bought for children for Chanukah. I never buy my parents gifts for the holidays or my sister. I do buy them things when I come accross something that I know they would just love, but that could be any time of the year.

OK, I guess I should be happy that there is at least Halloween to enjoy decorating and feasting and foolhardiness. And, yes, I know about the older meaning of Halloween but I don’t know that the people I work with get it. I am not telling…don’t want them using the religiosity justification on that too.

@JLeslie Our family only does gift cards or cash! Not my husband and kids, that’s stressful enough!

@ShanEnri We switch to cash around the age of 10. My husband’s family does the Christmas thing, but very inconsistantly. Some years very nice gifts, some years nothing. Doesn’t seem to have much to do with money situation. Usually if someone is going to get nothing or a crappy gift it is my husband and I. My husband actually takes offense to it, and to be honest I have come to the point where I think he is right.

@JLeslie Sounds like my family! The year our grandmother died, my aunt tried to compensate by giving each of us $20 extra. Would have been great except her daughter and 3 grand-children were there too and they all got $100 extra and the youngest grandchild was waving it in my kids faces saying ”$100 is better than $20 any day!” I really hate getting together with my family at Christmas! I try to beg out every year, but they all gang up on me, so I finally told my aunt if she wants us there then she needs to give her grand kids their gifts separately! I have never said why! Though I am thankful that she does think of our kids every year! Just another stressful part of the holidays!

@ShanEnri Feelin’ a kinship with you. We have decided to try and avoid any gatherings that have all of his siblings and parents in one place. Just his parents fine, just his brother fine and SO fine, etc.

@JLeslie yes a kinship! Most everyone is ready for it and in the Christmas spirit! Bah humbug! Is a good way to put it for me!

@ShanEnri I love the festiveness of Christmas, I don’t think of myself as a Scrooge. As I said above I love the lights, the trees, the music, it’s just the gifts and the family all at once that is annoying.

Yes I like the lights too, I hate how commercial it’s become, but the lights and the music I love!