Devotion - Monday, October 31

A weekend away has left me feeling as if today is a day to rest and recuperate, but I look at the calendar and realize it is Halloween. I wonder if you all will rest this evening,or if you will be out in force, reveling in the day.

Halloween is shunned by some in the Christian community. It is seen as an inappropriate nod to the things demonic. We do tend to see more costumes involving witches than resurrected saints. There are all sorts of stories on how the tradition grew and expanded. I am enough of a cynic to believe that its current popularity in American culture has more to do with marketability. Thanksgiving has lost out to "the first shopping day for Christmas," so Halloween is the event you can sell. Folks are decorating for Christmas by the last week in November, but there would be time to put up one set of decorations for October 31, take them down, and get ready for Santa's and snow globes.

Halloween is All Hallow's Eve. It falls on October 31, the day before All Saints' Day. On All Saints we remember and honor all those who have passed, giving thanks for their presence among us and seeking their aid in our continued pilgrimage. There is a passing reference in the Resurrection narratives to the graves opening and the saints mingling among God's people. While this is intended as a reinforcement of witnessing to the faith, some interpret it as ghoulish warnings to those who are unfaithful.

There was no "Halloween" in Martin Luther's day. All Saints' Day was (still is) a day of holy obligation, so all the faithful would have made their way to worship on that day. This made the evening of October 31 the perfect day for Luther to post a notice on the door of the Church, that he wanted to start a debate about the practices of the Pope. Thus, October 31 is observed among Lutherans as Reformation Day.

Enjoy your day. If you are planning an evening's activity, have fun. It is a day for frivolities, not for serious evangelism, but you might store away a few thoughts about the origins of this day and be prepared to remind your fellow party-goers that tomorrow is All Saints, and to encourage them to follow up their day of fright and screams with a day of prayerful remembrance.