Monday, October 31, 2005
Happy Halloweener
I've never been a huge fan of Halloween. In fact, I commented on this a while back. The idea of dressing up has never appealed to me, I don't enjoy scares, and to be quite honest, the macabre focus gives me the jibblies. I am, however, a huge fan of free candy, so I'm pretty ambivalent on the whole "holiday."
That said, I'm highly disappointed that once again, a number of spineless school administrators have caved to a few activist threats and perceived political correctness and have cancelled school Halloween celebrations, costume parties, and parades. In the spirit of even more ridiculousness, some schools are replacing it with "Fall-o-Ween" or other celebrations. Still others, including my old school district, are mandating that if children wish to dress up at school, they must come dressed as their favorite literary character.
What is particularly galling about the whole situation, aside from the random quashing of decades of tradition, is the shallow reasoning behind the cancellations. Some say it's satanic. Some say it's anti-religious and secularism run amok. Some say it's a Christian imposition. Others object because of the perceived loss of class time. None of these really hold much water, though, when examined more fully. The loss of class time argument might have some claim, but it's specious unless it's expanded to all holidays and childhood celebrations.
The fundamentalist objection to Halloween has always amused me. Growing up in the Bible Belt, I'd occasionally get a Jack Chick "treat" in the old goodie bag. God only knows what I'd have gotten had some of those folks known I was Roman Catholic. These folks attempt to trace modern Halloween from ancient Mesopotamian Baal worship (which was, of course, satanic in nature) to pre-Christian Druid festivals (again, totally satanic) to spiritualism and witchcraft (could it be Satan?) to the Pope (aka AntiChrist), totally ignoring the idea that a harvest festival and heralding of the "death" of winter is a near-universal cultural meme. Coupling these traditions with the celebration of All Saints' and All Souls' Day in the early Catholic Church and voila! We have the modern Halloween, which despite its religious relation, has always been a totally secular celebration, much like Mardis Gras.
That said, I'm highly disappointed that once again, a number of spineless school administrators have caved to a few activist threats and perceived political correctness and have cancelled school Halloween celebrations, costume parties, and parades. In the spirit of even more ridiculousness, some schools are replacing it with "Fall-o-Ween" or other celebrations. Still others, including my old school district, are mandating that if children wish to dress up at school, they must come dressed as their favorite literary character.
What is particularly galling about the whole situation, aside from the random quashing of decades of tradition, is the shallow reasoning behind the cancellations. Some say it's satanic. Some say it's anti-religious and secularism run amok. Some say it's a Christian imposition. Others object because of the perceived loss of class time. None of these really hold much water, though, when examined more fully. The loss of class time argument might have some claim, but it's specious unless it's expanded to all holidays and childhood celebrations.
The fundamentalist objection to Halloween has always amused me. Growing up in the Bible Belt, I'd occasionally get a Jack Chick "treat" in the old goodie bag. God only knows what I'd have gotten had some of those folks known I was Roman Catholic. These folks attempt to trace modern Halloween from ancient Mesopotamian Baal worship (which was, of course, satanic in nature) to pre-Christian Druid festivals (again, totally satanic) to spiritualism and witchcraft (could it be Satan?) to the Pope (aka AntiChrist), totally ignoring the idea that a harvest festival and heralding of the "death" of winter is a near-universal cultural meme. Coupling these traditions with the celebration of All Saints' and All Souls' Day in the early Catholic Church and voila! We have the modern Halloween, which despite its religious relation, has always been a totally secular celebration, much like Mardis Gras.
# posted by Eric @ 2:24 PM 
