Just because someone celebrates a pagan holiday by extorting candy from their neighbors, does not mean that I have to be party to their pagan ritual. As for Darchei Sholom, I have never had a problem with gently explaining to my neighbors’ kids (who moved away recently) the first couple of years, that while we hope they have a fun time trick or treating, we do not celebrate their holiday. I always told them to be safe and not eat anything without showing it to their parents first. The kids understood, and I always bought chocolate fom them during their candy sales (OU-d), so they saw we were not being mean-spirited and respected our feelings.
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