Halloween events banned at Moscow schools

October 31, 2007 Schools in Moscow, Russia have been told by the city's department of education to not allow any Halloween-related events.

Alexander Gavrilov, press secretary of the education department, told Interfax, "The department's stance has remained invariable since 2003, when the leadership of the department sent a letter to Moscow principals, which bans holding Halloween events at their schools."

Gavrilov further said that the ban is because this holiday "includes religious elements, including the cult of death, the mockery of death, personification of death and evil, which contradict the secular nature of state educational institutions."

"This is destructive for the minds and the spiritual and moral health of pupils," he said. "It's not an attempt to block the celebration of this holiday completely, just in schools and colleges."