, s t s o h G
Gobli ns and
Saints By Kevin Head, Ph.D.
[InGoodFaith] Ghosts, goblins, and an assortment of other creatures will be invading our communities later this month, as Halloween will be here before we know it. In our culture, October 31 is an evening set aside as a fun time for children to dress up, play practical jokes, and collect pounds and pounds of candy that will fill their stomachs, cause numerous cavities, and will be
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North Fulton Family Life | OCTOBER 2017
stolen by their parents when the children are not looking. Though Americans are very familiar with this occasion, can you imagine what visitors from another culture might think of our Halloween activities? It might take a lot of explaining for such visitors to understand that this holiday has its roots in Christian history as long as 1,200 years ago. In 835, Pope Gregory IV established November 1 as a holy day for the church to remember the many martyrs who had died for the Christian faith in preceding years. This day was commemorated as All Saints Day and was established as a holy day for the Christian community. The evening before All Saints Day then became known as All Saints Eve or Halloween — the eve before the holy (“hallowed”) day. It was believed by many people that evil spirits would come out on the evening before this holy day, so young pranksters began the practice of dressing up like these evil spirits to
scare people into giving them treats. This practice developed into the contemporary cultural phenomenon we know as Halloween. In the midst of all the fun and candy that now captures the essence of Halloween, we in the church have often forgotten the true meaning of All Saints Day. This significant time gives us an opportunity to pause and remember that we have the freedom and the privilege of worship because many people willingly sacrificed their own lives, so that the Christian faith would prosper and flourish. So, this Halloween, as we enjoy all the ghosts and goblins around us, may we also pause to thank God for all the saints who have gone before us.
Dr. Kevin Head is senior pastor of First Baptist Roswell. 770-587-6980, RKevinHead@FBRoswell.org
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