Sir, - Hallowe'en, or All Hallows Eve - that of the Feast of All Saints - is a Christian feast. But for most children it is a ghoulish, spooky event where ghosts abound. "Trick or Treat" is an import from the US.
Just around the corner from Hallowe'en comes Advent; a time of preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
In Germany, this is a time when all shops and business people display wonderful cribs in their windows. Of course baby Jesus makes His appearance only on Christmas Day.
Here in Ireland, many shop-windows display only a fat man in a red coat with a white beard. Let's not forget the real Santa was St Nicholas!
Wouldn't it be nice to see the shop windows display a religious scene in their windows during December? Let's put Christ back into Christmas! - Yours, etc.,
Fr Patrick Mulcahy, Dunkerrin, Co Offaly.