Hebrews 12:1-2
“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 called “Hallowe’en and the 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. Then I saw
an article about an evangelical church group in the US which is celebrating
“Jesus-ween” as an alternative to Hallowe’en. Earlier this week I saw a segment
on CTV, where the host spoke about Hallowe’en being a celebration of the dead,
and All Saints being a celebration of the living. Well, no. It was another
example of not only sloppy journalism, but of people who simply don’t understand
where Hallowe’en even originated - so they have an opinion, based in a lack of
knowledge of anything outside their own personal experience, and try to insert
Jesus into a festival where Jesus has been, one way or another, for hundreds of
years anyway. It’s one more example of a society which has become so
anti-intellectual that no one bothers any more to check whether or not they
actually do know. Social media and the internet are great if we know how to use
them – but not if we do superficial work and try to pass it off as factual.
So, I have a few thoughts as we come to another Hallowe’en. 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! And costumes can
be much more creative these days. My sister as a young woman created a costume
called the Sugar Plum Fairy, from the story of the Nutcracker. A few years ago
one of my granddaughters was a firefighter, one was Xena the Warrior Princess,
and my grandson was a knight. Their choice of character was fascinating. They
had a wonderful time, and so did Grandma.
Second, Hallowe'en is just as Christian a celebration as any of our
other holiday celebrations. Christmas and Easter also incorporate elements of
what we call "pagan" faiths. During Advent we will light candles on a
wreath, but do we know that the wreath was originally a huge wagon wheel hung
from the ceiling of a meeting hall, decorated with evergreens and lit with
candles – and had nothing at all to do with Christianity. Yet it’s now an
integral part of our Advent observations. The Christmas tree was purely a Druidic
symbol. In fact, Hebrew Scripture contains the admonishment never to cut green
trees. The Yule log, and the word Yule, is an old Viking addition. The egg at
Easter was originally a pagan symbol, yes, but it denotes rebirth and new life.
The same holds true of the Easter bunny. In fact, early missionaries to what
are now called the British Isles and the Celtic peoples, saw the similarities
between stories in each faith, and decided to use those existing Celtic Druidic
festivals as a vehicle for explaining and conversion to the new faith.
For the Celtic peoples of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany,
November 1 marked the beginning of a new year and the coming of winter. The
night before the new year in the old calendar, 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 to the earth.
With the rise of Christianity, the festival of Samhain became Hallowmas,
or All Saints, to commemorate the souls of the blessed dead who had been
canonized that year. The night before became known as All Hallows Eve, or
Hollantide. November 2nd became All Souls Day, when prayers were 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 intertwined
in celebrations from October 31st right through to November 5th. -
but in the end Hallowe’en - All Hallows Eve - All Saints, and All Souls became
Christian celebrations and feast days.
During the celebration of Samhain, October 31 and November 1, the Celts
believed that the barrier, the veil, between this world and the next, were at
their thinnest, and the souls of the dead could return to spend time with the
living. Coincidentally, Christians also believed the very same thing. Candles
were placed in windows, to light the way for spirits to return to their homes.
Extra places were set at the dinner table in case a deceased member of the
family came. In order to scare away evil spirits which might also cross over,
people wore masks and costumes, lit bonfires, carved out turnips and rutabagas,
and put a candle inside, as a lamp to light the way.
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?
Now, let's jump back a little in our Christian history. In 835CE, Pope
Gregory IV decided to move the celebration for all the martyrs (all the saints)
from May 13 to November 1. So October 31 became “All Hallows Even” or “All Holy
Evening” and eventually contracted into our word Hallowe’en. It coincided
perfectly with the Celtic celebration of Samhain and the Roman festival of
Pomona. The very strong similarities of the coming of the dark, and the rise of
the light in the spring, were not lost on the early missionaries – and they
used both of those as vehicles for converting the Celtic peoples to the
Christian faith.
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 also retained some elements of the pagan faith, which fit in
with the superstitions of the time. Bear in mind that in the early medieval Christian
church, witches and warlocks, imps, goblins, and evil souls were all part of
belief anyway. Dressing up in costume to scare these 'evil' things became a
part of the whole, from the Christian perspective as well as the Druidic.
The modern festival of Day of the Dead 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. All
Souls Day in Central and South American churches became the Day of the Dead,
and it 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 cultures, that to start
eliminating any one of them is a foolish and useless exercise. We cannot
separate our Christian faith and its non-Christian roots, and I don’t think we
should. I think we need learn about them, and look at them in their context.
And we can look at the Christian meaning 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.
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 originator and
perfecter of our faith. By understanding the origins of Hallowe'en, we also 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. See the
history for what it was, and don’t try to create a new thing when we don’t know
the origins. We don’t need those excesses demonstrated in Hollywood movies, of
course not, but let’s not take the fun out of our life, and out of our faith,
because we are afraid of something which really holds no threat at all. Remember
that those carved and lit pumpkins are the remnant of a belief in lighting the
way; they are to dispel the darkness, banish fears and give courage and faith
when all seems dark. So – let’s enjoy knowing our history, and having some fun
too.
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