When local town officials decided to change the date for the “official” annual Halloween sugar binge, it gave people of faith in this area an opportunity to take another look at Halloween.
As a Minister of the Christian gospel, I have reason to think Halloween has the makings of a good thing. Here’s why: looking at the Christian calendar we see that the next day is called “All Saints Day”, a day set aside to remember and honor all the faithful who have gone before, persevering in the faith.
Here’s a bit of Christian history: As the early church spread it encountered traditional pagan autumn festivals that looked upon Death as part of a continuous life-death cycle. These festivals often featured malicious and even destructive behavior. Pagan practice called for leaving food and other desirable tokens outside the door to appease Death and ward off evil-doers.
(Children today going door-to-door “Trick or Treating” has its origins in this practice.)
To counter all this, the early Christians established the holy observance of All Saints Day, and declared the night before to be “All Hallows’ Evening” or what we today call, “Halloween.”
Thus elements of the former pagan observance were blended with holy Christian observances. Early Christians went from All Hallows E’en Communion at church out to parties where they donned masks and dressed up, not to honor pagan gods or traditions, but to make fun of the Prince of Death and his evil companions (the origin of Halloween costumes.) In the beginning Halloween was a Christian observance of the power of faith in Jesus Christ to overcome any opposition- even death!
As for those “saints”- the “sanctified ones”- and their special holy day, they haunt the memory of the faithful, and so they should. Though they have passed beyond the veil, it should be recalled that without their faithfulness in word and deed, the faith would have been buried. They deserve a special day to be hallowed- honored and remembered. (A number of area churches offer a special service on All Saints Day, which is November 1st. Others have special observances on the nearest Sunday, which just so happens to be Halloween this year!)
I encourage Christians especially to take another look at the possible message that this time on the calendar offers. It is a time to declare that one’s faith is so strong as to make one bold to actually mock death and get away with it. After all, the empty tomb mocks death. Does your faith make you that fearless? Halloween and All Saints observance offers the opportunity to “Christian Up” and be strong in a faith that has empowered countless saints to witness against all attempts to subdue it. It is altogether appropriate to honor death-conquering spiritual ancestors and pledge to emulate them. It is a time to declare that faith conquers fear.
As an aside, Halloween and All Saints Day coincide with Election Day, November 2nd this year. As a voter, are you motivated by fear or by faith? Take another look.
And as for all that Trick or Treat sugar, that’s another matter for another look at another time. For now, Beware! I’m thinking it just could be one of Death’s insurgent maneuvers.
