Happy Devil's Day!

Today is Halloween, one of my favorite holidays. I’ve gotten older and my costumes have changed but the fun remains the same. I remember fondly as a child when all I was a pair of too big pants, an old jacket, dirty gym shoes, eyebrow pencil and lipstick smears on the face and a paper bag. Most of the kids in my neighborhood wore some variation of the same. We also had something else in common - camaraderie. We were out and about ringing doorbells, shouting "Trick or Treat" and getting loads of candy. We even went in to the bar on the corner (this was the only time we could) and received treats from the bartender and change from the patrons.

The neighbors feigned shock and awe at the little homemade costumes we wore with pride. They pretended not to know one child from another and along with our candy gave us "a little something extra" like a nickel or a dime. We swapped candy with each other as we ran from house to house. At the end of the night, we all went home happy, bags spilling over with our bounty and watched as our parents emptied said bounty on the table, picking out their favorites and throwing the unwrapped candy in the garbage. Such was Halloween then.

Since that time Halloween has gotten a bad rap. Tales of horror and mayhem abound. Those tales of horror are not stories of teens throwing eggs or slashing tires just for sport. They're not the stories of the apple with the razor blade hidden inside. It's the story of how those of us who deign celebrate Halloween are going to be cursed for all time because Halloween has become Devil's Day. Like me, you're probably checking your calendar of holidays and looking for Devil's Day. Let me save you the trouble. It isn't there. So who declared Halloween the Devil's Day? Why, well-meaning Christians, of course.

I remember when I first heard this. While planning to costume shop for my son, I mentioned the shopping to a friend. She looked at me aghast and uttered "How could you celebrate Halloween? That's the Devil's Day." I thought she was joking but quickly realized she wasn’t. She was serious. So I asked her why she would give the devil a day? She looked at me as if I'd lost all good sense and said that dressing in costume especially as a devil or one of him minions and uttering trick or treat was worshiping the devil. I shook my head and walked away. I didn't get it then and I don't get it now.

Here’s a very brief history of Halloween. The day has both Celtic and European roots and was originally a celebration that marked the end of summer and the harvest season called Samhain. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV declared November 1st All Saints Day to honor saints and martyrs and changed what was once a secular holiday into a Christian one. October 31st was declared as All-hallows Eve which was shorted to Halloween. When immigrants came to America from Europe, they brought their Halloween customs with them. In time Halloween developed into a secular but community centered holiday. Today Halloween generates over $5 billion annually in the US alone. Needless to say, we Americans love Halloween.

Over the past 10 or so years, I've heard a number of people declare Halloween the Devil's Day and have kept their children from participating in the festivities. And my question is always the same - why give the devil a day? Is the devil more worthy of a day than Mussolini or Eichmann or Bin Laden? Each of them has done a great many despicable things to humankind. Have you ever once considered having a party or dressing up for Stalin Day? I think not.

It would certainly help if these folks took a minute from condemning others to hell to study a little history. Often it is those who know just a little to take things out of context. Or possibly this tirade about Halloween is about control. One of the best ways to control something is to introduce an element of evil into the game. Cigarette smoking was one of ways cool people were able to show their coolness. Now smoking has been relegated to something akin to having leprosy.

I believe those who declare Halloween the Devil's Day are not trying to be hurtful. They honestly believe the rhetoric about Halloween although there is no such uproar about Santa. They believe criticizing the government is treason regardless of wrongs the government may perpetrate in our name. They believe drinking any form of liquor is against God although Jesus being the party animal that he was certainly didn't think so. His first miracle was turning water into wine to the party could continue. They believe it's wrong to have an abortion but okay to execute a criminal because they can distinguish good killing from bad. They believe their way is the only way, the right way without giving any credence to the billions of people who may believe otherwise.

It's a good thing that all who believe in God do not have the power of God. Too many people would be condemned to hell and humankind has devised so many ways to hurry and get us there. It's a good thing that so many believe in the notion of a kind, loving God regardless of whether God is proclaimed he or she or is called Yahweh, Allah, Jehovah, Krishna or Satnam. What matters is that God loves us all in spite of our foolishness and believes that life should be lived well. So if that means dressing up as a pirate or princess or clown or even a little devil, sticking up your neighbors for a chocolate bar while yelling "Trick of Treat," so be it.

Now if you will excuse me, I need a nap. I just eaten my body's weight in chocolate because we had left over candy from Hallo, excuse me, Devil's Day.