While many in Tbilisi chose to celebrate Halloween 2009, a holiday that entered Georgia in the footsteps of Western capitalism, the more conservative stratum of Georgian society continued to caution people against the “satanic” character of such “pagan” traditions.

“It is not worthy behaviour for a nation with two thousand years of Christian culture to forget its own traditions and replace them with foreign fashionable holidays,” the Georgian Orthodox Church said in a statement issued to the public. “Unfortunately the celebration of Halloween has become increasingly large scale in the recent years. Most Georgian youth participating in it are not aware of what they are contributing to. Participation in Halloween is nothing but a return to paganism and the recognition of idolatry.”

In a poll conducted by forum.ge, which is considered a forum for liberals and intellectuals, 640 respondents answered the question of whether they were going to attend Halloween. More than 12% of respondents said that they were going to a Halloween party and about 23% that they were not. More than 62% of respondents, however, said that they would never attend a Halloween event. The messages left by users suggested that most of this 62 % simply do not care about the holiday.

In 2008 the Tbilisi municipal authorities organised Halloween festivities on Erekle Street in Old Tbilisi. The celebration attracted a crowd of mostly young people, dressed in costumes and wearing masks. However this celebration ended violently when the Union of Orthodox Parents, accompanied by some Georgian Orthodox priests, crashed the party, destroyed some technical equipment and physically assaulted several participants. None of the Georgian TV channels, for fear of being seen as pro-satanic, reported the event. But teenagers who were on the spot described the raid and produced a report on the internet which almost created a record for the number of viewers. Almost 110,000 users watched it on www.myvideo.ge.

This year the Tbilisi municipality refrained from planning any Halloween events. However, several efforts from the private sector enlivened Halloween celebrations in Tbilisi. Thus for example several Georgian and expat women organised a party at a private venue on Friday, October 30. The party raised money for projects that help children throughout Georgia. “We are not talking about a lot of money, it is just couple of thousand lari,” said one of the party’s organisers. “But it is still something that can help someone.”

Another effort to celebrate Halloween was orchestrated by Special Events, an event planning and management group, and the American Councils as a co-organiser. Held at the G.U.R.U. club on Sunday, November 1, this Halloween party included a costume contest, Halloween lottery, dancing performances, face painting and various prizes. Tickets bought in advance cost 20 lari and those bought at the door 25 lari. Sophiko Balanchivadze, Director of Special Events, said that she did not see anything negative in Halloween, but expressed some concerns about hosting a party dedicated to the holiday. “One of the priests called me asking me to cancel the party but I am not doing so because there is nothing strange or bad happening at the party, it is fun, it is just a costume party,” Balanchivadze said on Saturday evening, October 31. “I do not see what’s the big deal with it.”

While Balanchiladze did not know the exact number of potential attendees she said that more than 100 tickets had been sold by that time. “We are expecting about 400 people because many people have responded that they will attend,” Balanchiladze said.

The Georgian Girls Running Club planned a Halloween 5km Fun Run & Walk on Saturday, October 31, along Rustaveli Avenue. However the event was cancelled several days prior.

While controversy over Halloween persists, one of the Georgian traditional holidays, Berikaoba, which has pagan roots and engages the public in celebrations similar to those of Halloween, escapes criticism from Georgian society. Berikaoba is a masquerade mystery traditionally performed in a village by men dressed in animal costumes and acting out assigned roles. While Berikaoba is seen as a traditional, natively Georgian holiday, Halloween is seen as an incursion and thus a bearer of alien values.