In Russia, a proposal was made to replace Halloween with a 'holiday of the Russian fairy tale'

The Civic Chamber's proposal

Halloween in Russia could be replaced with a holiday of the Russian fairy tale, which has its own 'scary' characters. Vladislav Grib, deputy secretary of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, said this in a conversation with TASS, reports Gazeta.Ru. According to him, he personally does not like Halloween, but children enjoy dressing up in costumes, holding contests and fun games, so the holiday should be given a national flavor.

Koschei instead of evil spirits

Grib noted that Russian folklore has plenty of fairy-tale characters for such a holiday. 'There is Koschei the Immortal, Baba Yaga, Leshy, and Vodyanoy. All kinds of heroes. I believe it should be celebrated in this vein and called the holiday of the Russian fairy tale,' — TASS quotes him as saying. What is being discussed is precisely the renaming and change of content of the existing holiday, not a ban: for now, the proposal remains the opinion of a public figure, not an adopted decision.

The Russian Orthodox Church's position

The Russian Orthodox Church, in turn, stated that the heyday of 'parades of evil spirits,' when Halloween was celebrated in Russia, is over. According to Vakhtang Kipshidze, deputy chairman of the Synodal Department for the Church's Relations with Society and the Media, the majority of Russian citizens themselves have realized that the era of this culture's popularity is in the past.