Scrooged

[gilana]

For the past 3 years, my office has celebrated Halloween. We decorate our cubes, wear costumes, bring in candy and go trick-or-treating around the office. I plan months ahead, gathering decorations and figuring out a work-friendly costume and buying candy.

We just moved onto a new floor, and I've been nudging my boss for a few weeks, asking if we were going to do it this year. Monday she finally said she had gotten the go-ahead. Yesterday she told me that it was off, that there was an issue of religious sensitivity, that we could get a cake, but no decorating, no candy, no costumes.

I'm *so* disappointed. And I'm so confused. I'm the last person to object when we're trying to be sensitive to people's religious issues -- but what's the issue? Somehow I really doubt that Gillette is trying to be respectful of pagans. All I can say is, they'd BETTER not do anything for Christmas after this.

Comments

[emerlion.livejournal.com]

This is a tough one. Where is the line between sensitivity to others' religions and sterility in the workforce?

It's a real tough one. I remember when I was in elementary school, there was a Muslem boy in my class who had to leave the room in the morning when we sung the national anthem. I remember being *really* uncomfortable in the years that I had to recite the Lord's Prayer in school, and how grateful I was when they changed it to "one minute of silence and contemplation".

I remember just last year, a post I made on LJ about how my family was going to deal with the fact that Etienne was born on December 25th and none of us are Christian, but how we have to constantly deal with people commenting on her being a Christmas baby, and how offended someone was that I didn't just accept it and "move on", in her words.

On the other hand, I appreciate that having special days and special times in the year helps break up workplace monotony/complicity and adds to moral.

It's too bad they took away Halloween. Dress up is so much fun!

[gilana]

After some investigation, it turns out that we can't have an officially sanctioned celebration because, I am told, Halloween celebrates witchcraft, and that's offensive to Christians. Which seems offensive toward Pagans to me, but somehow I doubt Gillette is concerned about that. They have at least relented to the extent that we can have personal celebrations, such as decorating our own cubes and bringing in candy, and costumes that we can take off if we have meetings with anyone. So my Wonka assortment and propeller beanie won't go to waste, at least.

[emerlion.livejournal.com]

Halloween doesn't celebrate witchcraft! That's silly. Where did they get that idea?

Halloween celebrates the day of the dead - it's a harvest celebration to acknowledge those who have died and to recognize the finiteness of life.

Ask any Mexican.

The witchcraft angle is actually a Christian invention - fearmongering and assigning a negative spin on the reality of death and dying.

The Catholics encorporated the holiday by making November 1st All Saints Day - since the cultures they were trying to take over had this holiday already there.

Certainly Pagans have coopted the holiday - it's the one contemporary holiday they can truely call their own. But it's been more than that for much longer.

Too bad. But I'm glad you'll still get dressed up!

Have fun,

E