During the year there are days we designate as special, not conforming to the usual routine. We call them "holidays". Sometimes they are religious in nature; sometimes they commemorate great individuals or important events. Others show appreciation for certain groups of people, such as mothers or laborers. In all cases these days are meant to be uplifting, drawing our minds toward higher thoughts and purposes. All, that is, except one.
Halloween is the one that doesn't fit. Its origins are found in pagan sacrifices to appease angry gods; and although it has acquired a veneer of respectability with traditions like trick-or-treating, it is still at heart a celebration of fear. Most children, if given the choice, would rather wear a scary costume than a "cute" one. And while their preferences have moved away from ghosts and witches to more current themes, like ninjas and warrior princesses, those traditional symbols of evil are very much present in decorations and displays. In fact that aspect of Halloween seems to be getting worse: reflecting the trend in horror movies, displays set out to "entertain" young visitors are more often filled with depictions of blood and gore.
It's easy to see why children like Halloween. They are, after all, rewarded for behavior which would be severely disciplined at other times: pretending to be something false in order to extort goodies from neighbors and friends with implied threats of vandalism. But how do we account for its rise in popularity among the older set? Adult Halloween parties have become more common these days, fueled in part by TV sitcoms which glamourize the aspects of finding scary costumes and pulling not-so-harmless pranks. Amusement parks have discovered the profit in holding "fright night" events, often involving special construction and casting; these nights draw sellout crowds through most of October.
The Apostle Paul wrote, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." (1 Cor. 13:11). But it seems that many people who take delight in Halloween rituals have not yet put aside their childhood. They carry along the juvenile notion that permitted (i.e. "good") things are boring and forbidden (i.e. "bad") things are exciting. That assumption is not true, but it sometimes takes a mature mind to realize it. So we who would like to consider ourselves mature should not be content to observe Halloween customs without question. Parents, especially, should take a long look at their own behavior during Halloween and consider the lesson they may be teaching their children: that we face up to our fears, not by overcoming them, but by becoming them.