Here’s a spooky fact. In terms of the money Americans spend on holiday decorations, Halloween is second only to Christmas! In fact, I suspect more people display pumpkins on Halloween than fly flags on the Fourth of July. Creepy, eh? But since it’s Halloween – let’s look at what’s behind all those ghosts, goblins and Kate-Plus-8 costumes…
HALLOWEEN – WHAT’S IN A NAME? 
It began with the early Catholic Church. For each day in the Gregorian calendar, the church honored a particular saint – Peter, Paul, John, Mary, and so on. But eventually, there were more saints to honor than days in the year. Therefore, to accommodate all the remaining saints, the church designated November 1st as All Saint’s Day, or All Hallowed’s Day. The evening before was known as Hallowed E’en (E’en for Evening), which eventually morphed into simply – Halloween.
HOW DID HALLOWEEN GET SO SCARY?
Most Medieval Europeans were uneducated and superstitious. Only priests and monks could read Latin – the official language of the church. Because reading was out-of-reach for peasants, they passed along pagan traditions from tribal European religions that thrived before Christianity swept the continent. In their world of legends, spirits lived in forests and ghosts of the dead roamed the countryside.
As for the spirits of saints – they supposedly descended from heaven on “their” day, to join the earthly Church celebration. To peasants, this meant that divine protection was temporarily compromised. So, to ward off evil spirits they lit candles and displayed them in their windows.
I don’t know how the trick-or-treat tradition started, or how it took such a hold on our society, but the “Fright Night” concept seems stronger than ever in American films and popular culture.
THE UPSIDE OF HALLOWEEN – THE MORNING AFTER
All Saints Day is still celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church. Protestant churches, inspired by their Catholic origins, celebrate it as All Soul’s Day. And now all Christians mark the day to honor the “saint” in each of us.
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul says all believers in Jesus Christ are “saints.” Technically, the term means “sanctified one” or “holy one.” In Paul’s view, all Christians are made holy by the work of Christ. So, November 1st is a day to celebrate our own holiness, as well as the holiness of all other believers.
SAINTHOOD – CAN ANYONE PLAY?
What about other religions? Can non-Christian believers be “holy?” Some say that belief in Christ Jesus is the only way to heaven. However, according to surveys by the Pew Research Forum, almost 70% of Christians feel that God makes heaven available through other paths, too.
Personally, I prefer to let God determine who’s “in” and who’s “out.” Even the great evangelist Billy Graham has a similar view. He has stated publicly that he wouldn’t be surprised to find non-Christians in heaven.
Of course, the topic of heaven and hell requires much more detail – and is outside the scope of this discussion. However, I rejoice in celebrating the holiness of those whom Jesus has saved, as well as the potential for holiness within every human spirit.
I’VE GOT SPIRIT – HOW ABOUT YOU?
This is the new frontier of religion today – the dimension of the spirit.
Recently, atheists have become very vocal about the evils of organized religion. Many Americans today simply call themselves “spiritual, but not religious” as if spirituality meant something different from faith. Regardless, the world’s religions arose in response to the spiritual realm and our human connection with it.
Historically, the Christian Church views human creatures as a blend of physical and spiritual elements, like God Himself – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit and the human spirit are able to share communication through prayer. We can “speak” to God from within ourselves – and He “hears” and “responds.”
This was one of the great theological breakthroughs of the Protestant Reformation – the notion that any believer can communicate directly with God through the Holy Spirit. No intermediary – no priest – is necessary to share a personal relationship with God.
This, to me, is the great point of All Soul’s Day. Each of us is part spirit, or “soul.” And each of us has the potential to be holy – or saintly.
KEEP THE GOOD TIMES ROLLING
So this year on Halloween, enjoy making fun of all the silly superstitions that might otherwise scare us. But don’t just celebrate Halloween and think it’s over. Because the real celebration is the next day.
Instead of acknowledging only “evil spirits” on Halloween, why not also acknowledge divine spirits, too? In celebrating All Saints/All Souls Day, we remember that we ALL have the ability to be saints, and every soul is special. Even yours.
Now THAT’s a reason to have a truly Happy Halloween!
Jeff
