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false may be putting it a bit too strong. Monsters, ghosts, and death are things that have intrigued humans going way back into our past. While there's a lot of make-believe there, this doesn't mean that it's not serving some important purpose. So if we say it's all just falsehood, it implies that we'd be better off without it and I don't think that's true.
Sports are another form of made-up things that brings people together. Chasing a ball like it matters is outwardly laughable. No one cares about the ball. And yet, sporting events are a huge source of bringing humans into community with each other -- because we all manage to care deeply about a pointless ball.
It's possible that caring about pretend things plays an important role in human society and that it's not the case that we would be better off if we only cared about real things. Possibly, caring about pretend things lets us come to agreement, where trying to do so over real things would be more likely to result in violence.
You two ever read On Fairy Stories? At the risk of being presumptuous, I feel like it's right up your collective alleys. It gets a little tedious at times, but as a philosophical piece on art, it's one of my all time favorite reads...
I've read this, and Tolkien is one of my favorites, so I'd have to agree with you guys on the value of make-believe.
That being said, in most of human history the make-believe was done within a society that mostly held to some shared truth claims. I think modern western society has mostly excised itself of all truth claims. That seems new.
We seem to live in a society where you can proudly boast of your make-believe, but proudly boast of something you believe is true and you will be seen as a dangerous individual.
I was going to make basically your same points. There must be some cross-cultural appeal to Halloween though because although some places resist it because it's too American (looking at you Europe) it is growing strongly in Asia from what I understand. Humans have always had a fascination with death and the macabre and Halloween is a chance to get it out of the system culturally.
I also disagree with the point that Halloween is the only holiday that brings people together anymore. At least where I live, there are far more Xmas social gatherings of all kinds.
I also disagree with the point that Halloween is the only holiday that brings people together anymore. At least where I live, there are far more Xmas social gatherings of all kinds.
Christmas social gatherings, but private, right? Meaning mostly between friends and family. It's not something public that brings the neighborhood together anymore.
It's not so much that I detest Halloween, it's more that I'm saddened that the only thing that could unify us enough to go out and spend time together is something that everyone agrees is false.