Monday, October 13, 2008

A Case Against Halloween: Religion in Public Schools

"It is that time of the year when the secular society in which we live is preparing for the festival of Halloween. Many do not know its spiritual roots and history, and why it contradicts the teachings of the Church. The feast of Halloween began in pre-Christian times among the Celtic peoples of Great Britain, Ireland and northern France. These pagan peoples believed that life was born from death. Therefore they celebrated the beginning of the “new year” in the fall (on the eye of October 31 and into the day of November 1) when, as they believed, the season of cold, darkness, decay and death began. A certain deity whom they called Samhain was believed by the Celts to be the Prince of Death and it was he whom they honored at their New Year’s festival.

From an Orthodox Christian point of view, we can see many diabolical beliefs and practices associated with this feast which have endured to this time. On the eve of the New Year’s festival,

read the Full Story

Christians dedicated in their Faith must rally together, shedding the apathy around Holloween, to convince our elementary schools that they are in fact promoting a religious system in their observance of Halloween in the schools. The underlying reality is Halloween is a cult of the pagan Druids which has never really gone away; in fact there has been a resurgence with the increasing numbers of observing Pagans and Wiccans. Their numbers have grown so much that the U. S. Department of Defense has permitted the inclusions of "chaplains" for this population within the Armed Forces.

If we want our children to grow in purity and innocence then why expose them to the various symbols, rituals and attributes of Halloween no matter how benign one may think these are?


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