Before there was “Halloween”, there was “All Hallows’ Eve” — and All Saints Day. For hundreds of years, before jack-o-lanterns and zombies and candy corn, Christians around the world have remembered the dead, the saints, the cloud of witnesses that have gone before us.
Halloween comes from the same root word as “hallowed” or “halo”, meaning holy. It’s a good time to remember how holy life is, even in a world where there are wars and pandemics.
Liturgical Christians around the world honor “all saints day” by reciting the names of the holy saints of God throughout the centuries.
Rather than glorifying death, Halloween is a time we can celebrate life, remembering the lives of our loved ones and the heroes of the faith. The dead can inspire the living to truly live.
While we don’t need more gore and blood… there’s something sweet about being able to laugh at death and fear and remind ourselves that there is something more powerful than death itself.
That’s something Halloween gives us permission to do, especially in light of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. We know the dead can rise again and that death has lost its sting.
On Halloween, one of my favorite things to do is bring out some photos of dead people, saints, loved ones, heroes of the faith. And I talk to our kids about what Halloween can really mean.
It’s not about zombies, but it IS about the living dead. Just as Jesus rose from the dead, so can we.So, this Halloween, let’s find some creative ways to remember that death doesn’t win… and let us remember those who have passed on to the other side.
Be sure to remember how holy – how “hallowed” – life is.
Embrace those you love, count the things you have to be thankful for… and remember that people can rise from the dead…
Oh death, Thou art dead!Happy Halloween.
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