October 31, 2024 - Good Morning! It’s Thursday, October 31.
Are you expecting some visitors at your house tonight? Some little ghouls and ghosts and goblins? Or maybe a pirate or a princess? Make sure you’re ready to protect yourself with lots of sweet treats. You never know what “trick” might come your way on Halloween!
It’s no surprise that Halloween is the biggest holiday for candy sales. But it might surprise you to know that, this year, Americans will spend more than 11 BILLION dollars on this spooky celebration. That’s a lot of costumes and decorations. What is now a fun, family event had its origins in a dark pagan tradition. It was thought that on this night, the boundary between our world and the nether world, between good and bad, between life and death, was at its thinnest point, and that evil spirits roamed the earth.
It’s interesting to find, then, that this celebration that originally focused on evil got its name from a Christian holiday. About three hundred years after the Cross, believers began to have special days to remember those who had been martyred for their faith. In the 10th century these observances were brought together on one day, November 1. Today we call it “All Saints Day”, and many religious denominations still observe it. But the old word for “saint” was “hallow” and so, back then, it was called All Hallows Day. The name for the night before, Hallow’s Eve, after a time, was shortened to Halloween.
No one knows when the ancient traditions of Halloween first began, but for a thousand years Christians have been remembering, acknowledging, and honoring those who have gone on before us, believers who were faithful, who made a difference. The famed scientist Isaac Newton put it this way, “If I have seen farther, it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants”. Is there someone in your past whose shoulders you’re standing on today?I’m confident that there is, and probably more than one. Take a moment to remember them, and to thank God for these “saints”.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
