Halloween Decorations in the Sanctuary?

Quite a few times I have seen in a church nave, the sanctuary, sometimes even around an altar, pumpkins, cornstalks, and bales of straw...When asked why, the priest or 'liturgist' would often reply that it was to remind people of the seasons, the holidays...In a church? At Mass? I would ask...I suppose I was not open to celebrating that sort of diversity - I wasn't being tolerant of paganism. I was lacking a certain depth in my understanding of "multiculturalism"...

Well, let's see what Fr Thomas Keller, associate pastor at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica Parish and assistant director of the archdiocesan Office of Worship, has to say:

Can we celebrate Halloween in our parish?
by Father Thomas Keller

What does the Church say about celebrating Halloween? I recently was disconcerted to find a Jack-O-Lantern in the vestibule of our parish church.

Halloween or All Hallow’s Eve, is simply the Vigil of All Saints Day. A vigil is an ancient practice of the Church where a special evening Mass precedes a great feast day. The celebration of Mass on the eve of All Hallow’s (meaning All Holy or All Saints) Day is as ancient as the feast day itself.

Today, all Catholic liturgical and devotional practices including art and environment should lead the faithful to the appropriate celebration of a particular feast. Most secular holiday decorations have no place in the liturgical environment of parish church buildings, especially since our Catholic traditions usually include beautiful and appropriate imagery to inspire the faithful. Secular Halloween costumes and decorations definitely do not belong in a parish church.

Halloween has a darker side to its annual celebration. Because of the holiness of All Saints Day, previous cultures imagined that there was more activity by demonic creatures on the night preceding the feast. As Catholics we must avoid this entirely.

However, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with secular celebrations near religious feast days. Many raucous celebrations dotted the medieval calendar, some dating back to pre-Christian times and others developed to balance the rigor of religious practices of the day. Mardi Gras and Carnivale fit this category. When these celebrations take on an excessive or even immoral character, this too is to be avoided by all Christians.

Usually, Halloween is popularly commemorated by the telling of scary stories and dressing up in costumes.

Usually this is hardly excessive nor is it paying homage to evil but instead is a social ritual expressing fearful or comic images and can be harmless and good natured. As they do with all secular observances, Christians should look at their role and evaluate their level of involvement.

Emphasis added...

Source.