However most trick or treaters are 4-12yo’s. It is not right to speak to them about God in any way unless you know their parents. Common curtesy. How would you feel if your child came home with a bag of chick tracks and “i stand with pp” stickers. It just has no place on haloween.
I certainly would have a problem in terms of the Jack Chick example (and ditto for “I stand with pp”, presuming that pp = Planned Parenthood), and I agree that is something that should be taken into consideration within the general context of this discussion.
But I’m not sure how far my own suggestion (Post #4) falls into that category. Taking time to educate children on Halloween in the context of All Saints Day is as much a historical perspective as a religious one. Nevertheless, I guess this could still be problematic because there undoubtedly would be people who would not perceive it as such (and consider it a type of unwelcome proselytizing).
I don’t think that’s a good idea. Parents are likely to be offended that you’re trying to evangelize their children without the parents permission. I would not have been happy if my daughter had come back from trick-or-treating with fundamentalist evangelizing materials.
I concur with Purplesunshine. You should only give “evangalization cards” out to the children if you ask their parent or chaperone first.
You could, however, decorate your house with Angels and Saints instead of goblins and ghouls, to emphasize the Christian aspects of All Hallows Eve. It would be in the spirit of the festivities, and you could leave the cards out for taking, while only explicitly giving out candy.
The decorations also give “fair warning” to anyone who doesn’t wish to be evangelized!
I agree with asking the parents first. I admire your effort but I think without asking the parents, some will see it and get upset and that is the wrong impression to give.
Asking the adults accompanying the children for permission seems reasonable and proper, but also could be impractical. Many times, such people hang back on the sidewalk, and there may be more than just one there, and they may not readily want to answer “yes” or “no” until they know exactly what you’re talking about, and so forth. This sort of system could break down very quickly in a place with a high volume of trick-or-treaters.
In light of this and in light of the understandable concerns which have been posted in this thread, I think runningdude has proposed something which is certainly worth consideration. Going back to the idea that I presented in Post #4, maybe the prudent thing would be to have a table with such liturgy upon it, set up in the yard with a sign explaining what it is about. (i.e., “Why is it called ‘Halloween’? Understanding this holiday from a Catholic perspective”), inviting people who are interested to take a free copy. I would suggest that both the sign
and each individual pamphlet should say, “Free - take one” on it. After all, if a kid takes one then, of course, he will put them in his candy bag, and it would be important for a parent later going through the bag to know how the pamphlet originated.
Candy, without such literature, would be distributed from the door.
I think the house could even be decorated in the usual Halloween fashion, seeing as the sign accompanying the literature would suffice in telling people exactly what to expect.
