Today, October 31, is Halloween.
But do you actually know what that word means?
- The word “hallow” comes from the Old English word “hālig.“
- To hallow is “to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate.”
- The word “e’en” means “evening.”
- And so Halloween means Holy Evening! How cool is that?
Halloween is actually a holy day — All Hallows’ Eve, which is the Eve before All Saints Day on November 1 and All Souls Day on November 2. On this All Hallows’ Eve, we prepare ourselves for the celebration of the two holy days to come.
Insofar as what Satan has chosen to do with this important Eve, that is his business. (See “We have met the Halloween monsters, and they are us“)
We can give import and publicity to what the father of lies has done to this day, or we can give import to this Eve in preparation for All Saints Day. I choose to do the latter.
Satan has a history of turning holy days into an abomination, which is his goal, to insult holiness and turn truth upside down. For example, May 1st has been celebrated as Communist’s Day. However, in our faith, it is Mary’s day, as is the month of May. The Holy Mass Satan celebrates as a black mass, desecrating Our Lord Jesus. I like what Taylor Marshall, a Catholic writer and/or apologist, has said about Halloween in response to the premise that it is evil, to-wit:
“There are some Christians who have written off Halloween as some sort of diabolical black mass. To be clear, it is the vigil of a Christian holy day: All Hallows’ Eve or All Saints Eve. Has it been corrupted by our culture and the consumer market? You bet. However, Christmas has also been derailed by the culture. Does that mean that we’re going to hand over Christmas? No way! Same goes for Halloween. The Church does not surrender what rightfully belongs to her – she wins it back.”
There is nothing new in what Satan tries to do; we can fall into his trap and emphasize what he has done, or we can observe Halloween as All Hallows’ Eve — a holy day.
Tomorrow, I will discuss All Saints Day; and a day after that, All Souls Day.
~Joan (with revisions by Eowyn)