Halloween and the Sabbath

Halloween was on a Sunday this year. At the beginning of Sacrament meeting the bishopric announced that it was Halloween but please keep the Sabbath day holy. I must admit I was somewhat surprised by this announcement. After all, isn’t it obvious that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints know they should keep the Sabbath day holy? Apparently not.

To me, it’s absurd that anyone would celebrate a pagan holiday by breaking the Sabbath. Least of all Members of the Church.

When I told my siblings about this announcement in church, one of them said that one of the primary children in her class told her that they were going trick-or-treating on the Sabbath because that is what the neighbors expect. All I have to say to that is, one excuse deserves another. That is ridiculous. If people expect me to jump off a cliff, will I do it? Absurd.

Doesn’t anyone have a backbone anymore? Or are they just too far into the great and spacious building?

It really saddens me when people who supposedly share my values and believe what I believe don’t try to live the Lord’s standards. Especially in something as simple as celebrating Halloween on Friday or Saturday instead of Sunday.

I grew up in Utah, and if Halloween fell on a Sunday, it was celebrated on Saturday. People trick or treated in the neighborhoods on Saturday. There was not even a question of trick-or-treating on Sunday. I don’t know if this is because it was Utah or because it was 30 years ago, or maybe both.

I looked at an article a few days ago about people being anxious and stressed out over whether to break the Sabbath by celebrating Halloween. Now granted, these were not members of our church. But they were Christians who know they should keep the Sabbath day holy. They even talked about changing Halloween to the last Saturday of October.

If people would just quit worrying so much about what other people think, and follow God’s commandments, there would be much less stress and anxiety.

That’s my two cents.