November 2007 Update

The Secret of Halloween

When I was a child I can’t remember Halloween being celebrated at all. So where has it come from?

I’m tempted to answer from the minds of marketing departments. In the last 5 years our spending on Halloween has increased 10 fold, and you can’t miss it in the shops. It has become a further chance to make money.

Another answer is from . ‘Trick or treating’ as we know it is largely an import from across the Atlantic.

The distant roots of the festival seem to be Celtic and pagan. But for over a thousand years it has been an explicitly Christian festival – this is the largely forgotten secret of Halloween.

The name Halloween is a shortening of ‘All Hallows Eve’, and means the evening before All Hallows day. ‘Hallows’ is in the title of the latest Harry Potter book, and simply means ‘holy’ people or saints. The Bible refers to all Christians as holy/saints, not because they are especially good, but because they’ve had their many sins forgiven. One of the wonderful promises of the Bible is that there’s hope after death, and that when Christians die their souls go to be with God in heaven. All Hallows day was a time to remember this great number of Christians who had died on earth, but are alive in heaven.

For some people Halloween is a bit of fun, for others something to dread with trick or treaters at the door. May I invite you to All Saints Church to discover more about the secret of Halloween – and its message of life after death in heaven.

Andy Saville.