We see it each year...as October comes to a close...the laughter of children dressing up in their favorite costumes, candies and other treats being passed out to others on a particular night, even adults finding entertainment wearing costumes to attend a "Halloween Party" in honor of this festive occasion.
The famous phrase heard around the world..."Trick or Treat".
Somewhere between our fall and winter seasons, all of us seem to join in a celebration of some type...for our daily lives are about to be interrupted...winter is close at hand.
Halloween, a time to celebrate the harvest on how God has blessed us, mixed with superstition that we hope will aid us through the long and cold winter months.
The word "Halloween" actually derives from the "hills and dales" of Scotland. Originally translated "All-Hallow's Evening, the word refers to...the night before All Hallow's Day.
All Hallow's Day is of the Old English origin, and refers to the day designated by the Roman Catholic Church as a day to take time and honor Saints recognized by the Church itself. The first written writings of this dates back to the year 1556.
From a Christian perspective, we often hear the "evils" of Halloween's pagan roots...making it awkward to join in the fun-filled celebration with the thought of some type of "Evil Monster" as the author of this event.
1. Halloween had its birth in agriculture. It was a time to take inventory of the produce and animals for meat you have raised throughout the spring and summer in preparation for what lies ahead...the upcoming cold months of winter (particularly true in the northern hemispheres).
2. As with many ancient and agricultural societies, the need for supernatural or Divine help was of an utmost necessity for the long and cold winter months that lie ahead. In fact, at different intervals of history in the early and middle ages, death from the barrenness of winter could claim as high as 50% of a village population. People would often struggle during the winter from the sheer coldness, the frailty of one's life, a lack of balanced diet (especially vegetables which could promote scurvy), and the confinement of being indoors which had potentials of spreading virus and infection within the enclosed structures.
3.The "Celts" of Ireland, the English, the Scots, numerous Germanic tribes, the Romans, and other sects of northern Europe would participate in some type of "fall festival" that we have come to know as..."Halloween". With summer now officially over, winter in the the early and middle ages had a perception of a very dark and cold season, a season of human deaths...both the young and the old, and there was very little to do.
So, what were they thinking about?...
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