As I drove home through the neighborhood tonight I saw a myriad of halloween decorations in people's yards, porch lights shining down on pumpkin displays, and small bands of kiddos were attending to the trick-or-treat traditions. It seems that Halloween is the holiday on which all of our neighbors can agree, whether they be Jewish, Christian, agnostic, or indifferent
Consider for a second the irony of this. We are all so concerned about offending each other with religious holiday greetings (so much so, that last year it became a crusade of many to make sure people said "Merry Christmas" instead of the more generic "Happy Holidays"). So, what is the one holiday that brings us all together? The one that has roots in pagan ritual (unredeemed by any religious connotation) and is the "new year's eve" for witches. It is all abouts ghouls and ghosts. The stores are filled with fake blood, dismembered body part prosethetics, and other family-friendly things. You can hardly take a young, impressionable youth to those costume stores. Still, we let kids wear costumes to school, although they can't have an Easter break or bring Christmas cookies to share with their class. Essentially, we celebrate the one holiday that offends everyone, so that we don't risk offending someone.
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