Hallowe'en. Again.

Two years ago, I wrote a post about Hallowe'en. Last year, I printed an informative article on the subject, Hallowe'en and Sikhs. This year, I am just writing a very short piece about my opinions of this holiday.

I have not celebrated Hallowe'en since my young son objected to it in about 1977, asking, "Why do we celebrate bad, imaginary things like the devil and demons? That doesn't seem very Sikh to me." He was right. There is enough evil - imaginary and otherwise - in Maya that I see no reason to celebrate.

I turn out the lights and let the trick-or-treaters go on to the next house. I don't preach about it, but I answer truthfully (generally without calling the devil and demons imaginary) when asked. Anyway, most Hallowe'en treats are bad for kids and it is no longer acceptable to give homemade goods because of the danger of poison or foreign objects.

And, of course, it is the day (appropriate, I think) of Mrs. Gandhi's execution and the beginning of the Delhi Pogrom.. Hardly a day for celebration.



Should you choose to celebrate, some suggestions can be found in Sukhmandir Kaur Khalsa's article in About.Sikhism, Is Hallowe'en A Good Idea For Sikhs? Should you not choose to celebrate, the column still contains a bunch of great information and you would, no doubt, learn quite a lot by reading it.