Halloween is back! Well sort of. There will not be a Trunk or Treat event at the church this year. Due to COVID restrictions we aren’t allowed to have more than 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors. However, I think it’s always a good idea to offer a review of this dark holiday and why we even touch it with a ten foot pole.
There are many customs that surround Halloween, but let’s just start with the name itself. The Christian Holiday of All Saints Day is November 1. The day before All Saints Day would be October 31st. Another name for the day before a holiday is the “eve” of that holiday. Like Christmas Eve being the the day before Christmas. So also, if another name for All Saints Day is All Hallows Day, then the day before All Hallows Day would be All Hallows Eve – OR shmush it all together and you get Halloween. This doesn’t exactly mean that the Christian holiday came before the pagan one. There was a Celtic new year festival called Samhain that fell on November 1. Sometime in the 9th century the Christian church tried to redirect the Celts and the neighboring peoples to a Christian celebration.
In the Bible class we walk through other traditions, but one last one that I would like bring up in the post is the concept of ghosts. Our God tells us in the book of Hebrews that a man is destined to die once and then face the judgment. There is no hanging around an old house, or a graveyard, or anywhere else for that matter. You are judged and then it’s off to heaven or hell. However, there are spiritual beings – namely angels and demons (bad angels) – who are very real. I have never – to my knowledge – had a run in with one of these spiritual beings, and I am great with that. However, it happens. There was an excellent video series last week on the topic of demons from Time of Grace. I highly recommend to check it out. I shared part of the episode when a demon communicated with a few kids through an Ouija board. Remember, no matter how scary or powerful demon may be, they don’t hold a candle to your almighty (that means no limits) God.
Want to hear more? Watch this week’s Bible class on Halloween.
Please click HERE for the Bible class slides.