INDIANAPOLIS, IN – German Christian Matthias Stein, visiting Faith Evangelical Free Church of Indianapolis on a short-term exchange program from his sister church in Berlin, doesn't understand the stigma surrounding Halloween.

The confusion began at the end of September, when the FEFC events committee began planning its popular annual "harvest party." Stein, embarrassed, was forced to ask for clarification. "He was kind of sheepish about it," reported committee secretary Hank Garvey. "He tried to pass it off like he was just asking us to clarify what type of harvest parties Americans usually have, but it was pretty obvious to all of us that he had no idea what a harvest party was."

Even after a full explanation of the event from chairman Don Coldwell, Stein was still confused. Coldwell described the conversation the committee had. "He [Stein] said he thought it sounded like fun, but that he was really looking forward to passing out treats on Halloween night. That's when we knew there was cause for real concern." Coldwell and the others on the committee spent the remaining hour of the meeting trying to describe the evils of the holiday, but to no avail. In a seeming attempt to protect Stein from his own cultural ignorance, the meeting ended with a vote requiring all committee members to be present at the harvest party.

Stein described his disappointment at the fact that he would miss trick-or-treating: "I've been looking forward to a real American Halloween ever since I got here in August. The people at FEFC just think it's a bad thing and Satanic. I think they would not think so much bad about it if they lived in Germany. We see real evil there all year."

Even after the lengthy discussion, the German visitor still seemed confused. At the time of this writing, a source close to Stein indicated that he was planning on coming dressed as one of the evil orcs from the immensely popular Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.

In spite of his naïveté, Stein has shown some good judgment in this situation. "I was going to ask that we could have an Oktoberfest party," he said. "Now I'm not sure that's a good idea."