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Halloween: harmless tradition or evil glorified?
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It's Halloween time again. And, besides Christmas, I can think of no other holiday that generates so much contention among Christians as does Halloween. You'll find that feelings on the issue are extrememly diverse, ranging from enthusiastic participation all the way to an active call-to-arms against.
But, what is Halloween? The word Halloween is derived from the Old English phrase Eallra Halgena Aefen, or All Hallow's Even. This is connected to the holiday All Saint's Day, a Christian holiday that was moved from May 13 to November 1 during the ninth century, in an effort to eradicate the ancient Celitic holiday of Samhain. Samhain--pronounced Sow in--was a time of year when the ancient Celts believed the barrier between the world of the living and the world of the dead to be at its thinnest. It was also considered to signify the harvest. People lit bonfires and celebrated the end of the year. They would also douse their cooking fires and start new ones with embers from the Samhain bonfire.
Even though Samhain is still traditionally observed by some, for the most part, Halloween has since evolved into a commercial, Western secular holiday, marked by thematic elements rooted in suspense, mystery and horror-fiction, both classical and pulp. But, Halloween is not just a day for the macabre. Costumes, these days, can represent anything from political figures, cute animals and occupations to food and inanimate objects. Most see Halloween simply as a harmless way to have some fun while being social. In fact, millions, yes, millions of trick-or-treaters take to the streets, contributing to the 2-billion-dollar-a-year pile of money amassed by candy companies.
Some questions come to mind: Should Christians participate in Halloween? Is Halloween really that big of a deal? What constitutes 'good' Halloween vs. 'bad' Haloween? Who decides? Again, Christians are vastly divided on the issue.
What do you think?
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