Tuesday, October 31, 2023

It is the 31st of October, 2023. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Well, I checked. I went back into the archives of this show since the beginning, and it is true we have never done a show on Halloween. And perhaps, you say: “Good! It’s a damnable pagan holiday”. You’d be half right. We have, of course, done shows on tomorrow's Christian festival: All Saints Day. And you might know that these two days are inextricably linked. Even down to what we call today: Halloween comes from the Middle English- for All Hallows Eve. And what is a “Hallow”? What is “Hallowed” or, as we say today: “Holy”- Saints.

Halloween is “All Saints Eve”- just as we have Christmas Eve, we have All Saints Eve. And, as the Jewish. Manner of counting days goes- evening, and then morning, it would be appropriate to remember your saints- the dearly departed on this night… by dressing up ghoulishly and begging for candy. Wait… so there are other things going on.

In the ancient Celtic world- so, Northern Europe, both before the time of Christ and after the last day of October was the end of the year. The harvest was over, and winter was coming. And for the Celts, this was scary. Winter could mean death if you didn’t harvest enough. A cold spell could cause death, and thus, you prepare for the “new year,” remembering the possibility of your own death (the focus isn’t on others just yet).

As death would be associated with this time of year, so too was it believed that at the start of a new year, the border between this world and the next was at its thinnest. Spirits were more likely to traverse between the worlds around this time. This is where we find the traditions that gave the Celts “Samhain” (it looks like “Sam Hain” but is pronounced “sah-ween”). You would light bonfires (literally fires made especially hot from dried bones). You would be wary of treating traveling spirits well- so if a stranger came to your door asking for food, you would be likely to give it to them. You might dress up as some kind of ghost, animal, or something such that the spirits might either ignore you or recognize you as one of the undead. Well, all this is fine and well, but what happens when the Celts are Christianized? The traditions of Samhain and other late-year winter festivals for the dead were a no-go for the Western Catholic Church.

So, first, in 609, Pope Boniface re-dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to the Virgin Mary and all the martyrs. This day, celebrated in Spring, would come to represent all the martyrs and “other” Saints not on the calendar. This would become “All Saints Day”. It was in the 700s that, wanting to combat these Celtic and other pagan nights on the eve of winter, moved “All Saints Day” to November 1st to redirect pagan impulses toward remembering the dead in Christ. As the Western Medieval church began to develop its doctrine of the afterlife- most notably- purgatory praying for the dead in limbo became the focus of “All Saints Day.” The focus had shifted from the original “think about your own death” to “think about those dead, but alive in Christ” to “pray for those in Purgatory.” So, as you might guess, Protestants- and Protestant Americans would have nothing to do with this day.

And then we have the great migration of Irish Catholic Americans in the 19th century- fleeing the British policies that led to the so-called “Potato famine” (there were enough Potatoes, but the Crown had them shipped elsewhere in the Empire). And so, All Saints Day and All Saints Eve became a tradition in the North East. While it was initially a night of revelry and mischief, it was transformed amidst the World Wars and rationing into more of a community festival. Seeing dollar signs, companies like Sears Roebuck and Mars, Inc. decided to make the holiday Domestic. To sell decidedly non-spooky costumes and encourage the passing out of candy (it’s free for the kids, not for the grown-ups buying as much as 3 billion dollars in candy for the holiday). So- from the Celtic world and fear of one's own death, to the Medieval world and the remembering of the dead to the purgatorial system to Irish immigrants to today… Happy All Hallows Eve. Now you’ll forgive me as I’ve got to go hoard some Almond Joys before they disappear.

The last word for today is from the poet Malcolm Guite- a favorite here at the Almanac- spelled G-U-I-T-E. I recommend you search him out. This, in honor of all the saints, is his “Ordinary Saints.”

The ordinary saints, the ones we know,
Our too-familiar family and friends,

When shall we see them? Who can truly show

Whilst still rough-hewn, the God who shapes our ends?

Who will unveil the presence, glimpse the gold

That is and always was our common ground,

Stretch out a finger, feel, along the fold

To find the flaw, to touch and search that wound

From which the light we never noticed fell

Into our lives? Remember how we turned

To look at them, and they looked back? That full-

-eyed love unselved us, and we turned around,

Unready for the wrench and reach of grace.

But one day we will see them face to face.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 31st of October, 2023, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who will say harsh words if you try to give him Candy Corn, Smarties, or Circus Peanuts. He is Creepy Christopher Gillespie

The show is written and read by a man who will hand the Twizzlers right back to you- grass licorice knock-offs won’t pass through my lips. I’m the Decapitated Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be OK.