Annually in October, Halloween decorations, costumes, and props begin to flood the entrances and isles of malls, departments stores, and grocery stores. Advertisements for haunted houses, themed parties, and other events start popping up all around us. As we are reminded of the Halloween season, the debate about Halloween festivities starts brewing. Is Halloween a wicked tradition based on satanism and witchcraft or is it a time to have some harmless fun with friends? The debate continues.
Halloween is celebrated annually on the evening of October 31st. Many people love Halloween and enjoy dressing up as their favorite character, taking their kids trick-or-treating, eating treats, and going to themed parties and think it is just good clean fun. However, others think of Halloween as an evil tradition based on satanic activities and should be avoided at all costs. This brings up an interesting discussion with heated and passionate arguments on both sides of the issue.
Good Clean Fun
If you are like many people, you have fond memories of Halloween . You remember picking out the costume of your favorite cartoon super hero or your mother making a cool ghost outfit made of a simple white sheet with some holes cut out for the eyes. With a little plastic jack-o-lantern or paper sack, you frolicked about the neighborhood with your friends going door to door quoting the famous phrase "trick or treat". You couldn't wait to see what kind of candy or other treat you would get. Sometimes you would eat some of the candy while you wandered the neighborhood even though your parents told you to save it until you got home where they could ration your consumption (as they picked through some of the "good stuff" for themselves). You remember hayrides, costume parties, and visiting the local make-shift haunted house or haunted woods. You watched Halloween television specials and just had a lot of fun with your friends and have special memories of this scary holiday.
Evil Tradition
While many people find no harm in Halloween, there are also many that avoid any activity or get together that has anything to do with Halloween. Many believe that the origins of Halloween are based on satanic rituals and witchcraft and any celebration or participation in Halloween festivities is condoning satanism, witchcraft, and other evil based traditions.
Conflicting Beliefs
There are conflicting beliefs on the history of Halloween. One belief is that it began as a Celtic pagan celebration originally named Samhain in Ireland where Celtic priests (known as Druids) performed customs by offering sacrifices or crops, animals, and supposedly even humans to please the gods. This was done to ensure the sun would return when the winter season ended and the evil spirits would be frightened away. Another belief is that much of the information about the origins of Halloween are based on inaccuracies, myths, and other fiction and that no historical evidences link Halloween to satanism or witchcraft.
So, is Halloween an wicked tradition? Is it good clean fun? Is it what we make of it now regardless of it's origins? Should we totally avoid it at all costs? Should we celebrate it as a time of plentiful harvest? What is your opinion? The debate rages on...
Hill Robertson
Author Bio
Matt is the owner of the dynamic homemade Halloween decorations website ComputerHalloween.com.
