First off a joke for those programmers among you.
Why do Programmers get Halloween and Christmas confused?
I am not one of those who freaks out about Halloween. I certainly have very fond memories of Halloween as a kid. There are though some trends that annoy me.
Halloween seems to get pumped up more and more each year. In the past you might have seen some light decorations which mainly consisted of jack-o-lanterns. There was a very small minority of people who would elevate their decorations to a higher degree. Now it is much more common to see houses and their lawns decorated and now there are even Halloween Light shows.
I realize that it is now the semi-eqivalency between Halloween and Christmas that annoys me, it is that the commercialization for Halloween is approaching the commercialization of Christmas. Before you could see tacky inflatable Christmas decorations and now we have tacky inflatable Halloween decorations. Halloween Wreaths have also appeared in stores. You hardly see kids wearing anything but a store-bought costume.
Maybe this is just merchandiser relativism in going after anything that brings in a buck. But I want Christmas to be much more commercial than Halloween since Christmas is much more important! How dare they start to have commercial parity. Oh wait – maybe that isn’t exactly what I mean. But I won’t turn myself into a “holiday” movie by telling you about the real meaning of Christmas. Just start with Luke and read through.
I just glad Linus of Peanuts was unsuccessful in promoting “The Great Pumpkin” as a commercial venture. Good thing Halloween doesn’t have a fantasy person like the Santa Claus as given us by Coca-Cola. Glad they didn’t subvert another one of our saints for commercial reasons. Bishop St. Nicholas and the various St. Valentines must get teased about this all the time in Heaven. Though it is rather ironic that the vigil for the Feast of All Saints didn’t get this treatment. On second thought maybe it would be a good thing if Halloween had such a character – that way Tim Allen could stop making worse-and-worse Christmas movies and move on to worse-and-worse Halloween movies.
How long before we start getting “family movies” with the premise of a family learning the “real” meaning of Halloween? Though I guess I shouldn’t snipe to much at anything that promotes the importance of family no matter how trite.
Though speaking of the truth of Halloween, here is a link I have posted before. An article by Father Augustine Thompson, O.P. on what Mark Shea would call Pseudo-Knowledge in that All Saint’s Day was a baptism of a Pagan holiday to override it.
So if you are going to have some fun on Halloween or watch a horror movie or two, just remember as a vigil we are to get ready for the Feast of All Saints, those great exemplars provided for us to grow in holiness. Especially the following Feast of All Souls.
Update: Here is another bad idea in the Christians against Halloween camp – JesusWeen
5 comments
And they are also getting parity in the “season” being bent all out of shape. The store Halloween displays now start appearing in August!
You know it’s all becoming one big holiday: Hallothanksmas. Why don’t we just go all out and adopt Fasching?
Although, I still have never read The Bible, I’ve always concidered Halloweed and/or Holloween as the day God allowed the “Devil” a day to see how we “Live” and All Saints Day was the day that, well you know….to hell with you who have been given a treat and still continue to play tricks on U>S (usual sinners).
I hear ya! Do you think that some were “Left Behind”? 🙂
Peace
Halloween should be just what it used to be: one EVENING only when YOUNG CHILDREN could dress up and go around trick or treating. I think it was a good way for them to learn not to be afraid of the dark and that witches, goblins, and the boogy man were not real.
Alas, we live in a different world now.
Ah, yes, my most reprinted article. Sigh. One thing I would add today: whether to let kids go out trick-or-treating, is totally up to the parents. I don’t second guess them on this.