Trick-or-treat?

     

     Hallowe'en, also known as Hallows Eve — and the world's oldest holiday — is usually thought of as a fun holiday. 

     Trick-or-treating, costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories or watching horror films, all of which has boosted mass marketing. 
     Children especially, enjoy the innocent fun of dressing up, pretending to be their favourite hero or storybook character.  

     As a teenager growing up in the country, our youthful fun often involved playing pranks on our neighbour. Perhaps, over-turning their biffy (free-standing out-door toilet), hoisting a wagon onto the roof of a nearby farmer's shed or, transporting a piece of machinery further down the road to another farmer's property — all in just plain fun!  

     Government educators who normally shun anything religious in their school system, enthusiastically embrace the celebrating of Hallowe'en, declaring it to be a secular holiday celebration. But, considering its origin and initial practices, is it really? 
     Many of the customs observed in our Hallowe'en celebrations can be traced back to 200 BC and the Druid religion. Rooted in ancient pagan and Christian festivals, it involved aspects of darkness; evil spirits, and people believing spirits returned from the dead and roamed the earth during that 'hallowed' evening or Hallow's Eve. 
     A Celtic ritual was to wear strange disguises and roam about, pretending to be spirits from the other world. It was a festival of the dead, as they believed on this one night, spirits of the dead could readily mingle with the living once again, even conversing with them. 
     It may seem that some of our practices are adaptations of a pagan observance that has been assimilated into our society. So, are we practicing something that has originated from the evil forces of darkness?  You decide. 
     The celebration is tolerated by Christianity, recognizing it is a fun holiday, and not intended to hold religious or other supernatural beliefs or religion. 
     All Saint's Day, observed mainly in the United Kingdom, falls on the first of November. It's chief meaning is to honour all saints — living and dead. 
     But, what makes a saint a saint? My dictionary says, "a person of great virtue and holiness, approved by a religious authority."   

     Yet, because of God's gift to me, God has called me to be His child and a saint in Christ Jesus, approved by God Himself — a saint in the real sense of the word!   

  
     Another slant worth considering... why were the Saints, Saints?  Because, they were cheerful when it was difficult to be cheerful, patient when it was difficult to be patient; and because they pushed on when they wanted to stand still, and they kept silent when they wanted to talk; and were agreeable when they wanted to be disagreeable. That was all. It was quite simple and always will be.

— beulah