the celebration of All Hallows eve (oct 31), all saints day (Nov 1) and all souls day (nov 2)
It’s a tough question, one that I discovered to be a great debate in the Christian community. When I started up my car yesterday (October 31st), Christmas music blasted out my radio. The Christian station claimed that they were attempting to brighten my day and focus me on life instead of death on such a gloomy day. I frowned. Personally, I love Halloween. It gives me a great excuse to carve pumpkins with my boyfriend, have a party with my friends, and see my excited nephews dressed in their skeleton and pirate costumes. It did not seem like a gloomy day to me.
I suppose that the Christian radio was basing their claim on the fact that Halloween used to be the day that pagans thought the dead came back to haunt the people unless they lit their hearths with the new fire blessed by the druids [1]. However, in my opinion that doesn’t make Halloween inherently evil. It is not as if the adults and children are worshiping the pagan gods by celebrating Halloween.
In Catholicism, today (November 1st) is called All Saints Day, a feast day where we celebrate the life and death of the many martyrs for Christ [1]. And this month in the Church Liturgical year is the last month before the start of the new year on November 27th [2]. We are called to remember the Saints and the people who have died, to think about our own death, consider how we can do better as Christians, and ponder upon the Second Coming of Christ [1]. As I researched this Catholic feast day, the history of Halloween (or All Hallows’ Eve, the eve of the celebration of hallowed or saintly people) came up often, and I began to wonder why the Christian radio feared to think about death. Or why Christians in general feared Halloween, as if the devil himself would enter into anyone who celebrates this holiday.
Do we not have the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit? Do we not know where we are going when we die? If we will be worshipping Jesus for all of eternity, then doesn’t that make death sacred and not something to be feared? Is the devil more powerful than the God that dwells in and among us?
It seemed to me that the Christmas music blasting out of the Christian radio was equivalent to people sticking their fingers in their ears and yelling ‘la la la’ to the thought of death. We Christians should always seek to sanctify life in honor of God, but like the many Saints martyred on this day, we must also remember that the grave holds no power over us and that we should not be afraid of that which Jesus won the Victory against. I invite you my readers to explore the life and death of Christ, of the Saints who mirrored Him, to consider your own life, and think about the Second Coming of Christ this month as we prepare to celebrate Christmas.
Happy Saints day.
Growing Apologist 