Anonymous Patron writes “The Rochdale Observer, a paper in the UK, reports a Councillor has provoked a storm by writing to Rochdale library chief Paul Guy complaining about a ‘Hotter than Potter’ event at Smithy Bridge library last month.
One local resident is so angry with the councillor he has written to Charles Kennedy, the leader of the Liberal Democrat party, to complain about her.
The Councillor wrote: “Halloween can be a frightening time for a lot of children who are scared of the dark. I have never read the Harry Potter books, but there is no such thing as a good witch and as a Christian I believe we should be teaching children about goodness and light.”
Funniest quote is from her boss: “This is just a storm in a cauldron…” not sure if he meant the pun or not though.”
Oh sweet gentle goddess, not again…
Okay, witch bashing aside, because pagans pretty much expect witch bashing and have heard it all; this is just stupid on several grounds.
First off, many pagans don’t believe that Halloween a religious day. They consider Samhain to be a religious day, which takes place on November 1. The night before, now known as Halloween, is considered to be a spiritually significant day. For those of us into the magickal side of the pagan religions, the 31st is a potent day when the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead is at its thinnest. (I say “those of us” because I’m not a magick user, I’d be what many religions consider a “contemplative.”)
We see Halloween about the same way Christians see Christmas Eve. Yes it’s an important day, but it’s not the important day. Similarly, many of us hold at least some resentment to the crass comercialization of Halloween.
And she destroyed her argument within her first few words: I’ve never read the Harry Potter books. So, in essence, she really has no idea what the hell she’s talking about. I don’t even care about the quote “there’s no such thing as a good witch.” That’s ancient Judeo-Christian dogma (Specifically Leviticus.) and I accept that as part of their religion. I also accept the guidelines laid down in the UK and the US about freedom of religion. Finally I accept my own guidelines which, among other things, state that I will listen to your opinion but I reserve the right to disagree with it.