Halloween in American Culture

This is a class writing assignment for my World Religions Online class.  Our Professors gives us a writing  topic for each week.  Guide lines are to write between two and three hundred words.  I went over a bit and hope he did not count against me.  :-)  Here is our topic question for this past week. --

Discuss the celebration of Halloween in American culture.  Does  it have religious significance?  Is it a night of evil or just fun?  What do you think?

Halloween is a perfect example that illustrates the melting pot we live in and love.  The beautiful patchwork of many cultures, bring their own and blend it as one called American.   Halloween originated in the early years of this age and evolved through time.  

It is first mentioned in America during the early 1800’s but it became more widely known and practiced when the potato famine in Ireland brought an influx of Irish and Scottish immigrants.   It was a day of fun and games with few, if any pranks, until the English observation of Guy Fawkes Day became more meshed with Halloween traditions. 

In the limited research that I performed, I found that fundamentalist Christian groups seem to be the main objectors of Halloween celebrations, in this country and others.  Their claims appear to be that the holiday is evil and celebrates evil intentions.  They seem to base this on the claims that the holiday has its historical roots in a pagan celebration.  Most of the holidays that we, as a country and as spiritual beings, celebrate have been so mixed, matched and meshed to the point of unrecognizability from their origins.   Whatever holiday ritual we use today to celebrate the major and some of the minor holidays, they are based, at least in part, on pagan rituals, especially if the term pagan is used broadly to encompass any ancient sect or religion.

To me, Halloween is a day to have fun and throw off the realities of the moment; remember how to play make believe.  It is a day that reminds us to not take life as we see it but to look beneath the surface.  It also reminds us not to take life so seriously. 

However we choose to celebrate Halloween, or not, as long as we harm no one and don’t try to impose our views on others in our life travels, we have a good start. 

Coming next week...
Discuss the "Caste System" in relation to modern Hinduism.  Does it have a place in modern society?  If so, explain.  Can people be expected to maintain their "place" or is it outdated and to be discarded?