Did you know that Halloween has roots in Christianity?Halloween is basically an abbreviated form of the phrase All Hallows Eve. Hallow, as a verb, means "to make holy". But as an old English noun, it means Saint. Thus, Halloween is really the eve before our All Saints Day.
That part, you may have known.
But did you also know that earlier Christians believed that there was less separation between purgatory and earth at this time - thus increasing the odds that we could see spirits - or ghosts. Therefore, we owe some of the traditional costumes to these beliefs. (We can thank commercialism for Power Rangers, Princesses, Minions, and the like.)
Over time, however, these roots have been lost. For most people, there is almost no connection between All Saints Day and Halloween anymore. In fact, Halloween is probably a day more associated with devils and evil than Holiness.
Which got me thinking ...
What if more people dressed up as Saints? Wouldn't that be great? Can you imagine answering the door, asking "And what are you dressed up as?", only to hear "St. John!" or "St. Therese!"
What if, instead of giving kids their 50th Snickers bar, we handed them a card with a Saint and a prayer on it?
Wouldn't that be refreshing?
God Bless.
