Halloween (All Hallows’ Eve). This day marked the beginning of an old (8th century AD) three day period named Hallowmas established to remember the dead. On the eve of the main feast on All Saints’ Day, it was believed (falsely) by some that the material realm and the afterlife blurred. This is likely due to the amalgamation of pagan harvest feasts by the church at the time to incentivize Celts and other pagans to join the church. The legalistic, or cautious, view is that Christians should not engage in activities with pagan roots. This is a valid concern since familiarity with the representation of otherworldly entities at the very least desensitizes us to the quite real and evil nature of their existence. Perhaps things that should be feared should in fact be feared and those things that aren’t real should be exposed for what they are and not feared at all. These decisions and their impacts on impressionable minds should be carefully considered by parents. Could a witch costume today result in witchcraft tomorrow? Possibly. Could the white witch from Narnia teach and reinforce concepts of good and evil? Possibly. Halloween has evolved (it’s a fun word, try it) into a consumer-based day where candy is king and door-knocking is merely a means to an end. The selfishness of filling your bag and then filling your belly with your favorite goodies is held in high regard. We certainly shouldn’t be exalting these things, but it appears that Halloween in America has become nothing more than a day to dress up and get candy for most people. The etiquette of giving out candy to the ankle-biting door-knockers is about as commonplace as a “bless you” is after a sneeze. It has no meaning. We don’t delve into the deeper theological implications of our association with it, although perhaps we should. For those that decline to participate in Halloween, I get it. But, be consistent. I better not see you sitting on Santa’s lap or tossing back cadburys at the Easter egg hunt. Better yet, don’t say “happy Easter” (Ashtoreth) to me or I’ll tell you “He is Risen” or “Happy Passover” if I’m feeling especially snarky. Taking it a step further, next time I sneeze, I’ll say “no thanks” to your blasphemous “bless you”. I try to avoid empty phraseology and the general repetition of things I don’t know or don’t believe, so I’ll leave out “happy halloween” and even “trick or treat”. Tonight will be that day when I go around the neighborhood and get candy with my friends and family. In doing so, hopefully I can be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16) on a night so typically sugary and dark.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 16:53:04 +0000
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