Halloween Making Way for "White Feast"

[a_cermak]

To those who wish to use Halloween to plug your Catholic faith, you are not alone:

What if those tracts are anti-Catholic tracts? Now I’m imagining a Halloween marked by proselytizing. Everybody would be out to prove a sectarian point and the innocent fun (which is what the overwhelming majority of participants is out to have) would be thrown out the window. Am I being overly paranoid?

Probably. I’d imagine just about all the tracts would get thrown out in the annual sorting, counting, separating wheat from chaff (or tootsie pops from candy bars as the case may be) that goes on after the little darlings get home with their booty.

 

[rpp]

Let’s look at some facts.

November 1 is All Saints Day on the liturgical calendar. In older forms of English it was also knows as “Hallowed Saints Day”. It is a solemnity and Holy Day of Obligation in most countries, including the USA. For those who pray the Divine Office, we know that on selemnities, there are vigial prayers the evening before, like the Saturday evening vigil Mass for Sunday.

Thus the Evening before “Hallowed Saints Day” or “All Hallows Day” is All Hallows Day Eve", shortened to “Halloween”.

The Day of the Dead in Mexico? November 2 is All Souls Day. This is the day we pray for all the souls of the departed, especially those in Purgatory. It is a day to commemorate the death of loved ones.

(I do this every year.)

 

[rpp]

Actually, if I recall correctly, wasn’t it originally a pagan holiday that was hijacked by Christians (like Christmas) so is it that awful for it to be hijacked back? .

This is yet another myth. While the timing of Christmas is somewhat arbitrary, It is not based on a Pagan holidy.

The claim has been made that this was adopted from the celebration of the Solstice on December 21. This plays well to an audience who thinks that people in ancient times were stupid.

The people in ancient times knew the astronomical calendar well. They would not be able to “fool” people in thinking the soltice suddenly started happening five days later.

No. Christimas is not a hijacked holiday. Take a look at kencollins.com/holy-02t.htm

But then, we are getting a bit off the subject…

 

[CathCentrist]

I’ll write it on the back of the Holy Picture for their parents then. But there is no way I would give sweets or anything to acknowledge or condone what is almost a religious celebration that is pagan in origin and has hijacked a Feast Day.

Just remember that while those innocent “kiddies” are roaming the streets in costumes, there are Satanists who wll be celebrating by desecrating stolen consecrated Hosts in a Black Mass.

But hey, it’s all innocent fun for the kiddies, isn’t it? Just as Christmas is all about Santa and receiving presents, and Easter is the Easter Bunny and chocolate eggs.

I think your position is way too extreme. And yes, it can be innocent fun for kiddies.

 

[Karin]

I think your position is way too extreme. And yes, it can be innocent fun for kiddies.

Darn Tootin’ Right!

 

[Nohome]

But rather than skip the neighborhood ritual, he’s put a Christian stamp on it. For the third year in a row, kids will leave his porch with a piece of candy, plus a religious tract - a concise, colorful handout telling how to attain salvation through Jesus Christ.

How original, I remember flicking christian literature out of my trick or treat bag in the early '70’s. (I’ve just dated myself).

As a kid, it was all about the treats. Any message, christian or otherwise, was wasted on us. I’m sure nothing has changed.

Nohome

 

[CathCentrist]

If you aint going to give sweets to the kiddies (or a healthy apple or orange) then dont open the door at all. But if instead plan on dropping religious cards into their bag, dont be surpised if you end up with a bag of flaming poop on your doorstep.

 

[Karin]

If you aint going to give sweets to the kiddies (or a healthy apple or orange) then dont open the door at all. But if instead plan on dropping religious cards into their bag, dont be surpised if you end up with a bag of flaming poop on your doorstep.

Please do not give kids apples or oranges …parents throw these out…do you know how easy it is to slip a razor blade or other garbage into one of these???

 

[CathCentrist]

Urban myths blown way out of proportion. Sure this has occured, but its as minimal as the so called yearly “war on christmas” imo

 

[rpp]

Urban myths blown way out of proportion. Sure this has occured, but its as minimal as the so called yearly “war on christmas” imo

You make a good point here. Particularly with the whole “war on Christmas”. Just because every newspaper and TV station tell parents to throw away this stuff and virtually every hospital offers to x-ray the treats for free doesn’t really mean anything.

You are right. This is exactly like the “war on Christmas”.

 

[a_cermak]

You make a good point here. Particularly with the whole “war on Christmas”. Just because every newspaper and TV station tell parents to throw away this stuff and virtually every hospital offers to x-ray the treats for free doesn’t really mean anything.

You are right. This is exactly like the “war on Christmas”.

The hospitals offer to scan it for free more so the parents will not hyperventilate than anything. Same with the newspapers. It’s simply an urban legend that has amplified with every year and now become so much a part of the Halloween season that it’s been calcified.

It’s why I won’t give homemade treats or fruits (even though, unless a hypodermic were used, I can’t imagine being able to tamper with an orange) as treats. Due simply to the legend of the razor blade in the apple.

As for the “War on Christmas” that’s just people trying to sell books and papers.

 

[rpp]

The hospitals offer to scan it for free more so the parents will not hyperventilate than anything. Same with the newspapers. It’s simply an urban legend that has amplified with every year and now become so much a part of the Halloween season that it’s been calcified.

It’s why I won’t give homemade treats or fruits (even though, unless a hypodermic were used, I can’t imagine being able to tamper with an orange) as treats. Due simply to the legend of the razor blade in the apple.

As for the “War on Christmas” that’s just people trying to sell books and papers.

I actually agree with you as a means of disagreeing. Yes, dangerous items introduced into Halloween treats is, at best, an extrodiarilly rare occurance. Yet, it plays to the fears of parents, sells lots of newspapers increases TV ratings and makes x-ray techs into heros. Rather than addressing their fear and tackling the myth head-on, they over-emphasize the real affect.

Sort of like the impact of renaming the Christmas tree to “holiday” tree, or the removal of nativity scenes from town squares, or crosses from war memorials. Thes kinds of things play upon the fear that America will somehow turn into a theocracy; a country run by the Church, perhaps with Cardinal Mahoney or Bishop Skylstad as president. (Okay, I admits, that would be scary. )

Seriously, as a former foot-soldier in the war on Christmas, I can tell you it is real. Removing Christian presence from public view was very important to me, as a former atheist. Denials of a war on Christmas made me very happy before my conversion. Since I am no longer an atheist, I see that my efforts, and the groups I supported, were very successful in making Christianity nearly invisible, fooling people that we were not, discrediting Christians and, of course, making Christianity to be the central and largest force for hate.

Don’t believe me, check out ffrf.org/