The Scrooge in Halloween

October 22, 3:49 PMBirmingham Biblical ExaminerJoel Hendon

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All of us have heard of Ebenezer Scrooge and his “Bah! Humbug!" attitude toward Christmas and I hate to be classified with him, but I am one who thinks Halloween should be flushed down the toilet. I’m not in any way, opposed to people, children especially, having fun and merriment but surely we can do better than Halloween. I participated in those activities as a youngster and allowed my children to do the same until the age of the apple/razor blade, poisoned treats, etc.I immediately stopped my children from participating and we also stopped giving out treats. I always had the horror that some child would be poisoned on something and that, after being by my house, would mistakenly think they got those particular treats from us. It is not worth the risk of harming, or killing, one of our children for this type of fun. I know that many parents will now go with their children, or at least one will. That is a good step but if you think you can thwart all the schemes of the diabolically inclined, I wish you success in it. I still say it isn’t worth the risk.

And, as I dwelt on the subject and read about it, I now wonder why I, or anyone else, ever found it so enchanting. There are several things to consider about this holiday that just doesn’t meet the criteria of what ought to be taught to our youngsters. Do you really think it wise to allow a child to gleefully dress up and pretend to be Satan? Or some other ghoulish varmint out to kill? Or even if you opt to dress them like the good guys, Superman, Batman, etc, that certainly isn’t the idea and purpose of the celebration. It would be well for all parents, in my opinion, to read the background of where this thing came from and the implications of much of it.

Plus, many people find it to be an annoyance at best. Even when I was young, I’ve had a few grumpies tell us to move on in no uncertain terms. Now that we no longer participate in any way, I personally find it somewhat annoying that I have to explain why to one troop after another. I knew of one man, some years back, who would station his teen age son on the front porch with a bag of dimes and have him drop one in each goblin’s container. While he and his wife secluded themselves in their den. And in this part of the subject, some of the last treats we gave out would sometimes be a handful of wrapped hard candies. And I remember a couple of occasions where one or more of the children would say, “Is that all?" and/or would frown and groan. That’s horrible in my opinion. That some children no longer appreciate a gift unless it meets their expectations.

For those of us who profess and attempt to be Christians, there are even more implications to question our participation in Halloween. The present day celebration is nothing more than a souped-up version of the ancient Irish Celtic “Samhain" (pronounced Sah-ween). These pagans worshipped over 300 gods and had numerous superstitions. There is nothing in it’s background that is compatible with worship of Jehovah God of the Bible. Samhain occurred at the end of Summer and is lightly explained in this quote:

"During this interval the normal order of the universe is suspended, the barriers between the natural and the supernatural are temporarily removed, the sidh (a fort where fairies dwelt in safety..JHH) lies open and all divine beings and the spirits of the dead move freely among men and interfere sometimes violently, in their affairs" (Celtic Mythology, p. 127).

God made a covenant with the twelve tribes of Israel (Jacob) that he would care for them, give them Canaan, a land flowing with “milk and honey" (Exodus 13:5) if only they would follow Him and not go after the gods of the people of the lands. But he warned them that he would cease to care for them and would allow their enemies to overthrow them and place them in captivity if they did not follow His commandments carefully. Yet, in disobedience they did begin to “participate" in the pagan celebrations. History is clear that God did allow them to be overrun, their lands were taken from them and they were in captivity for hundreds of years. And, one may say that this was the result of their lack of faith, or whatever. But the end result was their disobedience in following after pagan gods and receiving the punishment He had promised would come. God Himself, states that He is a “Jealous God",. Knowing this, why should we play with, or pretend to only be having fun when we participate in such?

As a closing thought, I read an article that was opposed to the activities of Halloween, not the day itself, but the type of celebration. And it brought out a good point. Most holidays have some sort of “good" to them. Like giving gifts to needy, giving thanks to God, or doing something in the way of helping others. Halloween is rather, an activity of greed or at least a give me something, for no good reason. Or worse, even to keep me from doing something bad to you. That is not a nice thing to teach children. So, “bah, humbug". For those of you who insist on participating in it and teaching your children so, I say, it is a free country and I hope and pray that it is always safe for you and them.