This is the town of Halloween!

"This is Halloween! This is Halloween"



One of the dates I look forward to the most every year is Halloween. As a general rule, I look forward to any occasion where I get to go outside my normal everyday life and dress up as somebody or something different. Dressing up to me is allowing myself the opportunity to break outside of the daily routine of life. Structure works best for me, but having that day, that moment to do something completely different is an occasion I look forward to all year and don't take lightly.

Recently I was hired by the church I am a member of, as the new secretary. Let it be known right here that I am not a fan of that title, so I changed it to Office Coordinator. However, I'm thinking that I should have just kept the title of the 5 hour per week job I had before as as Communications Coordinator. Technically, I keep everybody informed of what's going on. My main job duty is to assist the Pastor, but I think it is so much more. Besides, our Pastor is loopy when he's not preaching and is beyond any help I can give him!!! (I'm hoping he reads this)  So as part of my job as Connections Coordinator, I organized a BIG Halloween Party in the church basement and a Trunk or Treat.  Luckily it was a huge success! At least 200+ kids! I'm not trying to brag because had I done a better job, I could have persuaded more of our church members to decorate their trunks and come out to give goodies to the kids. Because of the success though, I have had several members tell me how next year, they think more people will show up owing to how big it was this year. And it's not like I did anything really spectacular, I just put out these two HUGE signs that said Trunk or Treat, Friday 6:30-8... seriously, that's it!

Halloween is a fun festivity, but now that I work for the church, I am seeing that many Christians are very much against it. I received several e-mail forwards from unsolicited crazies (random mail comes in all the time) referencing Halloween as being a "Celebration of Evil." We are teaching children to partake in the occult and to worship Satan because of it's pagan origin!  Seriously? Are these people nuts?  I didn't see any witchcraft or animal sacrifices at church Friday night, nor on Halloween night itself.  Halloween, like many Christian holidays has its' roots in ancient Pagan practices.  Mistletoe does too, just fyi, but we seem to love to put those things out at Christmas time. Come Christmas, I'll have some things to say about it too.

I'm going to give a brief, and very brief summary of how we came to celebrate Halloween. If you REALLY want to see it, follow the Pagan link or the Fundie link.

Okay, so we have the Roman Catholic missionaries going into the Celtic lands where they worshipped false Gods. I am a Christian, but not a hard-core fundamentalist that is going to tell you that every word in the Bible is word for word truth. But as a Christian, I can tell you one thing, like most ancient societies, and even modern society, there is something all humanity is looking for; truth.  The Celts saw the turning of the weather in late October as a time when things were dying, or a time when death was near at hand and was influencing their way of life.  This death killed crops and brought illness that would often lead to death. This time of year as we all know, those of us living in more northern regions, is gloomy, rainy and cold; and we have to harvest and preserve our bounty for the long winter months to maintain our survival. Logically then, the Celts had much to fear. During the festival of Samhain, the Druid priests would offer animal, fruit, vegetable sacrifices to the god. The wearing of masks and the performing of spells and incantations were meant to keep the spirits of the dead at bay.  Humanity is always looking for answers and to the Celts, this was their answer.

With the introduction of Christianity, the missionaries had to find a way to make the transition easier. The reason we celebrate Christmas when we do is owed in large part to festivals honoring the re-birth of the Sun-God. It's no coincidence that one of the most important Christian holidays falls just after the winter solstice.

So for the Celts, All Saints Day was created. In the church, All Saints Day is a day when all those who have died are honored. Our belief in Christianity is that when we die, we become Saints. Not all Saints are commemorated with a special day like St. John (the Baptist) or St. (Mother) Teresa, so this is the day that we dedicate to all of them.  Halloween comes from "All Hallows Eve," Hallow meaning to Sanctify.  It makes perfect sense to place All Saints Day on November 1st.  October 31st, to the Celts, was the day when they recognized that death was an inevitable part of life. Their attempt to keep it away during the winter months was in their way, a way to understanding their world. And death is a truth that we as humans all have to live with.

On Sunday, Patrick said something interesting right before his sermon, "Halloween is a day when we mock death." I don't know if I'd use the word mock, but I would definitely say it's a day when we are highly aware of what death is and what it means.  In Christianity, it is the passing from our earthly lives into that of our Lord and Savior. Death in truth is sad, it can be torturous, it can seem like our lives will never be the same.  But death happens and it is Halloween and All Saints Day that remind us of what death really is.  It is when we get to sit at the Heavenly banquet with those who have gone before us.

Acknowledging the past is always crucial, but having it burden your life is futile. So, Halloween's Celtic past is not what Christians would deem truth, but it is a reminder of a time when humanity was searching for a truth. A truth that would eventually be delivered.  I think remembering that the missionaries came up with a way to transition these old religions into a new one is better than how it was done in the Inquisition.  I'm sure there were many Celts who met their demise in a more sinister way than through the transition introduced by the missionaries. It must be said that creating a day to celebrate our loved ones who have died, is more humane. And it is ultimately more in tune with what Jesus said about loving your neighbor as you would love yourself. When you love those, even those who think differently than you or who have different religious views and customs, you are ultimately showing your love towards Jesus.

So, I say celebrate Halloween! Dress up, get candy, be something you never thought you could be.  Remember it's history entrenched in Paganism, but most importantly, remember how the word of the Lord could be shared, and how it still can be.