“Hallow” is the old word for “Saint.” Today, October 31st, used to be to All Saints’ Day (November 1st) what Christmas Eve is to Christmas Day. There is a fascinating history of how going door-to-door for soul cake ingredients became today’s trick-or-treating and dressing up in costume to fool returning spirit’s who may or may not be friendly turned into the kind of Halloween costumes we have today.

My question is: how did we as Christians let go of today and tomorrow being a celebration of the Resurrection in Christ? Some of that happened in the Reformation and probably the holiday did need reforming but how could we today as Christians reclaim this wonderful celebration of life-after-death? What could we do as adults to help our children understand the Christian roots of this holiday while still participating in the culture we currently live in? Or are they mutually exclusive? And, as Christians, are we in danger of succombing to the total secularization of Christmas and Easter such that 500 years from now, they will be totally cultural events (if even celebrated at all) and not the holy-days they were meant to be?