Halloween

In a sharp departure (and some may say “declension”) from my generally historical-theological postings, I embark now on a more schizophrenic rant on the very timely subject of Halloween. Before anyone has a chance to think the question, I will answer: No, the Church Fathers and Councils do not offer any guidance on this subject particularly.

At the outset let me warn the kind reader not to expect any sense of conclusiveness or feeling of closure in this post. Rather, I will offer some random (and some not so random) thoughts and observations on the subject. For these offerings, I will be branded a “compromising liberal” by some and a “Puritanical Pharisee” by others. Be that as it may!

I have been around church people from all parts of the spectrum when it comes to Halloween. I have known those who had a haunted house in their church building and those who would not allow the use of the word “Halloween.” At this point in my life, I am probably somewhere in the middle of these two extremes (well, I am middle-aged). I have no illusion that I will satisfy either extreme and probably not the middle either. Nonetheless, I offer these observations.

First, I am compelled to say that I feel it is disingenuous at best and totally hypocritical at worst to have a party (or festival or whatever) on or about October 31 and have essentially the same activities as a Halloween party, and yet call it “harvest festival” or (puke!) “Hallelujah.” After all, a rose by any other name is still a rose.

If something is truly a “harvest festival,” it might well be held any time between August and December. And I am certain that a “Hallelujahfest” would be appropriate any time of the year and would not involve dressing up in costumes. This kind of self-deceptive word play is quite nauseating from my point of view and serves mainly to assuage the conscience of the conscientious (because most people don’t actually give a rat’s rump either way).

A second point that I must put forward is that I do believe that there can be psychological harm inflicted by gory, scary, and violent costumes, games, and decorations. (This would apply equally to movies and TV shows of the same genre.) I know for a fact that children can be traumatized to the point of needing counseling because of such things; therefore, I cannot in good conscience endorse them.

But what about the other issues? Well this is where the schizoid side will begin to show.

What about costumes depicting devils and witches and such? Generally speaking, I have not been in favor of them but there is another side to it. What if by doing these things, we are actually trivializing the demonic rather than glorifying it? Could this be a way of mocking the evil one and his minions? Even so, could this not be unacceptable somewhat like bringing a railing accusation against the devil (see II Peter 2: 10-12)?

What of the extortion of treats by threat of tricks? I would really have a problem with this if it were the case. I am aware that some have taken this day as a license to commit all sorts of malicious acts in the name of “tricks.” For the most part, however, the refrain “trick or treat” might be translated, “Please give me the candy you were going to give me anyway even if I hadn’t asked.” I would guess this is about as harmless as the Christmas “threat” “Bring us some figgy pudding…we won’t go until we get some, so bring some out here.” In fact, I would be more fearful of the singing pudding bandits than the neighborhood candy gobblers.

Bobbing for apples while receiving a bad rap of late for being very unsanitary (but then again so is everything else according to the Lysol Generation), has been trashed by others for being some sort of prognostication on the subject of romance. In either case, it is much ado about nothing. Does anyone seriously take marital advice from an apple? Possibly these are the same ones who are guided by fortune cookies in their lives.

As to the religious implications of the holiday, I can only say that the main religion of Halloween is hedonism. Nobody I know worships the dead or anything else much but the Mighty White (pure Cane Sugar in all its lovely forms). It is an excuse to eat way too much delicious candy that has been given to the kids at someone else’s expense.

Yeah, I know…Druids, Saimhain, etc. But just because of its ancient connections does that mean that it is still the same thing? If so, we had better junk Valentine’s Day and change the names of all our days of the week because of their ancient meanings. Besides, who in the world demands these treats to offer to the dead or to whomever else they were supposed to have been offered?

I sympathize with the intent of those who wish to distribute tracts on Halloween; I am not sure about the method. First of all, the surest way to tick off a sugar-starved gobbler is to give them a tract with no candy (or for that matter any “healthy” treat that does not contain a healthy dose of sugar). Besides, how many of those tracts ever actually get read?

Then again, many of them contain some quite inane drivel about Halloween that would only aggravate people rather than draw them to the Lord. If one must offer tracts, be sure to sweeten them with a good treat (which means no artificial chocolate) and offer them the truth of the gospel instead of some mind-numbing sermon against some ancient unpronunceable, irrelevant and uninteresting festivals and deities.

Anyhow, happy Halloween, or Hallelujah or Harvest Festival. And don’t forget the day after is much more important as it is a remembrance of All Saints in the Western Christendom.