NEWTON, Mass. -- A Massachusetts elementary school decided Halloween will not be celebrated there this year, officials said Thursday.

The Underwood Elementary School in Newton has had a tradition of celebrating the holiday, but some families complained that the day is offensive, reported WCVB-TV in Boston.

The decision has upset some parents.

"What should have happened, instead of this being raised a few days before Halloween, the folks who are concerned should have raised it six months ago," parent Geoffrey Epstein said. "We should have had the conversation, and then we would have had an amicable situation, instead of having parents quite upset about this. The kids are also quite upset."

School officials sent out a notice Friday that Halloween activities were being canceled because some parents found them offensive to religious beliefs. Some said that they were uncomfortable to the point that they were keeping children home.

"It was hard to say we should continue these practices given the fact that some kids were so uncomfortable, so we discontinued the tradition, but we are trying to replace those with a fall celebration," Principal David Castelline said.

The fall celebration is scheduled for Nov. 4. School officials said that later in the year, there will be a different kind of costume celebration, where staff members will be able to dress up like some of their favorite literary characters.