They Boogeyman Is Here

Halloween was not always about children gathering sweets for the sweet.  Long ago it was the deadly serious twilight of All Hallow's Eve, when demons prowled the night and people disguised themselves in demonic costumes so as not to be recognized as human prey.  At the cockcrow, the demons were banished back to the underworld, and God's light shone on the Day of All Saints.  It was all about the battle between the profane and the sacred.  Two striking images from the famous movie The Exorcist portray this eternal war:

The Profane

The Sacred

Not everyone agrees about the observation of Halloween -- some religions consider it blasphemous, others as just an innocent night of fun and scares for children.  If you believe in the Bible, you know that the sacred wins out in the end.  The question is, why has Halloween changed from serious to fun?  Is it because the culture has abandoned the belief in true evil?  Is it because the culture has evolved to believe that evil is powerless against the sacred at any time?  Or, do we just want the candy?  I know what I think.  I wonder what you think?  I wonder if any of us will be able to sleep tonight after seeing that demon!