It’s the middle of July. The summer holidays haven’t yet begun for many families. Schoolchildren are still trudging through their final weeks of the term.
The sun, though temperamental in Britain, is (at least occasionally) shining. And yet, in a corner of TK Maxx - among the discounted homeware and fashion bargains - sits an eerie and unwelcome sight: Halloween products. Pumpkins, skulls, witches’ hats, and cobwebbed ornaments fill the shelves like a swarm of locusts invading a peaceful land.
Isn’t
it sad? Not just strange, not just out of place - but genuinely sad.
This premature celebration of Halloween, months before the actual day, tells us something troubling about the state of our culture. It reveals how consumerism has detached our holidays from any true meaning. Worse still, it shows how deeply desensitised we’ve become to things that once would have repelled us - such as glorifications of death, darkness, and spiritual confusion.
Hollow Holidays
Let’s start with the most obvious issue: the hollowing out of holidays. Halloween, in its original context, had Christian roots. “All Hallows’ Eve” was the vigil before All Saints’ Day, a time when the faithful remembered the Church Triumphant - those souls who have reached heaven and whose lives shine as examples of holiness. The following day, All Souls’ Day, the Church honours and prays for the dead, asking God to show mercy upon those still undergoing purification in purgatory.
Together, this three-day period was once known as Hallowtide: All Hallows’ Eve (31 October), All Saints’ Day (1 November), and All Souls’ Day (2 November). Far from a dark and ghoulish festival, Hallowtide was profoundly Christian - a time for reflection on the eternal realities of death, judgement, heaven, and hell, and a call to pray for souls in need.
Now, that meaning has been utterly obscured by plastic skeletons, blood-spattered masks, “sexy devil” costumes, and grotesque depictions of the occult.
But what is truly disheartening is how early the push begins. TK Maxx, like many retailers, is simply responding to demand - or perhaps they’re stoking it. Either way, they’re filling shelves with Halloween merchandise in July, months before the true season of reflection and remembrance arrives. It becomes less about meaning and more about marketing.
The Profit of Fear
Why are we so attracted to darkness? Or more accurately: why does the world sell darkness to us so easily?
As Catholics, we know that fear can be a powerful emotion. It awakens the conscience to potential danger or wrongdoing. But it’s also something that can be exploited, manipulated, and used as entertainment. The devil, after all, is not a figure in a red costume with a pitchfork - he is a fallen angel, the deceiver, the enemy of truth.
What does it say about our society that we find amusement in the imagery of death, terror, and hell? That we dress our children as zombies and demons and parade them through the streets collecting sweets? What’s more, we’ve taken something that should make us pause, pray, and reflect - and turned it into commercial sport.
"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil,
who put darkness for light and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
- Isaiah 5:20 (RSV-CE)
These words from Isaiah ring loudly when we look at the modern Halloween season. Retailers like TK Maxx are simply the visible surface of a deeper cultural illness: a widespread confusion between what is good and what is harmful, between what is holy and what is not.
Desensitised to Darkness
When you walk into a shop in July and see a cackling witch figurine or a decapitated ghoul used as decoration, do you flinch? Or have you become used to it?
This question isn’t meant to scold, but to awaken. Our culture has become so saturated with horror and mockery of the spiritual realm that even devout Catholics can fall asleep to it. It is entirely possible to stroll through TK Maxx, idly browsing Halloween merchandise, and not even register the spiritual conflict on display.
St Paul reminds us that this is not merely about personal preferences or traditions:
"For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
- Ephesians 6:12 (RSV-CE)
This verse isn’t symbolic. It’s reality. There is a spiritual battle, and it’s playing out not only in grand theological arenas but also in our high street shops. And every time a child sees a demon portrayed as something fun, or a Christian walks past a rack of occult-themed home décor without batting an eyelid, the enemy gains a little more ground.
An Invitation to Rediscover Hallowtide
So, what should we do? Ban Halloween? Storm TK Maxx with holy water?
No - rather, we reclaim what is ours. We educate. We form our families. We resist the pressure to conform.
As Catholics, we are invited not to live in fear of the dark, but to proclaim the light. That begins in the home, and it begins with formation. The saints are far more fascinating than any fictional vampire. Stories of martyrdom, virtue, holiness, and courage are what should fill our children's ears and imaginations.
We can still engage with culture. Yes, we can carve pumpkins - but why not carve a cross or a fish into them? Why not have children dress as saints rather than monsters? Why not light a candle for a loved one who has died and pray for their soul?
These small acts reclaim the season for God. They give back meaning to a time that’s been robbed of it. They also help guard our families from the trivialisation of the spiritual realm and the dangers of dabbling in things we do not understand.
!Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
- Philippians 4:8 (RSV-CE)
This is our call - to fill our minds, homes, and seasons with what is good, beautiful, and true. That doesn’t mean we shun all things cultural, but it does mean we approach them critically and courageously.
What TK Maxx Could Be Selling Instead
Imagine walking into TK Maxx in July and seeing a display dedicated to Christian art, saints’ biographies, or rosary beads beautifully laid out. A promotion on items for home prayer spaces. A little corner where the message of hope, eternity, and faith is allowed to speak.
It may sound naïve in our secular world - but why is this naïve, while dressing up as a demon in July is considered totally normal?
The point is not to convert every retail space into a shrine, but to ask: why is this kind of merchandise acceptable and that kind isn’t?
What does our retail environment say about what we value?
The Deeper Problem: Lost Liturgical Imagination
At the root of this problem is a loss of liturgical imagination. In earlier ages, the year was mapped not by the school calendar or commercial quarters, but by the Church’s calendar. You knew when it was Advent, because people were fasting. You knew it was Eastertide, because the bells rang out and the alleluias returned.
Today, we’ve replaced Advent with Christmas shopping, Easter with chocolate, and Hallowtide with horror movies. We’ve forgotten how to live liturgically - in rhythm with heaven.
And that’s a great tragedy, because the liturgical calendar gives life depth. It teaches us when to rejoice, when to mourn, when to reflect, and when to celebrate. It keeps our eyes on the things of eternity, not just the next sale or seasonal gimmick.
"Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
- Colossians 3:2 (RSV-CE)
Let This Be a Wake-Up Call
So let TK Maxx’s early Halloween display be a wake-up call. Not just something to shake our heads at or laugh about - but a spiritual nudge.
Let it stir us to reclaim the calendar. Let it push us to say no to meaningless rituals and yes to meaningful remembrance. Let it remind us to teach our children well. Let it draw us back to prayer, and to the beauty of our faith.
Because it’s not just about being countercultural - it’s about being faithful. It’s about living as children of the light, not dabblers in the dark.
************
Yes, it’s still only July. Yes, TK Maxx is already selling Halloween products. But the saddest part isn’t the early start - it’s that we no longer even notice how strange that is. Let’s change that. Let’s notice. Let’s respond.
And above all, let’s not forget what truly matters:
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
- John 1:5 (RSV-CE)
Visit Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in New Milton
If
you’re seeking deeper meaning in the liturgical seasons or want to
know more about the true roots of Hallowtide, come and visit Our Lady
of Lourdes Catholic Church in New Milton. You’ll find a welcoming
community, traditional liturgy, and a place to reconnect with what is
sacred and true.
ourladyoflourdes.co.uk