The devil's christmas

HALLOWEEN: IT'S TIME TO COME AGAINST THE DEVIL'S CHRISTMAS

Oct 27, 2002

by Michael H. Brown

A few years ago, I began putting plastic rosaries in with candy for the trick-or-treaters. That made me feel good. In my own little way I thought I was reclaiming some land. I thought I was taking some turf back from the devil. After all, Halloween is supposed to be "all hallows' eve," the vigil for a celebration of our hallowed saints.

No more. Now, it's the devil's Christmas. Look around. There are orange porch lights, trees decorated with ghouls, and lawn figurines (witches, vampires, and assorted monsters). A couple years ago when I was speaking in Catskill, New York, a woman told me that at a house nearby was a "nativity" scene with demons instead of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

This is not just kid's stuff. It's serious business. Halloween is an old flashback to pagan idolatry, and while Christianity replaced it with a holiday to honor the saints (in the eighth century), the devil has reassumed it in this spiritual tug-of-war.

I realize the danger of seeing a devil under every rock. There's no use getting paranoid. For most, Halloween is just an excuse to have a little fun, and in the right way, it can be fun.

But the bottom line is that Halloween as now presented is based on the occult and it's woefully unwise for our society to become immersed in that or in anything that involves spells, witches, or wizards, including Harry Potter (whose movie, ironically, is coming out now). The fact is that pagans, druids, and witches recognize eight feasts during the year, and Halloween (or Samhain, eve of witchcraft's "new year") is the most popular. It's one of the high feast days of both witchcraft and satanism. The Celts believed that during Samhain the veil separating the living from the dead was at its thinnest. They believed that on the evening of October 31, evil spirits and the souls of the dead passed through the barrier and entered the world of the living. Occultists consider Halloween to be one of the most powerful times to cast a spell.

Look at the ghoulish faces on TV. Look at the macabre celebration of the dead. Where Christ and God and the Holy Spirit focus on life, the devil focuses on death. Where Catholics pray for the deceased, especially purgatorial souls, Halloween tries to bring spirits from the hellfire.

And aligning oneself with that may not be as harmless as you think. When we invoke an energy (when we honor it with a statue or image), we invite it in. Just as a holy statue brings Jesus and the Blessed mother, so can a dark one bring demons.

Am I saying that dressing as a demon will cause a child to become possessed?

I'm not saying that. But it comes with a clear element of danger. And even if it didn't, do we want our kids to treat the devil as a game? Do we want them to revel in death, in tombstones, in darkness?

"God says, 'Don't imitate evil!' (Deuteronomy 18:9-11). Think about it: would Jesus enjoy kids dressed up as evil spirits? As Freddie Kruegers? Would He want to see our little ones resembling His nemesis?

Bring back All Hallows' Eve. Bring back the "holy day" by dressing your kids as saints or angels. Take back evil territory just as Christ and His Blessed mother conquered pagan strongholds. And pray for the souls in purgatory!

As for trick-or-treat: get out some rosaries or medals or Bible tracts to go along with the Hersheys and Nestles.