Confused? Well, it is Halloween for kids who go to Bradford or Watchung or Northeast schools in Montclair. At Rand, too, kids will dress up, get to parade around outdoors in costumes, etc. If you have kids who attend Nishuane, you probably got the memo telling you to tell your kids that they won’t be celebrating Halloween tomorrow.
Regarding Nishuane, a tipster writes…
This may be have gone better under “Bah Humbug” last week, but my daughter came home from Nishuane today with a note saying “no costumes” on Wednesday.
They plan to do some sort of “Autumn Harvest Walk” on Friday, but is two days AFTER Halloween. Why, I can’t fathom. Is this just an isolated case, or is there a district policy to take the fun out of October 31?
And seeing as Nishuane has no real dress code, how will they deal with kids who show up in a Michael Strahan jersey, as at least one boy is bound to on any given day. (O.K., I could come up with a better example, but you get the idea.)
My daughter may not have the stomach for this fight, but any family that does, I will support.
We’re not sure about Edgemont.. Kids at Hillside have also been instructed not to wear costumes.
Okay, I’ll be first:
THIS IS CRAZY!!!!!
And I hope some kids do dress up because I would pay to see “the administrators” (forcibly) removing a kid in a witch costume from school on Halloween.
How much would I pay? Honestly, maybe 50 bucks…. If the kid yells, “don’t Taze me bro!” I’ll go up to $100. No lie. $100.
If the kid also has a skate board it’ll be worth at least $200.
You’re right. This IS crazy. Kids love this holiday. Why spoil the fun?
You’re right. This IS crazy. Kids love this holiday. Why spoil the fun?
You’re right. This IS crazy. Kids love this holiday. Why spoil the fun?
Edgemont does not allow costumes. They had a Halloween bash on Friday night at which the kids wore costumes. But that’s it. We got a note home from the kindergarden teacher asking that children not wear costumes to school today for the party (tomorrow they’re going on a field trip).
I don’t understand how some school’s allow costumes and others don’t. It seems to me there should be a district wide policy one way or the other.
Edgemont does not allow costumes. They had a Halloween bash on Friday night at which the kids wore costumes. But that’s it. We got a note home from the kindergarden teacher asking that children not wear costumes to school today for the party (tomorrow they’re going on a field trip).
I don’t understand how some school’s allow costumes and others don’t. It seems to me there should be a district wide policy one way or the other.
Edgemont does not allow costumes. They had a Halloween bash on Friday night at which the kids wore costumes. But that’s it. We got a note home from the kindergarden teacher asking that children not wear costumes to school today for the party (tomorrow they’re going on a field trip).
I don’t understand how some school’s allow costumes and others don’t. It seems to me there should be a district wide policy one way or the other.
That’s horrible….I remember how much fun it was to get dressed up for Halloween, and be in school.
What could really be the reason for this?
Can someone from the school’s, who has knowledge about this, tell us why this happened.
ps – I do not have kids in the schools.
A friend tells me her town, Oakland (Bergen Cty) has removed all mention of witches in the library storytime for toddlers.
Religion can be a real pain in the ass.
I hope all the kids [and teachers] go to school in costume; this is nonsense. Majority rules, and the majority loves this pagan ritual.
Profwilliams, I’ll chip in $25.
Edgemont has a class-by-class determination. My daughter is in 2nd grade and has been asked to bring her costume to change into after lunch for a party. Sounds good to me!
You get the costume and the “don’t taze me bro” on video and I’m in for $100.
…please tell me this is not a religion based edict.
We live in Montclair — you buy the ticket, you take the ride. With all the good things we have here, this is certainly one that sucks. I’m guessing it’s the principal that makes the call on this, as Halloween seems to be on a school by school basis. Count the churches in this town someday and then tell me if you’re really surprised. There’s also a JW Kingdom Hall very close to Nishuane, so maybe they’ve got some pull with the school admin.
Harvest Festival, whoo-hoo, maybe the kids can party on down with a sack of yams, as we’ve been asked to bring no sugared-food to Friday’s class party. Actually, yams are pretty damn sweet, too risky I guess, maybe I’ll send them in with carrot sticks instead, wouldn’t want to upset anyone.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses complained to the Nishuane principal some years ago. The principal caved (but you can be sure Doctor Alvarez had her back). That school has gone from Halloween to Harvest Festival to nothing. Its a shame that a religious minority has to ruin all the fun for the majority.
This town is so full of bigots I am counting the seconds until you put the blame on the Jewish people. Remember, the schools here will not even close for Rosh Hashanah, and they give out homework, to boot. Perhaps sometimes the “majority” should be big enough in stature to respect the wishes/feelings of the minority.
Halloween is a religious holiday of the Pagens, lest you not forget.
Perhaps the J.W. “feel” as you might “feel” celebrating Hanukkah, and perhaps they are not as “welcoming” as Jewish people singing “Oh Holy Night” in High School !
This is America. They (J.W.) have a right to make their feelings known & respected. It’s called: F-R-E-E-D-O-M.
Wow Sandy thats a pretty big chip you got on your shoulder there. Your post is somewhat unclear to me other then being angry and selfserving…maybe. halloween a Pagen holiday? Come on, does anyone really think of it in that way? No!!! Its for kids and it celebrates free candy, period.
And yeah the JWs are FREE to not recognize holloween just as my kids should be free to put on costumes and have a little harmless fun.
No, no “chip on my shoulder” just trying to point out the real facts. I am definately NOT angry, and was meant not to be “self-serving” (a broad & bland statement).
Regarding halloween, YES, it IS a Pagen Holy Day. I am not wrong on that.
Regarding kids dressing up at school, I have NO opinion on it. We (I) did it in the lower grades as did our son. NO BIG DEAL !! Really!
Yes, I am sure for 8 year olds it’s alot of fun. If they choose to do it, all well & good.
I am just pointing out (trying to) that OTHERS may be of DIFFERENT opinion and their opinions are as important as others! ALL should be taken into consideration ! It’s not a group “trying to ruin it for the majority” as was stated, it’s a group letting THEIR feelings be known. IF IF IF the school acts or re-acts upon that group, THAT is the SCHOOL’S right to do so, and the J.W. have a right to make therir feelings known, as do you, as well.
BTW, I didn’t mean to say that folks from Montclair are all Bigots. That is not true.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses complained to the Nishuane principal some years ago. The principal caved (but you can be sure Doctor Alvarez had her back). That school has gone from Halloween to Harvest Festival to nothing. Its a shame that a religious minority has to ruin all the fun for the majority. ”
Yeah! let blame the jehovah’s witnesses for everything!! lets spark up some torches and go run ’em out of town!
Run all the fun for the majority? Give me a break. Sounds like you got everything you ever wanted as a child….
This is a dumb “holiday”. What is the message? That it is acceptable to beg for candy? Or worse, that you may demand candy under threat of mischief. And why the glorification of candy?
I think dressing up for school is ridiculous, and in fact I know that my daughter is at Watchung and they are NOT allowed to wear costumes to school. They are allowed to change into costumes at 1:50 if they would like to participate in the parade.
Watchung had a PTA sponsored party last friday, but as far as I’m concerned that should have been enough Halloween celebration. What about children whose families don’t participate in Halloween? I feel badly for them.
what is the current policy at Hillside? Several years ago when my kids were there they abruptly ended their tradition of halloween parties/parade and instead instituted a “harvest festival”. Lots of fun and excitement there! Extremely lame – not even a real festival, just possibility of a classroom party and the right to wear autumn colors.
I’ve never really been clear on the objections to halloween celebrations as it could just as easily be viewed as a religious holiday as anti religious (ie satanic?). Possibly derived from pagan tradition, but also the name halloween comes from “all hallows eve” in deference to All Saints Day on Nov. 1st. Either way, bottom line, it is totally secular today and really just an excuse to dress up, eat candy and have fun.
Can we please toss the term “pagan”? The word is pretty non-specific, normally inclusive of everything other than Christianity, Judaism and Islam. So in an effort not to offend many of our “pagan” neighbors who are Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Taoist, Shinto, etc, let’s not level the blame for Halloween on them.
Halloween was a Celtic harvest ritual, so many of us who have Irish, English and French ancestry can consider this a cultural holiday. As the Romans conquered the region, the Roman holiday to honor the dead was combined with the Celtic celebration, and later still, a Catholic pope created All Saints and All Souls Days to coincide with the existing holidays. The blame for Halloween falls squarely on western Europe.
My little dude has a Halloween parade this afternoon – we sent him to school with his costume in a bag so that he can get changed at school. Devoting a hour to Halloween seems to be the amount of attention that it deserves -not because it is a meaningful holiday but because its fun for kids. Wearing costumes to schools would be too distracting for the students and teachers and would interfere with the school day.
And for the record, the public schools in Montclair spend a large amount of time teaching about a variety of religions and cultures, which is great. My kid’s class talks about all of the major Jewish and Islamic holidays and spends a great deal of time learning about other cultures, and he is in kindergarten.
Don’t understand why people get uptight about kids having fun dressing up and getting candy. Are there not more serious thing to get uptight about? My daughter came home from school with a UNICEF box to collect coins for needy children, so in addition to having fun she’ll get a lesson in compassion. Might not be a bad idea for the schools play up the UNICEF angle on this holiday.
Since I THINK I was just called a bigot, I’ll respond. Montclair is probably the most open minded, un-bigoted town in NJ, given how peaceful and friendly this incredibly diverse lot is to each other. Only in America, and not too many places in America, do you find the level of integration & interaction among such diverse racial, econonic, and religious/non-religious lines. I think most of us point to that diversity as one of the reasons why we want to live & raise our kids here.
If Halloween offends your religious views, don’t go to the party, I’m sure the teacher will arrange homework.
Of course we should all be free to believe what we want to believe. But don’t shame me by calling me bigot if I don’t repect every religion equally. I dont. Some religions are more worthy of our respect than others. If your religious beliefs are so fundamentalist that they clash with mainstream society, then there there are always Catholic schools, Jewish schools, home schooling, and madrassas. Take your pick.
Look Witnesses are some of the nicest people you can meet, they truly are. My brother was an Elder in the church for over 20 years. I’ve been to Kingdom Hall meetings, been to JW weddings (Sandy, I’m sure you’d be thrilled at the vows the bride repeats at a JW wedding), but I just happen to think their “religion” is a borderline cult. Not quite as bad as Scientology, but close, and it bugs me that my kids’ school lets this tiny minority dictate policy on anything, even something so trivial as a Halloween parade. While we’re teaching our Kindergarteners different religious beliefs, maybe we should include their belief that God is going to kill every non-JW in a fiery Armagedden that’s coming any day now? Oh yeah, and that voting & saying the Pledge of Alligience are sins against God.
Also, for the record, this year Montclair schools were closed for the first day of Rosh Hashanah (and Ramadan!), September 13th.
Umm… Can we go back to the simple facts here: an elementary school has banned Halloween. Not the holiday just the customes… Kinda like Christmas without the baby. Or what? Thanksgiving without the turkey. St. Patrick’s Day without the green beer. Groundhog day without the— you get my point.
So, who are these geniuses anyway??
Everybody knows Halloween is the holiday where we celebrate the Great Pumpkin. He’s up there with my other favorite gods, the Easter Bunny, Santa Dog and Super Turkey.
A major tenent in every religion seems to be that if you are not in that “one” you’re bound to be condemned to some special fiery hell in one form or another or perhaps you just float about aimlessly in limbo. Or did they do away with limbo, I can’t keep up.
Anyway, let kids wear costumes (all day) and have a little party. C’mon. They all seem to love it. Let ’em have a little fun. Life is short.
I’d be interested to know why some religions have used their influence in the community to stop Halloween celebrations only. What about the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza holiday period and Thanksgiving? Perhaps we should open the schools up when those holidays are traditonally celeberated. Seems silly to pick and choose.
“Halloween is a religious holiday of the Pagens, lest you not forget.”
Yes Sandy, you are Wrong……
While religion has been mostly removed from modern celebration of Halloween, it’s a Christian holiday. All hallows eve (the day prior to all saints day).
Also…. that bigot comment was just a bit over the top.
I must admit I feel the school celebrations of Halloween are indeed an unfair allowance due to the fact that Christians cannot in any way acknowledge Christ in the school during their Christmas holiday in school. This is a double standard. the secular view of Christmas is acknowledged along side every other “winter holiday” but no Christ… just in case it OFFENDS someone. While I don’t have real issues with Halloween, I do think that much of Halloween is offensive, more so than that of the celebration of the birth of the Savior of those who believe that. Let’s be fair. This to me isn’t about allowing it because “its a fun holiday for kids”… so is Christmas and its not allowed in school (unless its the secular version with all other religions present and not showing preference) yikes!