A Fear, A Truth, A God, A Gift

This was written as a facebook note by my freshman self almost three years ago to the day. I thought about it as I watched this holiday come and go again and decided to republish it on this forum. Enjoy, friends.

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I've heard a lot of different opinions on Halloween.
From people who are adamantly against the celebration of it.
To those who are indifferent, and whose only qualm might be the occasional cavity that resulted from the evening.
To those who are the first in the door of Wal-Mart as soon as the costumes hit the shelves.
So I've been contemplating, what is it about Halloween that we are afraid of?

Growing up, Anna and I could annually be found decked out in (very often, matching) costumes which our mother had either purchased or made by hand. I believe at one time or another I was a pumpkin, a pilgrim, a prairie girl, a princess, princess leah, and other things, which for some unknown reason I cannot currently recall. For us, Halloween was a holiday looked forward to for its fun costumes and loads of free candy.

Going to Christian school, the debate over the value of Halloween was a hot topic at least once a year. I encountered, maybe for the first time, children whose parents had raised them to associate Halloween with evil spirits, devil worship, seances, and all things evil and godless.
Not to discount the associations these things might have with Halloween, but I think there is more to the story.

I was talking with a dear friend of mine this past week, who very thoughtfully said, "Halloween is the most Christian holiday we celebrate. People show up at your door, and you give them candy. For NO REASON. It's a perfect picture of grace."

I think that's beautiful. There is no need for fear of a holiday we feel is "satanic." The origin of Halloween is from "All Hallow's Eve" or "All Saints Eve." It was not to honor evil spirits, but to honor those steadfast in the faith. It, like all things in our world, has declined and been corrupted, but look even at our celebration of Easter! Easter should be the MOST Christian holiday, but how do we celebrate it? By...hiding Easter eggs...? We should not fear the evil, for it has no power over us, how much less should we fear some holiday!

Tonight at RUF we sang "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," a well-known hymn of the Reformation (a holiday which we celebrate as All Saints Day, falls the day after All Saints Eve). The third verse reads like this:
And though this world, with devils filled
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

This just gave me one final encouragement that we do not have to fear the evils of this world, whether they come in the form of actual demons or college students dressed as demons. We can celebrate and rejoice in the fact that these things have been defeated, and they have no stronghold in us.

Demonstrate grace to the children in your neighborhood.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject.
These are some of mine.

Oh yes, and the gift.