Editor:
Did you know that Halloween started out as and is a Christian holiday? If not, it may be because we still celebrate it with non-Christian customs connected with the same date from long ago.
Before Christ was born, for example, the Druids in Ireland, Scotland and Wales honored their “god of the dead” on Oct.31. This date was their new year, and they celebrated the gathering of the harvest. Later, these practices were mixed with those of the Roman feast honoring Pomona, “goddess of fruit.”
Our celebration of Halloween clearly follows many practices based on the beliefs of these pagan religions. The druids believed that some women, who had sold themselves to the devil, rode through the skies on broomsticks while others turned into black cats.
They also believed that the souls of the dead returned on this night (ghosts). In some places, men wore costumes and masks to frighten these ghosts away from their villages. They also set bonfires and told stories of the weird sounds and mysterious sights they had experienced. Thus began the witches, black cats, masks, costumes and ghost stories still connected to this date, Oct. 31.
The pumpkin is also connected with these pagan practices. It was believed that a man named Jack, who was stingy and drank too much, played a trick on the devil. The devil sentenced him to walk alone the rest of his life looking for a resting place. To help light his way, the devil tossed Jack a red-hot coal, which he put inside a carved-out turnip and used for a lantern. In later years, the pumpkin replaced the turnip as a “Jack-O-Lantern.”
After Christianity spread widely in the world and Oct. 31 was given a new meaning, the enemies of Christianity made fun of the Christians by worshiping the devil on Halloween. They set skulls on pretended altars and painted white crosses on church walls. Skeletons are still a part of Halloween to this day.
Since the Lord Jesus has freed believers in Christ from the powers of death and the devil, is it right for Christians to continue the following customs of fear, superstition and death? Halloween has a happy meaning for Christians. Shouldn’t a Christian celebration reflect the Christian faith rather than the beliefs of ancient pagans?
What does Halloween mean for Christians? We get a clue from the word itself. The first part, hallow, means to “set apart as holy.” We use it in the Lord’s Prayer when we pray, “Hallowed by Thy name.” There, we ask that God’s name be set apart from common use and kept to refer to God alone. The last part, een, is a short form of evening or eve. We use it for Christmas Eve. Halloween then means holy eve, the night before a holy day.
What day is that? We go back to the eighth century for our answer. Gregory III set aside Nov. 1 on the church calendar to honor all saints (departed believers) who had no special day of their own. We call it All Saints Day. It’s a kind of Christian Memorial Day, when we honor and remember the lives and examples of faithful Christians who are now with Christ in heaven. When Nov. 1 became All Saints Day, the night before became a “hallowed eve,” a night to prepare for the meaning of the coming holy day.
The druids believed that on this particular night, Oct. 31, the souls of the dead returned to their former home to be entertained by the living. If acceptable food and shelter were not provided, these evil spirits would cast spells, cause havoc and terror and haunt and torment the living. They demanded to be placated. Here is the beginning of “trick or treat,” evil spirits demanding a “treat.” If they didn’t get it, you got a “trick.”
On this “Hallowed Eve,” it would be good to remember and make a list of all the saints (believers in Christ) we have known who are now in heaven. Then we can thank God for their Christian faith and lives and recall the blessings they brought to our lives. Let’s put a halo back on Halloween.
Have a blessed “Hallowed Eve.”
The Rev. T.H. Vogel
Sweet Home