Halloween is Past and...
Samhain, Halloween, or whatever else you wish to call it, is past. And looking around, I don't see the ranks of wiccans/pagans/other non-christians swelling to overflowing from the mass conversions of weak minded christians who stray into haunted houses. I haven't seen evidence of evil satanic activity descending upon the world from children dressing as witches and asking for candy. The world news hasn't been any more or any less dire, and all in all, life goes on as normal.
So what's happened to all this hellfire and damnation? Where were all the closet wiccans running around trying to take over the hearts and minds of good christians everywhere? Perhaps, just perhaps, it's because we don't WANT THEM! I've never understood why a religion has to feel itself so special and so desirable that people would waste their time through trickery or otherwise to lead their adherent astray, and would frighten their followers into paranoid delusions of little red devils around every corner.
If a person is strong in their choice of religion and adheres to its convictions, how would "temptation" sway them? Or, even more importantly, why would those "evil minions" waste their time, with so many atheists and agnostics out there to convert? Maybe it's me, but I just don't get it.
Let's just break apart some of the assumptions here and maybe shed some light on them. While it's true that many pagan bashers paint us all with one broad brush, let's just separate wiccans out of the mix for a few. Wiccans do NOT attempt to convert anyone. It's a LOT of work to take on a mentee and teach them what they need to know about our religion to make an informed choice on whether to follow it. It isn't quite as simple as "converting" to a book religion with a network of approved memorizations and approved "say these things in this order" and get a 70% on your "About Jesus" quiz and you're in. Frankly, it's a lot more work. The wiccan wanna-be is generally presented with many different choices, significant amounts of research, and the idea that they actually have to THINK. How novel.
So let's say we hang outside a church or school, waiting for the opportunity to pounce on an unsuspecting Jesus follower. What would we say? "Hey buddy, wanna see my athame collection?" "I've got this really cool Star of David replica to show you?" "Blessed be, babe. Merry meet?" These lines would work as well as putting copies of "Teen Witch" in the trick or treat bags of the kids who come to your door. (Well, ok..."Teen Witch would likely work better, or maybe a "Charmed" video, but you get the point anyway).
Surprise - that one in a million people says they think your pentacle is really cool, and it's time to talk about converting over to wiccandom. Well golly! What do you do NEXT? A responsible witch would say something like, "Not so fast there, bucko....you aren't quite ready for initiation yet. First you have to learn about wiccans and what we do and what we believe (which varies, but you have to learn all about that too) and here's a reading list you can start with, and then you need to talk to me if there are any questions. Reading? Study? But life is too busy for that! Likely, they'll just stick with the occasional go to church routine, have a copy of some version of the bible hanging around the house for show, and believe they're going to heaven. After all, it's much easier, has a common set of rules, and their very own handbook too.
So what's the point I'm trying to make? Good question. I've been babbling so much that I may have forgotten it myself :-). The point is that being a wiccan is HARD. Much harder than a traditional book religion. So anyone that knows anything about it realizes that the paranoia about recruiting converts, poisoning souls over Halloween, etc. is just plain misinformation created to keep the masses in line. Christians should see it precisely for what it is - bunk, and should tell the fear mongers that they aren't going to listen. Let the kids, pagans, wiccans, and everybody else enjoy the holiday for whatever they feel it is (an it harm none).