29/10/2026
The way Halloween has been embraced by Aussies in recent years is an interesting phenomenon. When I was at school, very few of us dressed up or went trick-or-treating. Most mocked it as little more than a silly American holiday. Many others seemed to want nothing to do with it due to its focus on themes such as death or the occult.
Today, for good or for ill, more and more people seem to be embracing Halloween. The shops are filled with spooky decorations, and the 31st of October will see kids dressing up and heading out in search of lollies.
However, traditionally, the focus at this time of year would fall not on the 31st of October but on the 1st of November, when the Church would celebrate All Saints’ Day.
The purpose of this “holy day” is to remember those Christians who have died and attained heaven. Precisely what those commemorations involve depends on which Christian tradition you are looking at. However, if there is a central truth that all who celebrate share, it is this: Those who have departed this life to be with Christ are very much alive! It was a day to focus on heaven, not hell. A day to be inspired by those who followed Jesus, not to play around with spooky or evil things that take us away from Jesus.
From early in the history of the Church, congregations held days of commemoration for those from their fellowships who had been martyred. They would look to the examples of these people who held firm to their faith in the face of the most extreme opposition. Over time, this practice grew and grew until, in the 9th century, Pope Gregory IV declared that the 1st of November be set aside to remember all those in heaven.
The purpose of this was that Christians still in this world might be spurred on to hold firm to their faith in the assurance that one day they would join the great multitude of those in heaven. Hence, Anglicans traditionally pray for God to grant us “grace so to follow thy blessed Saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those unspeakable joys, which thou hast prepared for them that unfeignedly love thee”.
How does this fit with Halloween?
First, it became a common practice for believers to set the day before certain holy days aside, devoting the day to prayer and preparation for the celebration. This is why, even today, we mark Christmas Eve even though Christmas Day is the focal point.
The other is that All Saints’ Day is also known as All Hallows’ Day. To Hallow something is to count it as holy; hence, in the Lord’s Prayer, we pray that God might ‘hallow’ his name. And so, to prepare, we needed an All Hallow’s Eve, or Halloween.
I am not sure exactly where the modern traditions that will be on display early next week came from. Theories include everything from old pagan festivals to young thrill seekers performing door-to-door poetry recitals in 16th-century England (those crazy Brits).
What I am sure about is that it seems a pretty helpful practice to remember the lives and the example of faith of those who have completed the race before us.
And as we find ourselves surrounded by all things spooky (even if only in pantomime form), I will be glad for the reminder that spooky and death do not have the final say. For Jesus himself died in order to free us from all that is spooky and evil. He rose to new life to win an eternity for us that is far better than any of that stuff! And because this is true, those who have died trusting in Christ are more alive than anyone else!
