The War on Halloween

Back in 2005, Faux News commentator Bill O'Reilly told the world that there is a "war on Christmas." He supported this assertion by citing the number of retail giants, such as Sears and K-Mart, who advertised and encouraged wishing customers "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." The logic behind this marketing decision lay in the fact that there are people of many faiths in the United States, including no religious affiliation at all, and using a term like "Happy Holidays" seemed to be more inclusive. O'Reilly sees this as the conspiracy of "the loonie left", the mainstream media, and the "secular progressive movement" headed by the ACLU.

"Anyone offended by the words 'Merry Christmas' has problems not even St. Nicholas could solve!" says O'Reilly.

O'Reilly, the American Family Association, Focus on the Family, and a laundry list of other such groups have been asserting that the conspiracy to keep Christmas off the lips of store clerks and out of the mass mailed catalogues is a part of the plot to kill Christianity in our country.



Well, if it's a sinister plot to recognize our diverse culture and choose to wish people "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas", then what are we to make of the conspiracy to kill Halloween?

That's right: I believe there is a war on Halloween being waged by a narrow-minded fundamentalist movement that is forcing us to forgo such rituals as Trick or Treat and carving funny faces into pumpkins in favor of the P.C. "Fall Festival". The holiday is All Hallow's Eve. The Celtic pagans... and many neo-pagans in this country... mark it as Samhain (pronounced sow-in)... a time when the worlds between the living and dead are thin. Ancestors who have passed on are honored. We in the Anglican tradition know this as the spirit of our All Saint's Day. To undermine this annual ritual of noting that there are people who came before us by belittling it with a "Fall Festival" is--to quote Bill O'Reilly--nuts!

I'm an Episcopalian. And I would be willing to bet that most Episcopalians would not be insulted if somebody wished them a "Happy Halloween". Lots of Episcopal children enjoy dressing in costumes and knocking on doors, gathering up chocolate candy in a pillow case. Many Episcopal adults have fun dressing up with their children and bobbing for olives in the martini glass.

Knock it off, people! It's Halloween. It's a Celtic holiday. Let's all share in the celebration and eat a KitKat for the ancestors.

H/T to Diana Kampert for the Halloween bumper sticker graphic!