Janet Baraclough.. wrote:
The message
from Klara contains these words:
?

Around here, most of the village had put out lovingly carved
jack'o
lanterns, representing also a new effort towards a spirit of
togetherness in the village. Lovely: until they were all smashed
to
bits by some such kids....

Are you sure? Could be some religious fundamentalist who objects
to
anyone celebrating Halloween on the grounds it's "pagan witchcraft"
:-(

This is not, I'm afraid, at all unlikely. You can be a hooligan
because you've got God on your side, or because you think nobody is.

Years back, when my two girls were six or so and I was living in
town, the head of the local Church school was very anxious for me to
take lots of pictures of the children innocently enjoying themselves
at a Hallowe'en fancy-dress party he'd organised. This was because
he'd received a barrage of complaints from the local wowsers for
daring to arrange such a wicked Godless thing. (My two won large
chocolate prizes for dressing up as pure, honest, uncarved pumpkins.
I have no doubt that the judges were totally unbiased.)

I utterly _detest_ the commercialised American Hallowe'en thing, but
it's got nothing to do with evil Satanism. I tried to teach my
children that All Souls was about remembering those who had died with
love and respect, and nothing to do with any particular repulsive
vegetable (all Australians may now divide on the issue of pumpkin
scones: ayes to the right, noes to the left. OK, it's even, so I give
my chairman's casting vote for the noes: who needs bloody pumpkins?)

Mike.