I figure that Halloween is the flip side of Christmas. I mean, if we Christians are going to bemoan the cultural replacement of Christ with Santa, thereby rendering the Christmas into something secular, then we should be consistent and see Halloween as de-fanging the devil by thumbing our noses at him. I like that idea better than being fearful of something that the participants don’t even give any thought to.
The pagans can and will have their All Hallows Eve, just as they do their Winter Solstice thing. Kids dressing up as Disney princesses and Iron Man, going on scary hayrides and collecting candy aren’t thinking about paganism or worshiping Satan, and general Halloween activities aren’t designed to take them there, any more than jumping out from behind a corner and yelling “Boo” to someone is an evangelizing tool for Wiccans.
I never thought of Halloween like that before... “de-fanging satan”. I like it!