Musings About Halloween

I have to admit, I’m probably like most other American Christians. I recognize Halloween is the celebration of death, fear and the occult, but  we still give out candy to the kids who come by. We don’t hand out Bible verses or preach to them. We just play along and are glad when it’s over.

But I got to thinking. I wonder if witches and others who are into the occult (notice I didn’t say “who dabble in the occult”–I don’t know what it is about the occult that prompts dabbling, and I’m not even sure what dabbling is) are upset that Halloween has become so commercialized.

As I mentioned in the post yesterday, Halloween is the second biggest holiday in the United States in terms of money spent.  Just two years ago, Americans spent $5.1 billion on Halloween, more than Easter, Mother’s Day and Thanksgiving.

So, I wonder, do the witches and occultists long for the days when people celebrated Halloween for what it really is: the glorification of death, fear and the occult?

Do they complain that pumpkin farmers and companies like Hallmark have taken the true spirit out of the holiday? I wonder if they talk about the good old days when people didn’t even bother with giving homeowners the option of “trick or treat” but went straight to the vandalism and property damage.

Or maybe they boycott Halloween completely and instead hold all night vigils with their covens where they break out their Ouiji boards and Dungeons and Dragons, while listening to the backmasking on Stairway to Heaven.

I don’t know, I’m just guessing, but it seems plausible. GS

Leave a Reply