Issue 1, October 2003
The Days of the Dead by Edward Chow
In seventh grade CCD, my teacher gave our class a handout about Halloween. It was so good and interesting that I want to share it:
Each year, just as the harvest is finished in much of the world, Christians keep their own harvest feast - God's harvest, the harvest of the saints - on the first day of November. We begin this day on the holy vigil of All Saints, Halloween. We continue the harvest feast on the day to remember the dead - November 2, All Souls - and on through November, when the earth itself seems to fall asleep. Now the nights are long and growing longer. The cold sets in. Autumn's glory is fading fast. We welcome the winter, the season that heralds the end of our days.
The marvelous customs of Halloween are also All Saints and All Souls customs. Don't end the fun too soon! Keep Nov. 1 and 2 with as much energy as Oct. 31. On holiday eve, it¡¦s been customary to go outside in search of the first star to appear. Then we light a candle to keep brightly burning throughout the festival. On Halloween we light jack-o'- lanterns to keep burning from sundown on Oct. 31 through All Souls, Nov. 2. We have three nights of holy light. Jack-o'-lanterns are also called "death's heads." There's serious business here! We set one by our doorway to guide home all the wayward children of God. As the winter comes, we make a place in our hearts and memories for the dead. Lord Jesus has trampled down death by his own death - trampled it like a rotting pumpkin!
Trick or treat is another name for open door hospitality- a hallmark of every Christian holiday. The demands of hospitality sometimes are an interruption and a nuisance. When we open our doors to strangers, we're never sure who will enter. Who knows? Perhaps it might even be Christ. What does masquerading as ragtag wanderers, as the most wicked of sinners, have to do with All Saints Day? The beatitudes tell us about who will enter the kingdom of heaven. Those least likely to have made much of themselves in this world - the poor and the meek, the peacemakers and the pure in heart - will become the saints of God. In the merciful justice of Christ, heaven will be opened to sinners such as ourselves. Like trick-or-treaters at the end of Halloween night, one day we will remove our masks and lay aside our soiled clothes. And we will see ourselves as we truly are, the children of God arrayed and like the saints in bright glory at the supper of the Lamb.