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| The Joshua Ward House in Salem, Massachusetts |
By John Sanidopoulos
A few people have asked me, "John, as a knowledgeable and pious Orthodox Christian who has a positive view of Halloween, how do you celebrate the holiday? You wrote down what you wouldn't do, but never explained what you actually do." Well, the simple answer is that Halloween for me is just like any other day, pretty much, not because I avoid Halloween, but for me Halloween is a daily experience throughout the year, it just happens to be a little more intensified in the autumn months of September through November. Let me explain what I mean - October 31st may be Halloween, but every other day is Halloweenish, because I will involve myself with something on other days that your average person will consider only a theme for Halloween.
I understand that such an answer will confuse most people, while few others will feel me to be one of their kindred spirits. I'm not going to explain at this time what I mean when I say that Halloween is a daily experience, nor should you speculate, because that's not what this reflection is about, but I will say that by the time Halloween comes around, I sort of just sit back and relax and watch everyone else experience a little bit of what I daily experience, and I experience the day through others. Then I'll go home and watch some horror movies and Halloween specials while eating some candy, since I don't eat candy everyday. That is my typical Halloween.
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