Many things, from loud denunciations of Monarchy to even louder clothes, seem to define the United States to countless British. But one that generally falls far lower on their “Yankee Cultural Invasion” screen than even McDonald’s or Starbucks is the holiday called Halloween – although in the past decade there has been resentment over its edging out Bonfire Night on November 5.
Critics in Continental Europe and Latin America attack it for its bad effect on local All Saints and All Souls customs, while religious leaders of the evangelical variety attack it as Satanic – something not helped by Wiccans claiming it for their own. While I for one agree with confining it to the States, I uphold its place in our national life – as we’ll see, on the one hand, it enshrines some mummified Catholic practices and beliefs, and on the other, it goes to the very roots of Americana.
