There is Mexico's Day of the Dead. There were Masked Balls back in history. Etc. Perhaps dressing up as our enemies--spiritual or otherwise--may be universal and Halloween is the USA version of that. It's fun to don a little bit of Evil but not BE Evil. That helps overcome the Puritan character of our Founders, a strain of religious intensity that still pervades our country. We can make fun but no harm, no foul.
There is Mexico's Day of the Dead. There were Masked Balls back in history. Etc. Perhaps dressing up as our enemies--spiritual or otherwise--may be universal and Halloween is the USA version of that. It's fun to don a little bit of Evil but not BE Evil. That helps overcome the Puritan character of our Founders, a strain of religious intensity that still pervades our country. We can make fun but no harm, no foul.