Christians and Halloween: It's a thing...

Allhallows tide: a 3 day fest event starting Oct. 31 and ending Nov. 2

Since I was a little tike I have been in the middle of folks that have varying opinions of Halloween and Christianity and whether Christ-Followers should even recognize Halloween. Shane Raynor put is best: "Depending on whom you ask, Halloween probably falls somewhere between harmless secular celebration on one end of the spectrum and pagan or satanic holiday on the other." Those of you that have been reading my blogs have probably realized I like poking the bear and diving into hard topics. Halloween, within the church, is a hard topic. Maybe this blog will open some eyes and allow folks the chance to have conversation surrounding a tough issue.

HALLOWEEN FROM THE PAGAN PERSPECTIVE:

Samhain (meaning literally, in modern Irish, “summer’s end”) marked the end of summer and kicked off the Celtic new year. With the kickoff of a new year comes with the need to recognize and celebrate both life and death. The celebration was also attached to the recognition of an end to a lavish harvest season and the beginning of the winter season. Ancient priests, also called druids, would build large bonfires and present sacrifices of animals and crops to the Celtic gods as a way of saying 'thank you.' There have been claims that there were human sacrifices made at these bonfires. Scholars believe this to be a myth. It is believed that the eve of this, spirits were able to roam the earth. These spirits were both loved ones that have passed before as well as evil spirits and ghouls that could cause problems. Celts initially carved turnips, later switched to pumpkins, and would attach them to stick with strings with coal on the insides. When they would go out, they would dress in costumes as a way to prevent the evil spirits from causing them harm. By dressing up, they confused the spirits by mistaking people as one of their own, thus protecting humans from harm.

As Christianity gained more momentum in pagan communities, church leaders worked to redefine Samhain to make it more of a Christian Celebration. Samhain and Allhallows tide later merged into Halloween when it was adopted in the 19th century in American by Irish immigrants.

WICCANS AND SAMHAIN

The central theme of Wiccan Samhain is the dead. it is not morbid by any means. Wiccans use the veil of energy between the living and the dead to honor those that have passed away. The bonfire is still used in the Wiccan celebrations and yes, there are spells used to help cleanse the negativity of the preceding year.

ALLHALLOWSTIDE: CHRISTIAN RECOGNITION OF "HALLOWEEN"

Mos people don't realize that Halloween has a Christ-following root. The word Halloween is a contraction of All Hallows Eve, which is actually the name of the celebration of western Christ-followers. Allhallows tide has deep Catholic roots. "All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day and All Souls Day–these three days taken together are the “Days of the Dead,” a triduum of feasts also called Allhallows tide, Hallowtide, or Hallowmas (Hallow meaning saint or holy and mas meaning Mass)." Hallow means consecrated or set apart. The word 'hallow' also means holy or saint.

All Hallows Eve: There are some scholars that believe early Christ-followers celebrated All Hallows Eve by fasting or by going around and praying for families and households in exchange for food. All Hallows Eve has changed to a time of celebration with harvest parties, bobbing for apples, making jack-o-lanterns and more. There are many in the Christ-following world that still refuse to eat meat on All Hallows Eve and instead stick to vegetarian dishes that include potato cakes and soul cakes. With all the great martyrs and saints of the early Church, there weren’t enough days in the year to honor them all. All Hallows was a catch-all day.

All Saint's Day: According to britannica.com: "All Saints’ Day, also called All Hallows’ Day, Hallowmas, or Feast of All Saints, in the Christian church, a day commemorating all the saints of the church, both known and unknown, who have attained heaven. It is celebrated on November 1 in the Western churches and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Eastern churches." All Saint's Day is considered day two of Allhallows tide. Different denominations withing the Christ-following world honor All Saint's day differently. In the Catholic church the holiday honors all those who have passed on to the Kingdom of Heaven. In Mainline denominations, such as the Methodist Church, it is a time to give gratitude to God for the life and death of his children/saints (well-known or not). There are man-made beliefs that People have the earthly authority to grant sainthood to people. Sainthood isn't given by a group of religious leaders. It's granted by God.

All Soul's Day: Many within the Protestant sector of the Christ-following faith tradition have merged All Saint's Day and All Soul's day into one day. According to britannica.com: "All Souls’ Day, in Roman Catholicism, a day for commemoration of all the faithful departed, those baptized Christians who are believed to be in purgatory because they died with the guilt of lesser sins on their souls. It is observed on November 2." In today's context, a popular way to celebrate is with prayer.

In some of my research, I found the following:

• In the Mexican culture, All Souls’ Day is known as Día de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead. It is believed that the dead are still members of the community, kept alive in memory and spirit, and during the Day of the Dead, they temporarily return to Earth.

• According to Hungarian tradition, all work and housework is forbidden on All Souls’ Day. It is seen as disrespectful to the dead, and it is believed that any work done will be sabotaged by them.

• According to a superstition from the Philippines: When it rains on All Souls’ Day, the raindrops are tears of the dead.

• Many cultures decorate with candlelight because they believe it warms the dead and helps souls find their way back to their graves at the end of All Souls’ Day.

• According to the teachings of the Catholic Church, Catholics can shorten the time a soul spends in purgatory (a place where souls are purified before entering heaven) by visiting a church and praying the Our Father and the Creed on All Souls’ Day.

The question that come to mind is: How do we redeem Halloween?

Halloween, like other holidays, festivities, etc. have morphed over time. There seems to be more and more blood, gore and guts associated with Halloween. There are stories of sacrifices of animals and children. There are costumes that have evil entities associated with it. What would you think if I told you there is a scarier piece of decoration you could put up than some of things above? The CROSS.

The Cross is bloody. The cross was an instrument of torture, humiliation, and terror. We take for granted this symbol that is part of our faith. D.A. Carson wrote: "[T]he cross has become for us such a domesticated symbol. Today many women and men dangle crosses from their ears. Our bishops hang crosses around their necks. Our church buildings have crosses on their spires, or stained wooden crosses are backlit with fluorescent lights. Some of our older church buildings are actually built in cruciform, and no one is shocked. Suppose you were to place in a prominent position in your church building a fresco of the massed graves of Auschwitz. Wouldn’t everyone be horrified? But in the first century, the cross had something of that symbolic value. Scholars have gone through every instance of the word “cross” and related expressions that have come down to us about the time of Jesus and shown how “crucifixion” and “cross” invariably evoke horror….Crucifixion was considered too cruel—so shameful that the word itself was avoided in polite conversation."

The cross is the symbol of an excruciating, disgraceful and wretched death. Halloween is seen in history has having some evil, fear and death associated with it. Here is the thing, that scary decoration piece, the Cross, defeated all of that. God can take something that may have an evil association and flip it for good use. God sent his son, Jesus of Nazareth, to earth to teach and mold his followers for God's purpose. He died a humiliating and painful death on the cross. Sin breaks and kills. Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

Rebekah Drumsta put it best: "“Why do people have to have blood and scary stuff at Halloween? Jesus brings life and beat death; don’t they know that?” Well, do they? That’s the point! The cross was not pretty. There was pain and suffering, blood, and violence. Do the people around you know that Jesus’ life-giving sacrifice on the cross completely crushed death? That the agony and misery and terror celebrated every year on October 31 was already lived out by Jesus and it is finished? " We can choose to change the narrative. We can choose to take something that someone else celebrates one way and recognize it differently. It is all about where your heart is and what is in your heart.

"I've got the love of Jesus, love of Jesus, Down in my heart!"