Online appeal calls for Halloween ban in schools and kindergartens
An online appeal in Ukraine calls for banning Halloween celebrations in educational institutions to protect children's mental health during the war.
An online initiative has called for legislation restricting or completely banning Halloween celebrations in Ukrainian schools and kindergartens, arguing that children must be protected from the glorification of death and psychological trauma during wartime.
The appeal, addressed to government and education officials, also calls for an investigation into the actions of school administrators. Its author argues that large-scale events featuring imagery of horror, violence, and cruelty create a psychologically harmful environment for children and risk retraumatizing students.
According to the appeal, schools and kindergartens are decorated ahead of Halloween with cobwebs, skeletons, bloodied heads, severed limbs, knives, and replicas of torn-out organs. Children are also allegedly pressured to wear costumes depicting characters with mental disorders or violent tendencies.
The author maintains that such imagery can cause fear and emotional distress among children who have already experienced the horrors of war.
The appeal cites a 2024 study indicating that 32% of Ukrainian adolescents affected by the war suffer from depression, 17.9% experience heightened anxiety, and 35% show signs of psychological trauma.
The petitioner argues that promoting a culture of death and violence among children violates legislation governing education and children's right to a safe learning environment.
The UOJ previously reported on the Orthodox Church's perspective on Halloween.
