Hallowmas: Christian Observances

By Nicole Gordine (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

There is a great deal of emphasis these days, especially in Evangelical circles, upon the purported pagan origins of the Autumn holidays. There is proportionately little recognition, in most Christian circles, upon the centuries old Christian holidays observed during what used to be called “Hallowmas” (Oct. 31-Nov.2). 

For those who are unaware, the Christian holidays of All Saints and All Souls occur on November 1 and November 2, respectively. All Saints Day used to be called "All Hallows" since "hallow" means "holy".  Naturally, All Saints Day (All Hallows Day), like Christmas and other Christian holidays, has an eve: "All Hallows Eve".

These holidays rest squarely in the Christian concept of the Communion of the Saints which holds that all Christians, everywhere and from every time, are one as the body of Christ.

After long deliberation, I’ve elected not to address the question of whether Halloween should be regarded as non-Christian, especially since this has been done so thoroughly and well elsewhere, such as here (click on "What's New and Current" and then "All Hallows and Day of the Dead")and  here.  Suffice it to say that there is no historical connection between the Feasts of All Saints/ All Souls and Samhain, other than the fact that the observance of All Saints was moved to the same time of year as Samhain in the 800s. This, of course, occurred hundreds of years after the setting aside of a feast for all Saints had begun.  Certainly, like Christmas and Easter, Hallowmas intercepted some practices of  then-contemporary pagan observances.  That said, in spite of my decision not to address the question of whether Christians ought celebrate Halloween, I would be remiss if, as a writer/blogger focused upon the liturgical year, I failed to address this season.  A brief treatment follows:

Brief History/Description of the Observances:

Fra Angelico, 15th C  PD-US

At the time of the legalization of the Church in 313, there was already, in many areas, an established tradition of observing a common feast celebrating all Christian martyrs. There were too many of victims of the persecutions to allow each to have his or her own day of remembrance, particularly since many of them had died in collective groups. The dates of observance for this common feast of all martyrs varied, but November 1 was finally established as the official date in the mid 800s. From that time forward, the Feast of All Saints has been celebrated on November 1, with its eve falling on October 31.

The day following All Saints, Nov 2, has been established as the Feast of All Souls.  In the Roman Catholic Church, this is a day for particular focus upon the offering of prayers and masses for the souls in Purgatory.  Among Anglicans, it is known as the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed. Traditional Protestant churches, while they do not embrace the doctrine of Purgatory, have a tradition on All Saints’ Sunday of remembering those faithful departed who died in the previous year. Anglicans, many of whom reject belief in Purgatory in favor of beliefs centered on an Intermediate State, or Paradise, offer prayers for the departed during this time, as always. The Christian practice of offering of prayers for the dead is an ancient one, with references to it in ancient liturgies and in inscriptions on the walls of the catacombs. In medieval times, children would go "a-souling". They went door to door collecting treats (soul cakes) in exchange for promises to pray for the dead of the household. Some may be familiar with Sting's modern version of the song which harkens back to this practice.

“Of course I pray for the dead. The action is so spontaneous, so all but inevitable, that only the most compulsive theological case against it would deter me. And I hardly know how the rest of my prayers would survive if those for the dead were forbidden. At our age, the majority of those we love best are dead. What sort of intercourse with God could I have if what I love best were unmentionable to him?”~C.S. Lewis

(Scroll down to the music player on the right sidebar and click the pause button to quiet the blog's background music while viewing.)

How much different our modern day trick-or-treating tradition would be if children prayed for the occupants of each house as they did in early times as noted in the song that Sting shares with us above.

"God bless the master of this house
And the mistress also
And all the little children
that round your table grow

The cattle in your stable
The dogs at your front door
And all that dwell within your gates
We'll wish you ten times more"

In addition to the remembrances of loved ones "whom we love but see no more", there is a focus upon the lives and example of those "heroes of the church" which we refer to as Saints.

Christian Observances of the Season:

*  Carve a pumpkin with Christian images or symbols. Visit Catholic Cuisine for a host of pictures and links for ideas. There are many ideas here that both Catholics and Protestants will find useful.

*  Dress as a favorite Bible character or Saint (for Protestants: hero of the Church) and tell their stories. Here are some absolutely wonderful ideas.

*An absolutely wonderful, simple family craft for All Souls is here.

Thanks Tiffany, for a great idea!

*  If your family participates in Trick-or-Treating, encourage children to offer a silent prayer for the family residing in each home that is visited.

* Create an arrangement of photos of loved ones who have passed on. Tell favorite stories about them. It is important for children to know of those who have gone before them.

*  Christian homes must have a no tolerance policy for costumes that are not God honoring including the sexualized costumes that seem so popular today. Church All Saints festivals are an excellent avenue for avoiding exposure to these.

*  There is no place in Christian life for evil, the occult, or the demonic. The Saints were beacons of light and holiness in their earthly lives.  We are blessed with Christian hope in the next life, through Our Lord Jesus Christ, for ourselves and those whom we love. Hallowmas is about facing "last things" in holiness, light, and hope in Christ.

Jakub Schikaneder [Public domain, Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

...Test everything.  Hold on to the good. ~1 Thess. 5:21

Eternal rest grant them, O Lord

And let light perpetual shine upon them.

Pax Christi,
~Michelle

Linked with:
Walk With Him Wednesdays, God-Bumps and God-Incidences, Playdates with God
and

The Annual Christian Harvest Wars: Sowing Seeds of Understanding

Rose Hips
By Hedwig Storch (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Virtually every person alive has been touched by death.  Having had an abundant share of experience with death in my own life, I have had plenty of opportunity to observe the reactions of people to it.  They certainly vary.  Some people are rather stoic and insist that death must be whisked away quickly and completely, and not dwelt upon.  Others choose, or are at least intuitively compelled, to live through, rather than "get over" grief.

Christian views vary, in much the same way, about the October holidays.

Archaeological and historical evidence teach us that people and cultures have always been fascinated by death and dying.  The perennial human question, "What happens after we die?" reappers throughout the history of humankind.  Cultures in every time period through the ages seem to have come up with some sort of communal answer, even if individuals continues to wonder if it was correct.  Cultures always develop some sort of remembrance that ties the dead to their loved ones.

Of course, as Christians we know that because of the death and resurrection of one man, those questions are answered.  Nevertheless, loved ones who die are still gone from us; we still feel their loss.  

Benjamin D. Esham / Wikimedia Commons [CC-BY-SA-3.0-us
 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons

As the leaves begin to turn and the days gradually lengthen, we are approaching the transition from Fall to Winter.  The leaves will fall; the final harvests will be brought in, and we will prepare for the long sleep of winter.  This is the time of year when our thoughts naturally turn to death and dying.  

The Church has set aside key days in this period for a remembrance of those who have died and for the contemplation of our own deaths. In the Western church,  All Saints Day, on Novemember 1, and for some Christians, All Soul's Day on November 2, are the key celebrations.  Of course, like all holy days, All Saints has an eve.  All Saints Eve falls on October 31.

There are pagan celebrations associated with these days as well.  Of course there are; we live in community and the development of human observance is impacted by that which went before.  Some Christians reject any observance which carries some vestige of association to a prior practice; others recognize the Christian transformation of a prior non-Christian practices as the triumph of Jesus over death and all things worldly.

Many Christians, especially lately, prefer to call the celebrations at this time of year "Harvest Festivals".  I have found rather interesting the Christian push over the last 40 or so,  to shift the focus of the October celebrations from the winter sleep of the fields to the harvest.  After all, the harvest of the final fruits of earthly plantings is a great thing, but, the winter death of temporal things means rebirth into the eternal. Whether we like it or not, death is part of life.  Death for Christians means life eternal.  I'm not sure why we would want to limit our focus to the last fruits of Eathly life, when we could include the first fruits of death.

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firsfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 
 ~1 Corinthians 15: 22-23

I don't believe that there is much healthy about immersing ourselves in death, but neither do I believe that it is healthy to entirely ignore it either.  The church calendar is a cyclical experience of all things human and eternal.  It touches every part of the human experience of life and death, and leads us from the human to the divine.

By Photo (c)2006 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man) (Own work (Own Picture))
 [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)],
 via Wikimedia Commons

We need not be afraid of death, because Our Lord has triumphed over it, but that does not mean that it does not impact us emotionally.  It also does not preclude the fact that when faced with the harsh reality of death, we may suddenly have an intense need for confirmation of what we have always believed about it.  In those days which span the gulf between the end of October and the beginning of November, time has been set aside by the church for us to contemplate these things, celebrate those who have gone before us, prepare for our certain entry through the passage they have traversed, and give thanks for our assurance, in Christ, of hope.

We can ignore these things, because non-Christians before us have held celebrations at this time of year that are not infused with beauty and truth, or we can use them to strengthen our Christian walk and heal our souls.

I choose the latter.  At the same time, the great annual Fall challenge is to avoid the annual Christian divide between those that celebrate All Hallows and those who do not.  Unfortunately, the Holy Days that are intended to give us hope and healing can also serve to divide us from our brothers and sisters in Christ.  In a year that is already infused with tension and division due to the upcoming election, I hope that we can strive to avoid this fracture in the Christian community.  At the least, we can achieve understanding of and respect for the views and practices of other Christians.  I hope that we can use this time of hope and healing to sow unity among the living.

 Don't miss a post:

Follow @LiturgicalTime

Want free delivery to your email box?  Enter your email address to subscribe:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Subscribe in a reader

Linked with:
EOA @ Deep Roots and Home, Wise Woman, God-Bumps and God-Incidences,
Women Living Well Wednesdays, Walk with Him Wednesdays, Thought Provoking Thursday,
Pieces of Amy

and