My rant FOR Halloween

I think Dr. Dickson makes another good point FOR Halloween-- Perspective. I have been thinking on this Anti Halloween Crusade of many believers and have a few thoughts in addition to the added article. Dr Dickson is probably more of an authority since he IS a DR. but I still have an opinion, uneducated as it is.

To go with Dr. Dicksons comparison of Halloween and Christmas 'celebration': We believers do celebrate Christmas, many do remove Santa and his elfs, in order to put the REAL meaning of

Christmas in focus. Jesus Christ, his birth, and all the gifts he got and we get too. Oh, my, that was rude. I forgot the point of gifts is the GIVING, just as Jesus gave his life for us. Let's not forget the second busiest shopping day of the year is the first business day after Christmas, so we can exchange all those wonderful gifts we received. I am NOT minimalizing Jesus' birth nor the true meaning of Christmas, or what it should be, I am saying that we conveniently forget those PAGEN traditions we practice as long as it is something we can justify, because we enjoy them. Just as I am doing here ;-)

I have heard an alcoholic say the he does not believe he is truly 'recovered' if he can not be in the presence of alcohol without it threatening his recovery. I feel the same about believers who strive to 'remove' all evil, or what they deem evil, from their presence because it might 'get them'. I know that when I do evil, when I sin, I do not fall into evil, nor does evil reach out and grab me, I chose to do evil. I am not walking with Christ, abiding, obeying when I sin, it is because I am weak, or just plain stubborn. I actually think I am strengthened by being in the presence of EVIL and choosing against it, more so than surrounded by just 'good', and skipping around 'safe'.

Halloween is a lot of different cultures traditions all mixed together, as Christmas is. One being the eve of celebrating all 'saints'. Another being the recognizing of the dead, hoping to 'reconnect' so to speak, by the Celts. What may I ask is wrong with remembering those passed? The disguises, which has grown to costumes, is recognizing there are demons... Are there not demons?

It does sound as though I 'doth protest to much', but it is in response to so many who literally condemn and put down those who do not find evil in Halloween, those who are not able or choose not to see the fun and enjoy the imaginations (God given) of their children, just once a year. Fine with me if you do not want to 'celebrate', which that too seems a misrepresentation of participating in Halloween. I do not celebrate Halloween, we play on this day, pretend, dress up,we do not honor anyone nor anything. Valentines Day, and St. Patricks day are just the same. Do these people who lock themselves in their homes, afraid of 5 year olds dressed as Toy Story Characters, not p take their spouse to dinner and give valentines cards on Valentines day. Do they not reach out and pinch the poor soul who could not find anything green to wear on March 17? Is a box of chocolates EVIL? Burn all four leaf clovers! Little red haired midgets must be Satans own!

It is perspective. Halloween is just a time that kids, get to play, with mom and dad. Sure some people twist off and do something stupid, some may choose to worship some evil , but do you honestly think they only worship their evil on this one night of the year? Why not thwart at least one of their known 'worship' times by sending a little innocent joy out into the spirit world?! And if you don't want to, don't, but don't throw flaming poop at those who dare to.

I don't tell any kid they are wrong for not having fun at Halloween, I do correct them if they tell me it is Satan's birthday, cause it ain't. It is purely a choice, a family perspective.

- Dr John Dickson is a historian and co-director of the Centre for Public Christianity.As a small group of Halloween-devotees in Martin Place this week protested that October 31 is not a national public holiday like Christmas, you can be sure that thousands of religious folk around the world are right now making the opposite demand: Halloween is evil and should be banned.

I have been asked many times, both as an Anglican minister and as director of the Centre for Public Christianity: Is Halloween evil? Should Christians oppose it?

My general feeling is that Halloween is no more ‘evil’ than Christmas. In fact, the two festivals have a bit in common.

Both started out as pre-Christian, pagan festivals. Both were ‘rebadged’ by the church. And both have subsequently become heavily re-secularized. It’s commonly known that 25 December was originally a celebration of the ‘Unconquered Sun’ at the time of the Winter Solstice (in the northern hemisphere). It was a happy feast in Roman times.

When Christianity become dominant in the West in the 4th and 5th centuries people were uncomfortable with celebrating the Sun instead of the Creator. But believers didn’t cancel a huge existing party. Instead, they chose to sanctify it as the ‘birthday’ of the unconquered Saviour of the world. No one was suggesting Jesus was actually born on that date. This was just an attempt to Christianise culture. Personally, I love that spirit—sanctifying the secular instead of running away from it or trying to ban it! It speaks of an open, confident and generous version of faith. More of that, please!

Halloween is much less significant, in both its pagan and Christian forms, but it has a similar history to Christmas. Originally, November 1 marked the end of the Summer months, and the pre-Christian Celts believed that the spirits of the departed returned to their homes at that time to visit loved ones. Masks and other disguises were worn to frighten off evil spirits who were trying to cut in on the action.

Around AD 610 Pope Boniface IV decided to ‘claim’ this festival for Jesus. He moved All Saints’ (or Hallows’) Day, a feast celebrating the departed in Christ, from May 13 to November 1. The evening before was also sanctified as All Hallows’ Eve or Halloween. It was a time to remember the faithful believers of past ages and to pray that we the living might learn from their good example. The Protestants in the 16th century mostly banned the celebration of All Hallows’ Eve and Day, but this had little to do with associations with ghouls and goblins and much to do with anti-Catholicism (we Protestants have cancelled a lot of parties over the centuries!).

So, is Halloween today ‘evil’? Sure it is, if it involves the glorification (or, worse, the trivialization) of things satanic, and playing nasty pranks on neighbours who simply forgot to pick up a bag of sweets earlier in the day. Beyond that, a community dress-up involving opening our doors to each other and giving sweets to kids in fancy dress is a lovely idea. It might even build friendships in a society hungry for community.

For my part, I am sad that Halloween no longer has much to do with honouring the faithful departed and learning from their example. But that shouldn’t stop believers from making it so. The Anglican Book of Common Prayer of 1662 has the perfect Halloween prayer: “And we also bless thy holy Name for all thy servants departed this life in thy faith and fear; beseeching thee to give us grace so to follow their good examples, that with them we may be partakers of thy heavenly kingdom.”

One last thing. I’m not sure that Christmas in the wider Australian context is any more pleasing to the Almighty? If there are grades of sins, I reckon the Aussie worship at the shopping mall in the build up to Christmas and the consequent neglect of the poor until we’ve paid off the credit card are much more ‘satanic’ than allowing our kids to dress up as goblins. And what is a goblin, anyway?