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The name means "hallowed evening." But is it real/y? Where did it come from? What is it al/
about? And is it really good for children?
WHAT'S SO
~~HALLOWED''
ABOUT HALLOWEEN?
e
reepy goblins, ghosts and de–
mons, witches on brooms,
spiders and bats, dead
men 's bones, flickering
jack-o-lanterns, black cats, eerie ces–
turnes and parties.
What a weird festival this is!
And an increasingly costly and
dangerous one too! Each year follow–
ing this strange celebration, grue–
some accounts surface of the giving
of booby-trapped "treats" to chil–
dren: apples with concealed razor
blades; candy bars with hidden nee–
dles; cookies containing ground glass;
bonbons laced with harsh laxatives or
spiked with poisons. This is to say
nothing of the cases, reported and
unreported, of muggings and moles–
tations which occur on the eve of "All
Hallows."
In addition there are other inci–
dences of bodily harm inflicted dur–
ing the course of Halloween festiv–
ites, sorne on purpose, sorne acciden–
tally: the automobi le driver fai ling to
see the child dressed in black cross–
ing the street at night, the burns re–
sulting from a flammable costume
_which is ignited by a candle in a jack–
o-lantern.
Are these instances not related to
the theme and purpose of this festi–
val? Perhaps they are, after all.
At one time in rural
~merica
per–
haps the "ultimate" in Halloween
mischief was moving the outhouse off
its foundation. There may have been
an uncomfortably inconvenient
change of the owner's normal routine
by
Clayton Steep
the next morning, but it was basically
not too serious. Sometimes, unfortu–
nately, far more extensive destruc–
tion is done to prívate and public
property by senseless vandalism. Any
of us could face the soaring costs of
repairing property damaged by
tricksters.
ls
lt
Good?
The Halloween period is big busi–
ness.
lt
is one of the three top candy–
selling seasons of the year. Hundreds
of millions of dollars sweeten the
cash register tills in exchange for
hundreds of millions of pounds of
confections. Greeting card compa–
nies, manufacturers and retailers of
costumes. and decorations take their
share of the profits too. For them it
pays well to keep the Halloween
"spi ri t" alive.
But in ca!culating the price of Hal–
loween, we can't stop there. We must
include the added cost- impossible to
calculate-that all of those refined,
chemical-laden "treats" ultimately ex–
act in dental and medica!bills.
Besides whatever physical harm
children may suffer from Halloween,
there is an as yet unmeasured dam–
age inflicted on the child's standard
of values. After all, are not children
taught by Halloween to beg? Isn't it
an attempt to get something for noth–
ing? And what is "trick or treat" but
extortion? "Give me something . . .
or else!" Impressionable minds can–
not fai l to see how richly it pays off,
and then may expect the same to
continue in the days and
week~
that
follow.
Still, every year millions of people
refuse to Jet these negative aspects
stand in the way of their Halloween
fun and frolic. Children and adults
alike adorn themselves with bizarre
and frighteni'ng costumes and engage
in a hectic night of partying, merry–
making and general mayhem.
But just how did these strange go–
ings-on get started anyway?
The Origin of Halloween
It
really is no secret that Halloween
has been around for thousands of
years. Centuries before the birth of
Christ , ancient Druids performed
mystical rites and ceremonies in hon–
or of the dead on their "New Year 's
Eve" (October 31).
History books and encyclopedias
freely and openly describe this pagan
origin. Even newspapers, as an ítem
of curiosity, print articles at Hallow–
een time explaining the pagan begin–
nings and their parallelism to today's
customs.
The point is, Halloween is pagan.
Still, most people, particularly those
who are parents, will justify Ha llow–
een's observance by saying, in effect,
something like this: "Sowhat? So it was
started by pagans. We aren' t thinking
about pagan gods today. We're just
having fun. And it's great for the chi l–
dren. Where it carne from doesn't make
any difference."
Well, it doesn't make any differ–
ence unless ...
.s
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Q~----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~
The
PLAIN TRUTH October/ November 1979
29