No ‘satanic’ Halloween for Dutch children, politicians decide

This is a music video of United States singer Norah Jones – My Dear Country. The song is against the Iraq war; and also about Halloween.

Translated from Dutch news agency ANP:

No satanic Halloween in Werkendam because of the SGP

10/08/13 , 16:16

No ‘robes of devils’, ‘living dead’ and ‘similar extremely reprehensible phenomena’, says the SGP

The SGP, Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij, is a fundamentalist Protestant Christian political party in the Netherlands.

Schoolchildren in Werkendam in Noord-Brabant province will not celebrate Halloween next week. The Board of the Mayor and Aldermen has announced that some planned activities next week will go ahead under a different name, ‘Autumn Week’.

The municipality also announces that it is banning ‘draconian fancy dress‘

‘Draconian fancy dress’, my dear Mayor and Aldermen? As far as I know, only laws and punishment can be ‘draconian’. Fancy dress cannot. Unless the Mayor and Aldermen mean fancy dress imitating the clothes of Draco, the ancient Greek lawgiver after whom harsh laws are named. However, very little is known about Draco’s life. So, I have not any idea how ‘draconian fancy dress’ is supposed to look.

Or are the Mayor and Aldermen referring to the Draconians, ‘an extraterrestrial race; featured in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who’? These Draconians have never been on Dutch TV as far as I know.

and ‘creepy aspects’ at the activities. So, the planned ghost quest seems to be off. Against a treasure hunt with games like bowling in the dark and solving puzzles, the SGP had no objections.

Municipal youth workers had prepared a ghost treasure hunt to celebrate Halloween, but the SGP did not want that. The party considers it undesirable for young people of Werkendam to see ‘robes of devils’, ‘living dead’ and ‘similar extremely reprehensible phenomena’.

Local council SGP Group Chairman Theo Meijboom says that he is happy that the authorities have listened to his arguments. He does not want the youth of Werkendam to be exposed to the harmful influences of death and horror.

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