Not bad: a school in liberal Newton, Mass., cancelled Halloween observances in response to complaints. It’s good that somebody in this very P.C. place respected the objections of offended religious parents — whether Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, we don’t know yet.
The article also doesn’t say quite what the parents’ objections were. The old Celtic pagan holiday that fell on the 31st seems relatively benign, a bit of harmless myth-making, so I don’t object to that too much, except on the grounds that I don’t want public schools to promote neo-paganism. But in the pop culture, Halloween has become an opportunity to celebrate figures of evil and horror, and (call me a fundamentalist, but) I don’t want that degraded phenomenon to have a platform in the schools. After all, if it weren’t for the schools promoting Halloween, it would be a pretty minor annual affair, as it deserves to be.
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Wow, RC. We always seem so close, but in this instance I couldn’t possibly disagree more.
At that age, Halloween is all about dressing up in something fun and grabbing enough candy to keep dentists practicing their vocation.
There’s nothing wrong with anyone celebrating the macabre every now and then, especially in a half-hearted Halloween sort of way; why should we fear evil and horror when Jesus Christ has conquered both?
And while it’s good in that a (probably fundamentalist) opinion was taken seriously for once, the entire notion that P.C. opinions are worth taking seriously has caused more harm than good. Canada stands as a prime example in my mind, where the “tyranny of the minority” gains more ground each day.
I’m thinking about the effect of these observances on non-Christian children.
You may not be a convert as I happen to be, but I remember what life was like for kids with no knowledge of God. If kids don’t know Him, then Halloween is not a mockery of evil, but a celebration of it. The Context in which to place Halloween is missing.
You have a solid point. I share your cautions, as I was baptized at the age of four by a non-practicing Catholic family and only began catechizing myself 18 years later. I know a lot of kids – mostly in their teens – who see Halloween as the celebration of evil. I never got sucked in to this, but the potential is there.
Fundamentalist!!!
I’ve really come to rethink Halloween. I’m not sure I’d allow my child to celebrate it.
We’re allowing our kids to go out, but I draw the line at “scary” costumes. They’re going as Eeyore and the Cat in the Hat.
As a child, I loved Hallowe’en. I loved the treats, the costumes, the parties… generally the fantasty of it. I never wore costumes that were “evil” (except for the time I dressed as a devil and my best friend dressed as an angel…. the joke was she would pray at the doorstep and I would howl and collapse in a heap. Very funny for two teenagers, especially as we did it about 50 times that night.)
I understand what you’re saying, RC, but for kids I don’t think Hallowe’en is about evil and horror. I think it’s about a night where the normal rules are suspended. Where grown-ups generously hand out candy and good cheer. I don’t think the nastier implications register with most kids.
I have to politely disagree, dear.
Haloween, all hallows’ eve, or All saint’s eve, is about one thing only: remembering the lives of saints (and the next day is the lives of all souls, including those in purgatory). This concept is quite significant on the calendar, as is the birth and death/resurrection of Christ. Here’s another non-church but nonetheless religious holiday on the calendar: Thanksgiving. We are thanking GOD after all for our gifts.
What we’ve seen in the last 70 years or so is a direct attack by secular society on these holidays, despite their militiant advocation of separation of church and state. The devil is definitely involved in this through the manipulation of parents’ good intentions. The devil is attacking these major religious holidays through the kidnapping of our children’s attention: Toys and Sugar.
Make no mistake, there is a direct connection between the rise of religious holiday consumerism and a falling away from authentic religion. I wouldn’t even call it a paganization, it’s more of an unconcious sterilization. But it’s there nonetheless, and dressing as Eeyore or Pazuzu is missing the point: you’re NOT honoring the lives of the saints and souls. That’s what the devil wants.
Sometimes I wonder if school administrators in this case are taking the easy way out.
By suspending any celebration of Halloween, they also need not initiate any teachable moment as to how the holiday got started: i. e. as a perverse affront to Catholic belief in the cult of the saints. Of course, they would also have to cite other earlier examples of popular biased or defamatory activities against Catholics such as the Guy Fawkes celebrations in the UK or the Marching Season in Northern Ireland. Can’t have Catholics as victims in this day and age, can we?
Y’know, love, you can have Hallowe’en and All Saint’s/All Soul’s. That’s what we’re doing in our house, remember? (For anyone who’s confused, Clayton is my husband and the spiritual head of our home.)
I agree with your point about the rise of consumerism in holidays being directly related to the fall of Holy Days.
For anyone trying to fight this, try http://www.domestic-church.com. Some great stuff there for having an All Saint’s party.