Russia’s War on Halloween

ABC News ^ | 10/26/12 | Kirit Radia

[marshmallow]

MOSCOW – While many in the U.S. bemoan what they see as a war on Christmas, in Russia a very different holiday is under attack: Halloween. Here some don’t see it as the holiday of tricks and treats, but as a sinister celebration that endangers children.

The latest salvo came from a group of Russian Orthodox Church leaders and a group of Cossacks, who are spearheading an effort to cancel Halloween celebrations in the region of Stavropol Krai, in southern Russia. A nearby region, Krasnodar Krai, recently prohibited celebrating the holiday in schools.

But why are the church and the Cossacks, the feared horseback defenders of the tsars, spooked by Halloween?

“I consider it absolutely unacceptable for certain reasons. Halloween celebrations have been imposed on us for 20 years, and we are perfectly aware of how it all looks: revelry, baboonish behavior and scoffing at death, and thus at the memory of our deceased loved ones, whom all of us certainly have” said Andrei Sakhno, a youth leader at the local diocese in Stavropol Krai, according to RIA Novosti.

[ari-freedom]

“Well you are right... it does give women the open opp to dress like sluts. So there IS an upside lol :p”

They get that same opportunity by starring in Obama’s latest campaign ads!

[Jemian]

I agree with the Russians on this one.

[VanDeKoik]

“Celebrating evil is harmless fun? Begging for candy, destroying property, allowing the evil weirdos their “time of day”, giving the sluts a free pass to “let it all hang out” is harmless fun?”

As opposed to days like Christmas where we celebrate consumerism, begging for cheap Chinese junk, allowing weird customs that have nothing to do with Jesus, and attending gatherings where half of ones family hates the other?

It’s not a monolith. You make of it what you will. Doing away with it isnt going to make the bad people go away. They will still have their “fun” while the good people lose out.

[Mrs. P]

Yo, Joe. PM me your phone number, I’ll give you a little ringy-dingy every time a carload of morons wakes us up this weekend. Harmless fun.

[foundedonpurpose]

We celebrate Reformation Day. Martin Luther nailed his theses of 95 points on the church door. It is something that I would recommend reading, as much of the current church would scream about his points as well.

http://www.luther.de/en/95thesen.html

Halloween, much to do with evil and the dead, there is just too much that is contradictory to what is taught from the Bible.

[James C. Bennett]

I agree with the Russians on this one.

Yea, let's get the State to enforce what people can or cannot celebrate! [/sarc]

[James C. Bennett]

As opposed to days like Christmas where we celebrate consumerism, begging for cheap Chinese junk, allowing weird customs that have nothing to do with Jesus, and attending gatherings where half of ones family hates the other?

Good point. Also the reason why suicide rates trend higher during that season.

[Persevero]

Not every “holiday” fits every culture.

There are plenty of people, Christians I think mostly, who don’t like Halloween in the U.S., either. I find it benign, but most of the people at my church don’t participate in it.

[ReformationFan]

“We celebrate Reformation Day. Martin Luther nailed his theses of 95 points on the church door. It is something that I would recommend reading, as much of the current church would scream about his points as well.”

Excellent idea. I plan on attending a friend’s LCMS church tomorrow where they have a festival in honor of Reformation Sunday(the last Sunday in October.)

[LiveFree99]

My sister lives in Virginia near some Halloween-hating Bible thumpers. Her fantasy is to get a sh*tbox car, plaster it with pagan bumper stickers (My other car is a broom, 668: Neighbor of the Beast, etc.) and ditch it in their church parking lot.

As for me, I'll be in Salem on the 'Eve, assuming the Frankenstorm holds off. That's Salem Massachusetts, Halloween Capital of the World.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

The problem they face is that Russian have a deep and rich vein of morbidity in their culture. Russians just adore scary stuff as much as many Americans do.

I remember with great amusement what happened when pirate copies of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ made it to the Soviet Union. The Kremlin was horrified because it was beyond their ken. They got a copy of the video and sent it to Pravda, with orders to write a scathing editorial denouncing it.

That was one of the most unintentionally funny movie reviews I have ever read. “It’s awful! It’s horrible! We watched it over and over again, and couldn’t stop! It is hypnotic! Do not watch it!”

The Kremlin then announced that Michael Jackson was forevermore banned from even setting foot in the Soviet Union. But two years after the fall of the Soviet Union, he put on a gigantic, American class concert in Moscow, with all the bells and whistles, that Russians still talk about.

In any event, since those times, a lot of the Russians 70 years of creative inhibitions have come bubbling out, and they have, for example, produced some world class horror movies like Night Watch.

[Joseph Harrolds]

"Celebrating evil is harmless fun?"

"Evil"?  Please.  Ghosts, Spider-Man, and witches who can cast magical spells aren't real...and kids dressing up as them once a year is harmless, yes.

Begging for candy

If you don't like it, don't turn on your porch light.

destroying property

How many people who participate in Halloween destroy property?  0.01%?  I would speculate that the damage done by drunk drivers going home from Christmas parties is greater by several orders of magnitude.

allowing the evil weirdos their "time of day"

You've lost me on that one.  "Evil weirdos"?  Please explain.

giving the sluts a free pass to "let it all hang out" is harmless fun?

You bet it is.

Hmmmm, your name is Joseph, so I can safely assume you are a man. Perhaps halloween is more about the sluts parading in their slutty costumes you consider harmless fun?

It's certainly one of the more amusing aspects of it, as the above illustration, er, illustrates!

[who knows what evil?]

If you don't like it, don't turn on your porch light.

That doesn't always work, especially with the fifteen and sixteen year-old 'trick or treaters'; so don't forget to deploy the yellow 'crime scene' tape... :-)

[Joseph Harrolds]

Yo, Joe. PM me your phone number, I’ll give you a little ringy-dingy every time a carload of morons wakes us up this weekend. Harmless fun.

I hear far more noise pollution from idiots setting off fireworks at 1 AM on the night of Independence Day than I do from Halloween celebrants.

[Ron H.]

.... but most of the people at my church don’t participate in it.

Nor at mine thank goodness.

[who knows what evil?]

There are plenty of people, Christians I think mostly, who don’t like Halloween in the U.S., either. I find it benign, but most of the people at my church don’t participate in it.

I get a kick out of the churches that observe Halloween but change the name to 'Jesus Night' or some such to emphasize the 'Christian' side of the holiday. 'It's for the children', after all...(rolling eyes)

[Jemian]

No, I do not agree with state enforcement. However, the celebration of Halloween is the celebration of Samhain, a false god. I cannot agree with that at all.

I have no problem with costumes or accepting candy and other treats from willing neighbors.

[foundedonpurpose]

Enjoy your day.

For the record, I don’t hate All Hallows Eve, I just don’t participate.

I don’t think I’ve ever thumped my bible, yet I take it very seriously.

I think that we still live in a country where people can have differing opinions, yet still respect each others’ views.

[who knows what evil?]

I hear far more noise pollution from idiots setting off fireworks at 1 AM on the night of Independence Day than I do from Halloween celebrants.

Man...you are NOT going to like 'Election Night' if Romney wins...

[NittanyLion]

Begging for candy...is harmless fun?

What did candy ever do to you?