Halloween and the Victory of Christ
The skies are darkening earlier, and the sun is descending in an orange radiance that is only seen this time of year. As hollowed-out pumpkins begin to dot the porches of each neighborhood, leaves change from green to amber and gold and blow around in the cool breeze. They are beautiful, yet they are dying, giving this change of seasons an undercurrent of melancholy. It reminds us that, even in its beauty, this world is broken and enduring death.
For many of us, there also comes a darkness scarier than any spooky story fit for the season: that which troubles our very minds and souls. As daytime shortens, the mental and spiritual fog we experience creates a struggle to function or find any joy in our relationships—even with God. It is easy to fall into despair and for Satan’s lies to take hold. As the darker seasons descend, it is all the more important that we preach to ourselves the light in the darkness. This is why it is appropriate that Halloween falls at such a time as this.
Sponsored
The History of Allhallowtide
Halloween assures us of the ultimate comfort in our times of darkness. Taken together with the rest of Allhallowtide (All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day), it tells us that, though Satan’s forces still rage against us and this world’s ills plague our frail bodies and minds, Christ preserves his people from generation to generation until the consummation of his Kingdom. Satan, sin, and death do not win.
All Hallows’ Eve
Halloween originates as simply the eve of All Saints’ Day, historically called All Hallows’ Day. Therefore, All Hallows’ Eve, or Eve’n, eventually became Halloween. First commemorated in the eighth century A.D., All Saints and All Souls jointly celebrate all of the Christian souls who passed into glory before us.
All Saints, on November 1st, is the oldest and principal feast within Allhallowtide and commemorates those the Church has long recognized by name as spiritual exemplars or martyrs, while All Souls Day, on November 2nd, celebrates all of our fellow Christians who have lived before us and on whose shoulders of faith we stand.
For many years, as the beginning of the commemoration, church bells in European towns tolled on the night of All Hallows’ Eve to remind communities to remember the dead. But if Halloween is simply part of celebrating the dearly departed Christians who have gone before us, why does that first night often feature the monstrous and macabre?
Pagan Influences?
The date of All Saints moved around for many years. In the ninth century, November 1st became its established date in Continental Europe in the lands of the Franks. This eventually became the date throughout western Christendom, including the British Isles.
While the exact relation of influence remains uncertain, as All Saints’ Day’s final date of November 1st coincided in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man with the Celtic pagan harvest festival of Samhain (pronounced SOW-an), held on October 31st. Most of Samhain’s original celebration is lost to history. Still, some historians theorize that, as the observance of All Saints on November 1st made its way to the Celtic lands, it picked up vestiges of that festival such as jack-o’-lanterns (made from turnips!) and scary masks.
If so, these lanterns and masks, along with the huge bonfires lit that night, likely served to ward off evil spirits (at least in the people’s beliefs). Not unlike the fir tree at Christmas and bunnies and eggs at Easter, all assimilated from pre-Christian celebrations, these symbols carry different significances in the light of Christ.
Our Battle is Spiritual
Jack-O’-Lanterns and the Light of Christ
Indeed, the imagery of light—of jack-o’-lanterns—shining forth in the midst of a dark night is powerful. While candles in pumpkins do not ward off evil spirits themselves, they can assure us of the One whose light has come into the world and who will vanquish all evil forever:
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never mastered it.
John 1:5 (REB)
The light of Christ has shown the darkness for what it is—and how limited it is. For this reason, jack-o’-lanterns can also remind us that his light now shines within us, and we are to spread it in our dark world:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16
Ghosts, Goblins, and the Armor of God
But Halloween features more than pumpkins. At Halloween, decorations and costumes surround us, depicting ghosts, goblins, devils, and the like. We get a visual illustration of the actual battle around us in our everyday lives. As St. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6,
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Ephesians 6:11-13
Just as St. Paul does in that passage, Halloween reminds us to be on guard against these forces and robe ourselves in the “armor of God” against them. This is why the Prayer Book gives us prayers to pray for protection against the devil:
Visit this place, O Lord, and drive far from it all snares of the enemy; let your holy angels dwell with us to preserve us in peace; and let your blessing be upon us always; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A collect for Compline, Book of Common Prayer (2019)
I find it fitting that, on Halloween night, these creatures stand at a diminutive three or four feet high and hold the hands of their parents for protection as they beg for candy. While neither an argument for nor against secular Halloween observances, the imagery reminds us that the prince of darkness has been cut down to size, and he is on a short leash in our Christ-conquered world.
Christ is Victorious
Of course, if Halloween only reminded us of the evil that continues to manifest itself in our world, it would be a dismal holiday, indeed. That is why we must remember that it is only the first day—only the first night, really—of Allhallowtide. The Feasts of All Saints and All Souls complete its story. God preserved the Christians before us against the evils, both cosmic and man-made, in the many centuries before us, even those who went to death for their faith. And if he can do it for them, he will surely do it for us. In the words of William How’s classic hymn, “For All the Saints,” sung often in Allhallowtide:
Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might;
William How, “For All the Saints”
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Christ and his Church stand victorious while Satan, the current “ruler of this world” (John 12:31), has become a lame-duck governor. At the cross, death and the devil met their defeat (Revelation 20:14). As our Eucharistic Liturgy assures us,
By his resurrection [Christ] broke the bonds of death, trampling Hell and Satan under his feet.
“Holy Eucharist: Renewed Ancient Text” in Book of Common Prayer (2019)
Christ has crushed the head of the serpent, the prince of pride, and put an end to the destructive force of sin; along with Satan and his followers, death itself will perish in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14). We can, therefore, celebrate in triumph, as St. Paul does, like victors in a battle:
Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?
1 Corinthians 15:55
Our Mighty Fortress
Let Allhallowtide’s full message preach to us of Christ’s ultimate victory over Satan, sin, and death and the inauguration of his Kingdom. We recognize as we see small ghosts and goblins lining the streets that the devil “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Yet we recognize the truth Martin Luther proclaimed in his hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”:
And though this world, with devils filled,
Martin Luther (trans. Frederic Henry Hedge), “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God has willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo! his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.
It is no coincidence that Luther chose October 31st to nail his 95 Theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg in hopes of exorcising the evils perpetrated by Rome at the time. This is the time of year we focus on how Christ preserves his Church in the face of evil for all time.
Halloween is a powerful reminder that forces against us occupy the world. Yet it also can remind us Christ has conquered and is establishing his Kingdom, where Satan will be vanquished and where sin and our current frailty will be no more. “Behold,” Jesus assures us, “I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5).
Photo by Jill Wellington from Pixabay, courtesy of Canva.
The Liturgical Home: All Saints’ Day
Halloween is almost here! I doubt this is news to you. The stores have been filled with hanging witches and zombies for weeks, and nowhere is Halloween on fuller display than in neighborhood yards. Driving through my mom’s neighborhood yesterday, I passed by ghosts hanging from trees and gravestones placed in the grass. There was…
Hymn Guide: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
“A Mighty Fortress” is a defiant hymn of faith in Christ in spite of the world, the flesh, and the Devil. First published in 1529, with lyrics and music by Martin Luther, the hymn quickly became the anthem of the Reformation, reflecting the evangelical appeal to the gospel of Christ even above the church’s authority….
