Stop children being mystic
“Halloween Night”, a commercialised festival, designed to be a money spinner, by certain members of the business community, using ghosts (disembodied spirits or shadows of semblance) vampires (reanimated corpses which are supposed to strike at night and such blood of persons – a superstitious legend that sprang from the novel, “Dracula”, witches (ugly old women said to be dealing with devils or evil spirits), mystical monsters, birds, animals and skeletons, is observed in the western world on the day before All Saints Day (October 31) every year. The colours used in the festival are black and orange, depicting darkness in the night, and autumn leaves, respectively.
This mystical event has spread to our country as well, and especially, teenagers dressed in scary costumes resembling witches, skeletons, monsters and birds do merry making and dance into the night.
“Halloween” began as a Summer’s End Festival called “Samhain” among ancient Celts during the Iron Age. Christianity thereafter absorbed such pagan festivals. The Celts (an Indo-European language group that lived in Brittany and Europe) believed that ghosts or spirits attempt to return to their former homes during ‘Samhain’. To appease such ghosts or spirits, Celts used to heap food, fruits etc. at their doorsteps in the night and wore costumes to scare away the ghosts and spirits. It is that ritual that is now performed on Halloween Night.
That type of mythology should not be allowed to take root in the minds of the children. Towards that end, such events should not be sponsored. Parents and teachers have the responsibility to stop the spread of the Mystic Halloween Night Festival which is also against our cultural values.
Upali D. Jayasekera
Blistering reply from Malwatte Prelate
We have to admire and appreciate the recent pragmatical expression of the Malwatte Mahanayake Thera, that the people of this country should have no fear of the proposed Constitution as President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have strongly assured the unitary status of the country and the eminent place of Buddhism.
The chief prelate of the Malwatte Chapter has further emphasized, that the two leaders have assured their stance in protecting the sovereignty and integrity of the country and the place of Buddhism, and that they will not be allowed to be destabilized.
As such an assurance has been given by the two patriotic Buddhist leaders why should there be a questioning of its validity, was the question posed by the Malwatte prelate.
It is most welcome and appreciable that the Malwatte chief prelate has given a blistering reply to the visiting MP of the JO, Dinesh Gunawardene pointing out that he and several other joint opposition members had participated in various Steering Committees on Constitutional reforms and they could have opposed any harmful decisions at that time instead of submitting unnecessary observations and comments to him.
The prelate has told the visiting group that it was better to give constructive ideas for the new constitution rather than criticize and raise objections and prevent it from being enacted.
The prelate never forgot to remind Dinesh Gunawardene and his comrades of what happened in the past when the Bandaranaike - Chelvanayakam Pact was signed.
During the signing of the Pact a chauvinistic group, similar to the JO had opposed the initiative of the late Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike’s efforts of finding a solution to the Tamil speaking people of the northern and the eastern provinces, and in its aftermath the country was dragged into a destructive civil war which lasted three decades of killing innocent lives and destroying valuable property.
Thus, there is ample assurance from both leaders, the President and the Prime Minister, that the proposed Constitution would not bring harm to the country but would bring dividends and prosperity.
We, the people of this peaceful nation should accept it wholeheartedly without being misled and falling prey to the ulterior motives of certain inimical forces in the country.
Z. A. M. Shukoor
Aranayaka