Halloween as a High Holiday

October 31, 2000

Source: The Plain Dealer

On October 31, 2000, a Plain Dealer article stated that "For 10 years, the Pagan Awareness Coalition of Cleveland has held a samhain ritual on Public Square to increase public understanding and acceptance of paganism. About 300 people attended Saturday...'We want people to see that we're a positive religious force,' says Cerridwynn, who goes by her Celtic pagan name to avoid harassment. 'We aren't people to be feared, people who conjure demons and hurt animals.' Her husband, the son of a Lutheran minister, accepts her beliefs and has even helped with security at past Public Square rituals...'None of the popular images of witch and witchcraft are true,' she says. 'There's no such thing as an evil witch. If you're evil, you can't be a witch. And pagans don't believe in the devil or in hell.'"