War on Halloween

In Russia:

MOSCOW – While many in the U.S. bemoan what they see as a war on Christmas, in Russia a very different holiday is under attack: Halloween. Here some don’t see it as the holiday of tricks and treats, but as a sinister celebration that endangers children.

The latest salvo came from a group of Russian Orthodox Church leaders and a group of Cossacks, who are spearheading an effort to cancel Halloween celebrations in the region of Stavropol Krai, in southern Russia. A nearby region, Krasnodar Krai, recently prohibited celebrating the holiday in schools.

But why are the church and the Cossacks, the feared horseback defenders of the tsars, spooked by Halloween?

“I consider it absolutely unacceptable for certain reasons. Halloween celebrations have been imposed on us for 20 years, and we are perfectly aware of how it all looks: revelry, baboonish behavior and scoffing at death, and thus at the memory of our deceased loved ones, whom all of us certainly have” said Andrei Sakhno, a youth leader at the local diocese in Stavropol Krai, according to RIA Novosti.

The head of Stavropol city’s Cossack community agreed, saying “I believe this holiday must be banned.”

RIA Novosti also quotes the regional education ministry saying Halloween “contradicted the principle of secular education and could have a destructive impact on young people’s morals and mental health.”

The justification in Krasnodar Krai is similar. The Education Ministry there quoted unnamed psychiatrists saying the holiday “poses a great danger to children” and their mental health, suggesting it could make young people more likely to commit suicide.

Like Valentine’s Day, which has also been criticized as it has grown in popularity here in recent years, Halloween is a western holiday that was imported after the fall of the Soviet Union. While some Russians have embraced them, others fear them as foreign to the country’s culture.

In 2003, Moscow’s Education Department banned Halloween celebrations from the city’s schools, citing concerns about “rituals of Satanically oriented religious sects” and saying it promotes “the cult of death.”

 

Vatican Condemns Halloween

As dangerous and anti-Christian:

The Vatican attempted to put a brake on the growing popularity of Halloween yesterday, branding it anti-Christian and dangerous. The condemnation follows criticism from Catholic bishops who this week urged parents not to let their children dress up as ghosts and goblins.

The Vatican spoke out on the eve of tonight’s ritual which falls before the significant Catholic holy day of All Saints.

Halloween is largely a secular celebration which has its origins in an ancient festival marking the start of the ‘darker half of the year’.

But in an article entitled The Dangerous Messages of Halloween, the Vatican’s official newspaper L’Osservatore Romano quoted liturgical expert Joan Maria Canals as saying: ‘Halloween has an undercurrent of occultism and is absolutely anti-Christian.’
Father Canals urged parents ‘to be aware of this and try to direct the meaning of the feast towards wholesomeness and beauty rather than terror, fear and death’…

The Catholic Church in Italy has taken a dim view of Halloween celebrations for years.

Aldo Bonaiuto, head of the Catholic Church’s anti-occult and sect unit, warned parents of the dangers to children and said the event ‘promotes the culture of death’.

He added: ‘Halloween pushes new generations towards a mentality of esoteric magic and it attacks sacred and spiritual values through a devious initiation to the art and images of the occult. At best, it gives a big helping hand to consumerism and materialism.’

 

‘Jesus Ween’

Christian group promotes godly alternative to Halloween:

It’s got costumes, it’s got candy, but for some, what Halloween appears to be lacking is Christianity.

To combat this apparent imbalance, one Christian group is promoting what it calls ‘Jesus Ween’, a faith-based alternative to the holiday.

The group’s website says: “We are focused on helping people live a better life… Throughout the year and especially from October 31st till November 15th we hold several seminars on various helpful topics.”

Jesus Ween participants are expected to hand out Bibles and other Christian gifts in “a friendly way”, according to a promotional video. Instead of costumes, participants are supposed to wear white, to symbolize righteousness.

Gawker spoke to the event’s creator, a Pastor Paul Ade, who runs a congregation in Calgary. He described the motivation behind
it:

“Halloween is not consistent with the Christian faith. Many people say they feel uncomfortable on that day. We think people should choose an alternative activity.”

The group’s Facebook page also makes similarly lofty predictions of success, stating that the day “is expected to become the most effective Christian outreach day ever.”…

‘Jesus Ween’?! What’s next?