To Boo or Not to Boo

<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW155362580 BCX4"> <p><span data-contrast="none">Every year around this time, the ritual begins anew. The weather cools off, the leaves change color, and Christians start arguing about Halloween. </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="none">Many people love this night. It gives them an excuse to host parties, kick off the holiday spending season, and provide economic stimulus for the dental industry. Others use it as an excuse to flirt with things much darker than plastic skeletons and creative jack-o’-lanterns. Too many adults use Halloween as an excuse to throw out common standards of modesty. </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="none">What is the history behind Halloween? What’s all the decoration and tradition really about? Is there something spiritual behind all the ghoulishness? </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="none">When I was a kid, a series of comic-book-style tracts went around claiming that Halloween was a pagan holiday called Samhain, when ancient druids used to carry out human sacrifice under a full moon. That story, as even modern pagans who love Halloween</span> <a href= "http://www.patheos.com/blogs/panmankey/2013/10/we-dont-own-halloween/"> <span data-contrast="none">admit, is mostly made up</span></a><span data-contrast= "none">. </span><span data-ccp-props= "{"134233117":false,"134233118":false,"201341983":0,"335559731":720,"335559738":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":480}"> </span></p> <p><span data-contrast="none">The very name “Halloween” means “holy evening.” It was a throwback to when Catholic Christians prepared for the Feast of All Saint