It's the time of year — tradition says — when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is lifted. That traditional belief has morphed over the centuries into the spooky and secular celebration of Halloween. But one day later, Christians in many countries around the world are celebrating All Saints' Day on Friday, a sombre and spiritual day in the church's liturgical calendar that shares pagan roots with Halloween.
The word “Halloween” derives from “All Hallows Eve,” which means the eve of All Saints' Day, a holiday that has also been known as All Hallows. It honours martyrs and saints — those who were hallowed, or deemed holy — a tradition begun by the Roman Catholic church in the early medieval period. Scholars believe that the spectral aspects of Halloween emerged primarily from Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival that occurred during the harvest season, said Morgan Shipley, a professor of religious studies at Michigan State University in East Lansing. It was a time when people were “transitioning from harvest and bounty and the fullness of summer to the desolation of winter,” he said. “And it was said that in this time the veil between the physical, material human world and the spiritual world essentially dissipates away.” Some of the spirits or spectral beings were viewed as demonic in nature, and bonfires became a way to ward them away, or were used in divination by druid priests and priestesses when the veil between the material and spiritual world broke down, he said. As Christianity spread, many pagan rituals were adapted to the new faith to be more attractive to converts. The period of reflecting on the dead continues though November 2, which is All Souls' Day.
All Saints' Day Traditions Around the World
All Saints' Day is celebrated in many countries around the world, and each country has its own unique traditions. In Poland, it is one of the most important days of the year. Many travel back to their family homes to gather with those still living and reflect on those who have left them. So many people observe the holiday that cemeteries are transformed into flickering carpets of light so impressive that even the most secular cannot help but feel moved. Cities including Warsaw and Krakow run many additional tram and bus lines to ferry the huge numbers to — and between — cemeteries. While the reflections are mostly personal, people also leave candles at the graves of national heroes. So many people visit cemeteries at the same time that the celebration takes on a communal quality. It has become so much part of the wider culture in Poland that people place candles in the Jewish and Muslim cemeteries as well.
In the Philippines, millions trooped to cemeteries across the country Friday to observe the annual tradition, visiting tombs of their loved ones. Thousands were seen visiting and offering flowers and candles to be placed at the graves of their deceased loved ones at the Manila North Cemetery in the capital. “Even if I'm old, I still visit the tombs of my relatives, especially my husband's, during All Saints' Day. As long as I can walk, I will visit him,” said Manila resident Dory Oliquino. All Saints' Day has been a family reunion for many Filipinos, where they keep vigil at the tombs. “All Saints' Day is the day we celebrate and remember our departed loved ones, so that even if they are gone our memories with them would still be fresh on our minds,” said Luis Montibon.
In Italy, people traditionally visit cemeteries to pay tribute to deceased family members on All Souls' Day, lighting candles or laying flowers. Pope Francis will visit Rome's third-largest cemetery, the Laurentino Cemetery, to celebrate Mass and lead prayers for the dead. The pope visited the same cemetery in 2018, stopping to pray in an area dedicated to fetuses.
The Rise of Halloween and its Impact on All Saints' Day
In recent years as the holiday approaches, there are discussions about Halloween and its compatibility with Christian beliefs in the afterlife. Poles began to celebrate Halloween after the fall of communism in 1989, but some worry that the foreign cultural import could eventual dilute the tradition of All Saints' Day. Some Catholics worry that it also might be sinful due to allusions to devils and ghosts. Pushing back, some church groups have begun holding alternative events for All Saints' Day. This week, a church group organised the 3rd All Saints' Ball in the Polish town of Plock, according to a Catholic news site, Niedziela — meaning Sunday — which reported that “the children came dressed as saints and blessed of the Catholic Church and as angels.”
A Time for Reflection: How We Remember Those Who Have Passed
On this All Saints’ Day, these words to a chorus from a song, “Angels Among Us,” performed by Alabama, come to mind. “Oh, I believe there are angels among us/ Sent down to us from somewhere up above./ They come to you and me in our darkest hours/ To show us how to live, to teach us how to give/ To guide us with the light of love.” According to Encyclopedia Britannica, it is a day to commemorate “all the saints of the church both known and unknown. It is part of a three-day triduum, dedicated to remembering the dead, beginning with Halloween (Oct. 31) and followed by All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2).” In many Western churches, including the church I am serving, Brighton Presbyterian, we will remember our dearly departed from the past year on All Saints' Sunday (Nov. 3).
From the time I was a little boy and first heard stories about my Grandma Katrick and Grandpa Wright, I have felt the steady stream of their love coming from heaven above. I’d look up through endless clear blue skies by day and the twinkle of hundreds and thousands of stars by night and imagine them shining the light of their wisdom and guidance upon me. There were “Angels Among Us” long before Don Goodman and Becky Hobbs were inspired to write down the lyrics to their song. Nowadays, when my saints come marching in, the parade is led by my mother, father and sister Susan. Their radiance is nothing short of angelic, especially during my darkest and most difficult hours. When we worship at Brighton this Sunday, two of our sainted members, the Rev. Bill and Dottie Briggs, will be with us in spirit. As a UCC pastor with privilege of call, Bill was my friend and mentor in the Muskingum Valley Presbytery. And Dottie was my spiritual director as I took first steps to be trained in spiritual direction. These are but a few of a host of dear ones I’ve loved and lost during my lifetime. I can still see their faces and hear their gentle voices, especially during the night, when they speak to me in my dreams.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin than clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2.
If a cloud passes over you today, take a few moments and a couple of deep breaths to stop and look up. It may very well be the vehicle that is carrying your beloved sent from somewhere up above, showing you how to live and teaching you how to give through the grace, hope-filled and universal love of Christ who is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
