“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
This sermon is dedicated to my Dad, Rev. Russell Vickers, who died at the end of January 2004. In going through Dad’s sermons, I found one specifically about Hallowe'en, All Hallows and All Saints. The sermon is also dedicated to my mother, Kay Vickers, whose birthday was November 1, All Saints Day.
The sermon grew out of several things. Back in 2004, I saw an item in the news about one family which was not celebrating Hallowe'en because they considered it 'un-Christian' - they claimed dressing up as witches and goblins is a 'pagan' thing, not suitable for Christians. I was a little bemused, but then a couple of days later overheard a conversation at the check-out counter in the grocery store, about the non-Christian aspects of Hallowe'en. Just recently I saw an article about an evangelical church group in the US which is celebrating “Jesus-ween” as an alternative to Hallowe’en. It was clear to me that people simply don’t understand where Hallowe’en even originated - so they try to put Jesus into a festival where Jesus has been for hundreds of years anyway.
So, I have two thoughts to begin with - and of course a few more after that. First, in our scramble to be 'right', without even knowing the background of where our holidays come from, we can surely suck a lot of the joy out of life. To me, life would be flat and stale without at least one witch on a broomstick, or a ghost or small-sized devil out collecting plunder at the door! A couple of years ago one of my grandchildren was a firefighter, one was Xena, the Warrior Princess, and one was a knight. They had a wonderful time, and so did their Grandma.
Second, Hallowe'en is as Christian a celebration as any of the other observations. Christmas and Easter also incorporate elements of what we call "pagan" faiths. The Advent wreath was originally a huge wagon wheel hung from the ceiling of a meeting hall, decorated with evergreens and lit with candles. The egg at Easter is a pagan symbol, yes, but it denotes rebirth and new life. The early missionaries to what is now the British Isles used existing celebrations extensively. and drew parallels with Christianity.
Hallowe'en's origins go back to the ancient Celtic tribes of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany. For the Celts, November 1 marked the beginning of a new year and the coming of winter. The night before the new year, they celebrated the festival of Samhain (Saween), in which the god of the earth died, to be reborn in the spring when new life returned. At the spring solstice, Beltane, the god rose again, the days lengthened, and life returned.
With the rise of Christianity, Samhain was changed to Hallowmas, or All Saints, to commemorate the souls of the blessed dead who had been canonized that year, so the night before became known as All Hallows Eve, or Hollantide. November 2nd became All Souls Day, when prayers were to be offered to the souls of all departed and those who were waiting in Purgatory for entry into Heaven. Throughout the centuries, pagan and Christian beliefs intertwine in celebrations from Oct 31st through November 5th. - but in the end Hallowe’en - or All Hallows and All Saints, became Christian celebrations.
During this festival of Samhain, the Celts believed that the barriers between this world and the other were at their most thin, hence the souls of the dead could return to mingle with the living. Christians at the time also believed this. Candles were placed in windows, to light the way for the spirits to return to their homes. An extra place was set at the table in case the spirit came. And in order to scare away any evil spirits, people wore masks and costumes, lit bonfires, carved out turnips and rutabagas, then put a light inside.
When the Romans conquered the Celts, they added their own touches to the Samhain festival; they made centerpieces out of apples and nuts for Pomona, the Roman goddess of the orchards. They also bobbed for apples and drank cider. Sound familiar?
Let's jump back a little in our Christian history. In 835, Pope Gregory IV decided to move the celebration for all the martyrs (later all the saints) from May 13 to November 1. The name “All Hallows Even” or 'all holy evening’ was contracted into our more modern word Hallowe’en. It coincided perfectly with the Celtic celebration of Samhain and the Roman festival of Pomona - and the similarities of the coming of the dark, and the rise of the light in the spring, were not lost on the early missionaries.
On November 2, the Church celebrates All Souls Day. These were feast days in the church, and their purpose was to remember those who have died, whether they were officially recognized by the Church as saints or not. It is a celebration of the 'communion of saints,' which reminds us that the Church is not bound by space or time. But while the church creatively substituted its own celebration, it did also incorporate some elements of the pagan faith, but elements which fit in with the superstitions of the time. Bear in mind that in the early church, witches and warlocks, imps, goblins, and evil souls were all part of the lore. Dressing up
in costume to scare these 'evil' things became a part of the whole, from the Christian perspective as well.
The modern view of death derives in part from Pre-Hispanic times, notably the Aztecs, who believed that after a person died, his/her soul would pass through nine levels prior to their final destination, Mictlan - the place of the dead. They also believed that a person's destiny was founded at birth and that the soul of that person was dependent on the type of death rather than the type of life led by that person. How a person died would also determine what region they would go to. Once they arrived in their specific region a person's soul would either await
transformation or linger, awaiting the next destiny. The tenth month of the Aztec calendar included a great feast for dead adults. The Spanish Conquest of 1521 brought about the fusion of Catholic attitudes and indigenous beliefs. The Day of the Dead, or All Souls Day, is a result of amalgamation of Pre-Spanish Indian ritual beliefs and the imposed ritual and dogma of the Catholic church.
So the three days - Hallowe'en, All Saints and All Souls - are just enough of a mishmash of different pieces of history and elements of, that to eliminate any one of them is a foolish and useless exercise. We cannot separate our Christian faith and its non-Christian roots.
But we can look at the Christian meaning that was once given to Hallowe'en - that we are an imperishable community from all across the ages. Hallowe'en in its Christian meaning is a source of courage and strength. Do we find it hard to stand up for justice, fair treatment, truth? Let's not forget that we are not the first generation of people to face such issues. Others have walked this same road in some way, in another time, and with the grace of God have come through it.
In the mid twentieth century, there was a great revolution in Hungary. Crowds gathered in the square named for the poet Sandov Petofi, who in 1848 launched the revolution against the Hapsburg monarch. A voice in the crowd shouted out "we vow we can never be slaves" - a line from one of his poems. Two hundred thousand marched to the statue of Josef Bem, hero of 1848 who fought for freedom. Surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, they found courage.
In my mind, there is even a parallel between a belief in a God of the earth who dies in the fall, only to rise again in the spring. Yes, we believe Jesus rose on the third day - but once again, the parallels were not lost on the early missionaries either. They creatively found a way to use existing practices in the new country, to explain Christianity and make new converts.
Finally, I want to tell a story of a little boy named Linus, from the Peanuts comic strip. Linus believes in a strange hybrid of a jack-o-lantern, Santa Claus and prophetic saintly God-character named "The Great Pumpkin." Linus believes the Great Pumpkin will arise from the most sincere Pumpkin Patch on Halloween night and deliver toys to all the true believing children. Of course, Linus actually wants to be in the garden when the benevolent giver of Halloween toys rises from
among the pumpkins. What's important, I think, is that Linus believes. He's never seen the Pumpkin, yet he believes that this saintly and benevolent character exists - he goes into the Pumpkin Patch every year, hopeful - and never gives up.
We have those saints who have gone before, to dispel the darkness and light the way - call them Great Pumpkins if you like - they light the way and they help us to keep in our sight the light of the world, the author and perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ. By understanding the origins of Hallowe'en, we find ourselves invited into the grandeur of the community of the cloud of witnesses which will never perish and which is never touched by death.
The early Christians, first dispersed by fear and the loss of Jesus, soon found themselves coming together again, a community of living saints bound by faith and a vision - a light in the darkness, the light of faith and commitment. When we come together as a community - yes, to celebrate Hallowe'en or All Hallows, and All Saints, we remember that we are surrounded here in this community, in this church, by the witness of those who have gone before, who support us unseen.
And let’s enjoy the fun and frolic of Hallowe’en, the little faces at the door, the funny costumes - and the joy children get from it. Let’s not try to put meanings into it which were never there, except perhaps in Hollywood movies. Let’s not take the fun out of life, and out of our faith, because we are afraid of something which really holds no threat at all. ... and remember when you carve and light your pumpkins, that they are there to light the way and dispel the darkness, banish fears and give courage and faith.
Sources:
1. “Hallowe’en and the Saints” a sermon by Rev. Russell K. Vickers
2. “Great Pumpkins! Hallowe’en and the Church” (or How to Take All the Fun out of Life). A sermon by Rev. Fran Ota, October 2004.
Original paper published in the book “Treat or Trick: Hallowe’en in a Globalising World” , Cambridge Scholars Press, 2007.
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