The Devil Went Down to Louisiana

NewOrleans025, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

For Halloween, a picture of a scary dude from my trip last November to New Orleans.

Is it time for my annual rant? I think it is.

PEOPLE, HALLOWEEN IS NOT THE DEVIL'S HOLIDAY! Halloween is a corruption of the term "Hallows E'en" which was the old way opf saying "Hallows Eve", which is the eve of All Hallows or All Saints Day. Yes, Halloween has pagan roots (as does Christmas) since the Irish monks and missionaries who brought the Church to the Emerald Isle supplanted Samhain with All Saints Day. Superstition created the idea that on the eve of All Saints Day, ghouls and goblins would be out and about, mad at the fact that they "lost" and hence the whole tie-in with witches and whatnot.

Now, do I think kids should dress up and emulate the Devil - in short, would I want my kid to look like the guy above? NO. How about a gory costume? Prefer not, but also realize that it is part of the maekup of little boys to go for the gross-out. Do my kids get well-educated about All Saints Day and All Souls Day? YES. As most of you know, I combine Halloween with the Day of the Dead, and celebrate the lives of past loved ones, while good-naturedly thumbing my nose at Death, knowing someday I'll be on the altar for Dia de los Muertos . . . but not just yet.

I know a number of Christians prefer to eschew Halloween and instead sanitize it by calling it a "Harvest Festival." Really? That actually brings it back to its pagan roots since Samhain was, in fact, the celebration of the last harvest of the year, before winter set in. So gimme some of that old-time religion, eh?