Halloween

Halloween:  This Wednesday, October 31^st, we’ll see some pumpkins, ghosts, skeletons, etc. around!  And maybe a black cat!  This observance has a pre-Christian past, even though its present name is Christian.  “Hallow e’en” is an ancient form of All Hallows Eve, the day before All Saints Day!  As darkness and cold fell upon the earth, and as plants lost their greenery, the pre-Christian tribes naturally thought of the dead.  Some thought that “people who were dead” came on earth at this time.  We still have remnants of ancient times in the ghosts and skeletons which speak of the people in the land of the dead.  Hence, this time of the year was a good occasion for Christians to remember the deceased in a way more in keeping with the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection.