Wednesday, October 31, 2007

The Best Reason to Celebrate Halloween

Letter to the Herald, reprinted verbatim:

Australia is rich with its own unique culture, customs and traditions. Why introduce Halloween, which has strong roots in paganism, witchcraft and devil worship? Our Christian heritage teaches us to have no part with the occult.

Parents, do you want your innocent children involved in dangerous evil tricks, deception and Satanism?

I'm satisfied. American or not (and it's not), Halloween has all the right enemies. Trick-or-treaters, go forth and multiply. There are gold coins at my house if you're in the neighbourhood.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

/signed

I've seen more good come out of Halloween than on the many other occasions that our Christian heritage permits us to celebrate. The exercise alone that it encourages is reason to take part. I can think of no other occasion (whilst I am not thinking very hard admittedly) where children are seen parading around exploring their neighbourhood with parents in tow. It is a refreshing sight and I see little harm in the exchanging of sweets for the chance to see some very creative costumes. Indeed, if like myself as a young boy, you were unlucky enough to have met neighbours who equated treats with fruit, the entire activity was even more health improving. Or mayhap the fruit was given to ward off evil spells that I was clearly about to cast by virtue of the fact that I celebrated Halloween.

The concern that Halloween is being introduced is decades too late. And the assertion that chiming "Trick or treat!" includes dangerous evil tricks, deception and Satanism doesn't even deserve acknowledgement. It is so far steeped in prejudice and ignorance that I fear I should warn my own children about the people out there that would assert something as ludicrous as this to begin with, lest they be swept away by the diatribe of the devout without a chance to come to their own conclusions.