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Halloween: History of the Dead, Fun, and Christian Angst
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by TheBigRuski | October 6, 2007 at 09:18 am
511 views | 22 Recommendations | 6 comments
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Third most popular holiday in the U.S. gets a closer look
Last night, on the local news, one of the TV reporters was broadcasting a segment from a haunted house amusement park…it may have been Knott’s “Scarry” Farm, an annual park transformation, but I did not confirm that. The costumes and Hollywood style makeup of the participants hanging out by the reporter were pretty gross looking…as in creepy.
After the initial “ooooooh, yuck” it gets kinda old for me. I mean call me old fashioned, but an occasional “boo” is about as frightful as I want to receive or give these days. Beyond that, the whole concept of playing around with terror seems pointless. Year after year, as the ghoulish out gore each other, taking blood and disfiguration to the next level, I begin to wonder if some people aren’t placing too much importance on this sort of thing…some even worshipping the whole experience…some even taking it to more than just one day a year.
So, of course, I’m not going to “preach” against Halloween, just maybe flesh it out a bit. Many Christians struggle with Halloween, some taking part in some sort of alternative. Others ignoring the whole enchilada.
Here’s the best thing I’ve seen written so far about the subject. Although the writer downplays the fear factor…I still hold to the fact that some can get swept up into the insanity part of it. Especially, if as a Christian you are playing on both sides of the fence.
This from Glen D. Williams’ blog:
Halloween History and Christian Life
Halloween, we hear, is now the third most popular “holiday” in the USA. Many Christians are very concerned about the meanings of Halloween customs, the seeming glorification and celebration of witches, ghosts and other spiritual beings, and the whole idea of having a holiday related to the dead.
We’re going to take a look at Halloween history, customs, the dead and the question of Christian involvement in the celebration. Be ready to be startled by some of the surprising things we’ve learned....
Add: Halloween Open Forum at TheScroogeReport
History of the Dead, Fun, and Christian Angst’ Post Garners Winning Comments, Discussion
Halloween is turning out to be a better topic for discussion than I thought. There’s some great comments coming in.
Here's a sample. This from FCS:
I have been a born again Christian for 10 years now and during these 10 years I have been avoiding Halloween because…… you know death, witches, evil spirits, etc. Never once did I think to research the Holiday to find out when and why it began and why the costumes went from one extreme to the other. I have an 8 year old son that has never been trick or treating. Although we do have a fall festival at our church where the children are allowed to dress up as bible characters and I let him participate in that. I really need to step up my faith and pray a little more on the things I seem to fear and hide away in my most inner self. I do know that He who is in me is greater than all, so why do I have these hidden fears? Yes, there is going to be some real praying on my part about this and any other fears I may be hiding away. Thanks for sharing your knowledge it has been very enlighting.
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TheBigRuski
Orange County, United States
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (6)
at 14:15 on October 8th, 2007
TheBigRuski, good stuff. I love Halloween, despite the fake Hollywood stuff. It simply acknowledges the world of spirit.
at 15:34 on October 10th, 2007
PEP....boo!
at 12:58 on October 11th, 2007
My only issue is how commercial Halloween is getting. A gardening center nearby had decorations out in late September: these scarecrows hung by their straw necks... it read more as a warning to scarecrows than as a decoration choice.
Halloween has a brilliant history, though, these days, seems to lack the spiritual aspect of Dia de los Muertos*, a traditional celebration of which is an awesome experience.
(* The two celebrations have very different roots, but are often linked in American/Canadian culture due to their skeleton-centric motifs)
at 20:44 on October 11th, 2007
TheBigRuski, spooky stuff.
Halloween and Christmas are my two favorite holidays because they both rely so much on one's own imagination to make them work. Plus, they're both so fun.
at 11:01 on October 12th, 2007
Thank you, BigT!
at 20:46 on October 11th, 2007
Read this from Wikipedia for further illumination. I also have to say that I'm writing this while watching the delightfully terrifying 1408, so of course I love this holiday.