I have noticed many “cute” Halloween decorations being put up around campus. It takes no imagination or knowledge of paganism/witchcraft to see the holiday’s clear roots. Other holidays are much more cryptic in the origins of their symbolism, but at least they have some ties to Christianity; not so with Halloween. However, I started to think more about Halloween when I came across a quote from “Power of the Witch” by Lori Cabot, founder of the Witches’ League for Public Awareness:
“We encourage them (local businesses) not to decorate their stores and windows with images of repulsive-looking witches with pointed hats, riding broomsticks and cackling through broken teeth…We also discourage images of ghouls, ghosts, Dracula, vampires, Frankenstein and people with their bodies ripped apart. We point out that there are plenty of colorful Halloween images that are not offensive and that do not play upon society’s fears and pollute the minds of children and adults…encouraging their children to do mischief.”
In the eighth century, the Catholic church instituted All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1 as a part of an attempt to de-paganize and Christianize the people. Looking at our society, I would say this valiant effort has ultimately failed. As believers in Christ, I think we should not be more extreme in our observance of Oct. 31 than the Witches’ League. I think we all need to reconsider our attitudes regarding Halloween and the glorification of evil.
Marshall Coe
Lehi
Feeds 
I'll be honest... this is the kind of article that makes people outside of BYU think we are religious quacks. And "glorification evil" really? Try watching any scary movie that is PG-13 and above, there is your glorification.
By the way... you better not have Santa come visit your kids during Christmas because a) you would be lying to them and b) Santa also pollutes a holiday and takes away from Christ. So I guess maybe you could have the three wise men fill your kids stockings... but you would still be lying there too...
The origin of the "other" holidays is not cryptic at all. They are 100 % pagan in origin and Christian only to the extent that the Roman church simply plaigerized them wholesale and tacked on a Christian significance to them. Christmas is effectively just Winter Solstice/Yule and Easter is Eostre or Ostara, the former pagan spring fertility celebration. Neither date has any bearing even to the astonomy-based guesses as to when Christ was born or died. We call Halloween Samhain, and it is indeed more reverent than the commercialism suggests. If you don't want to celebrate it as Christians, by all means don't, but don't try to portray it as a singular instance of pagan influence in our culture.
I seriously question your intellect, sir.
Please say you're joking. Please please please.
I'm going to assume that you don't set up a Christmas tree either, right?
Halloween is my favorite holiday. When else can you dress up as a monster and go beg candy from strangers and actually expect to get some? :)
Can we please calm down? Its a fun holiday lets not get carried away and take ourselves too seriously and enjoy the halloween festivities