All Hallow’s Meal-time
Many special interest groups have been complaining about Halloween being a “demonic” holiday because of its pagan roots, and in parts of the USA have succeeded in getting it cancelled.
I could talk about how pagan beginnings don’t make things inherently bad for you, or point out that the special-interest groups making the most noise aren’t exactly in a position to throw stones (Christians and Muslims, I’m looking at you here).
However, I’m not going to do that because I’ve got a much better suggestion: Let’s drop the spiritualist crap entirely and get Halloween back to it’s real roots as a harvest-related festival.
It’s no co-incidence that Halloween takes place at the end of the harvest season immediately before the first frosts hit.
It’s no co-incidence that the primary Halloween-related activity is sharing food with every Tom, Dick and Hairy that shows up at your door. If I’m not mistaken, that adheres pretty strongly to the values that fundamentalists of both Christian and Muslim persuasions claim to support.
It’s no co-incidence that Halloween’s most enduring symbol is a lamp made by carving up fresh fruit, which will rot within a week. That’s not demonic, that’s a subtle way of saying “YO, we gots so much food we can WASTE it, bitches!”
So if some preachy type gets in your face about letting your kids go trick-or-treating, tell them it’s about food, not fright.
Cross-posted to my Tumblr
I could talk about how pagan beginnings don’t make things inherently bad for you, or point out that the special-interest groups making the most noise aren’t exactly in a position to throw stones (Christians and Muslims, I’m looking at you here).
However, I’m not going to do that because I’ve got a much better suggestion: Let’s drop the spiritualist crap entirely and get Halloween back to it’s real roots as a harvest-related festival.
It’s no co-incidence that Halloween takes place at the end of the harvest season immediately before the first frosts hit.
It’s no co-incidence that the primary Halloween-related activity is sharing food with every Tom, Dick and Hairy that shows up at your door. If I’m not mistaken, that adheres pretty strongly to the values that fundamentalists of both Christian and Muslim persuasions claim to support.
It’s no co-incidence that Halloween’s most enduring symbol is a lamp made by carving up fresh fruit, which will rot within a week. That’s not demonic, that’s a subtle way of saying “YO, we gots so much food we can WASTE it, bitches!”
So if some preachy type gets in your face about letting your kids go trick-or-treating, tell them it’s about food, not fright.
Cross-posted to my Tumblr