Halloween is not my holiday. I fail to see what others see as a good reason for this celebration because the only reason I know of does not sit well with me.
According to Wikipedia (and I'm quoting the article verbatim), it is linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain. The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm.
In these modern times, people no longer wear costumes to ward off evil spirits. They simply do it for fun. I have no qualms about adults dressing themselves as the devil. I believe it is a personal choice and I am in no position to infringe my beliefs on such choices. After all, they're old enough to know whether to attach value to such practices or not. But since this holiday involves children as well, that's where it gets dicey for me.
How do you teach children to fear the devil when you dress them as one? Won't that give mixed messages? It's not a problem for devil worshippers but I don't see how Christian parents would explain themselves to their kids when they ask. Sure they can say it's just for the sake of fun. But won't that mess up with their associations? Imagine associating anything that's an embodiment of evil to fun. I believe that's one of the reasons our current society has evolved to how it is now. We drink ourselves silly for fun. We take drugs for fun. We smoke for fun. We dance around naked for fun. Heck, we think we can get away with anything for the sake of fun. And I don't think that's a good thing for children to learn during their formative years.
And it's really not just the costume but the whole concept of Halloween itself. As a parent, what will you say when your kids ask you why you are celebrating Halloween? I understand that most households are kind of pushed into the parade because everybody's doing it. It couldn't hurt to dress your kid as a princess, could it? How much harm could a simple activity as trick or treating do? Personally I think that on a superficial level, nothing's wrong with going around in the neighborhood asking for candy. It's a good social experience for kids. But I don't know. Like I said, the roots of this celebration just doesn't sit well with me.
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