Have you noticed the increasing popularity of Halloween celebrations in Metro Manila during the past years? I do. It’s particularly interesting because this custom/practice is "borrowed" from Western culture. When I was a kid, my usual brushes with anything that comes closer to this "celebration" were the usual doses of tales revolving around "patianak", "kapre", and other creepy creatures etched deep in Capampangan folklore. "Trick or treat" was entirely alien to us (at least those of my generation), as alien as the "manlalague" of the stories told during brownouts and moonlit nights when there was nothing else to do but plumb the innermost recesses of imagination to kill boredom (only a few families in the neighborhood had TV sets then).
Fast forward to the future. The practice of "trick or treat" and costume parties during “ ‘tis the season to be scary” has become commercialized to the extent that shopping malls have been promoting this practice with a target market in mind: kids. Merchandise shops try to promote this supposedly "fun" activity to encourage parents to buy costumes, candies, toys, and other Halloween stuff. But do they realize that they may be sacrificing a young child's psychological and spiritual growth in the altar of crass commercialism?
A few years back, we bought grocery items from the newly opened shopping center in Pasig. Sales clerks donned spooky attires ranging from "Scary Movie" costumes to headless priests. My wife interviewed some of them who admitted that who admitted that management directed its employees to wear grotesque costumes and make-up during Halloween week. They formed a beeline leading to the supermarket, causing a young girl to scream her lungs out at the frightening sight. At the food court, another girl tried to hide under the table, her innocent face contorted in tearful terror when these costumed “creatures” started prowling each nook and cranny of the mall. The adults with her tried to hush her up but to no avail. Later on, they were forced to drag the poor girl outside the establishment.
I was incensed by the fact that insensitive mall operators have no qualms on what they could possibly do to a poor kid's psyche. Kids tend to have hyperactive imagination. Would they be able to sleep soundly at night knowing that horrible creatures may be lurking a few paces away from one’s bed? What if they would have recurring nightmares? And what about those kids who were encouraged by their naïve parents and merchandisers to wear witches' costumes and masks of the devil? Are they not being subliminally led to believe that it's cool and cute to be on the "dark" side? When they grow up, wouldn't it be easier for them to embrace occult practices? I cringed once to a remark I overheard a few years back. A teenager gleefully told her friend that "Halloween” is the "dark flipside" of Christmas in a snippet of a conversation.
The connection between Halloween and its pagan and occult associations is well-established. In the booklet The Facts on Halloween by John Ankerberg and John Weldon, the authors noted that “it is generally agreed that, in church history, Halloween took the place of a special day celebrated by ancient Druids who were the learned or priestly class of the Celtic religion. These people engaged in occult arts, worshipped nature, and gave it supernatural, animistic qualities”. The writers further noted that “although Halloween as commonly practiced today is a seemingly innocent time for most youngsters, it is a very serious observance for many witches, neo-pagans, and occultists. Reading through various histories of Halloween, one is struck by the large number of superstitions and divinatory practices involved”.
Fast forward to the future. The practice of "trick or treat" and costume parties during “ ‘tis the season to be scary” has become commercialized to the extent that shopping malls have been promoting this practice with a target market in mind: kids. Merchandise shops try to promote this supposedly "fun" activity to encourage parents to buy costumes, candies, toys, and other Halloween stuff. But do they realize that they may be sacrificing a young child's psychological and spiritual growth in the altar of crass commercialism?
A few years back, we bought grocery items from the newly opened shopping center in Pasig. Sales clerks donned spooky attires ranging from "Scary Movie" costumes to headless priests. My wife interviewed some of them who admitted that who admitted that management directed its employees to wear grotesque costumes and make-up during Halloween week. They formed a beeline leading to the supermarket, causing a young girl to scream her lungs out at the frightening sight. At the food court, another girl tried to hide under the table, her innocent face contorted in tearful terror when these costumed “creatures” started prowling each nook and cranny of the mall. The adults with her tried to hush her up but to no avail. Later on, they were forced to drag the poor girl outside the establishment.
I was incensed by the fact that insensitive mall operators have no qualms on what they could possibly do to a poor kid's psyche. Kids tend to have hyperactive imagination. Would they be able to sleep soundly at night knowing that horrible creatures may be lurking a few paces away from one’s bed? What if they would have recurring nightmares? And what about those kids who were encouraged by their naïve parents and merchandisers to wear witches' costumes and masks of the devil? Are they not being subliminally led to believe that it's cool and cute to be on the "dark" side? When they grow up, wouldn't it be easier for them to embrace occult practices? I cringed once to a remark I overheard a few years back. A teenager gleefully told her friend that "Halloween” is the "dark flipside" of Christmas in a snippet of a conversation.
The connection between Halloween and its pagan and occult associations is well-established. In the booklet The Facts on Halloween by John Ankerberg and John Weldon, the authors noted that “it is generally agreed that, in church history, Halloween took the place of a special day celebrated by ancient Druids who were the learned or priestly class of the Celtic religion. These people engaged in occult arts, worshipped nature, and gave it supernatural, animistic qualities”. The writers further noted that “although Halloween as commonly practiced today is a seemingly innocent time for most youngsters, it is a very serious observance for many witches, neo-pagans, and occultists. Reading through various histories of Halloween, one is struck by the large number of superstitions and divinatory practices involved”.
The Scriptures is full of stern warnings on these practices and beliefs. God cautioned the Israelites: “Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 19:31). “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD…” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
The booklet’s authors pose the following questions which could never be easily brushed aside if one claims to be a professing Christian: If the purpose of the Christian life is to glorify God, is it really possible to glorify God by imitating, however innocently, what occultists do on their special day? How does God, as He looks down on Halloween night, in full awareness of the events that have happened historically and today, view little children, especially Christian children, dressed up as ghosts, devils, witches and goblins? Is Halloween a deliberate mockery of God by letting God’s own children participate symbolically in celebrations that are tributes to the devil, pagan gods, and all kinds of evil?
Reflecting on these questions, I was tempted to unleash our dog to bite these unscrupulous mall operators and shop owners. I could only utter a prayer for protection from all evil influences that continue to corrupt the minds of humans. May the good Lord continue to help us keep the perspective that everything is in God's control and that He would not allow His children to fall from the precipice toward the dark side.
1 comment:
Agree..! Halloween celebrations are increasing their popularity every year.
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