I grew up in a rural conservative Mennonite church that was deeply affected by American revivalism; thus becoming the Evangelical Mennonite Church. Since then I have been exposed to various Christian traditions. I was intrigued by Charismatic churches that I attended as a college student. I attended an interdenominational evangelical seminary dominated by Reformed, Pentecostal, and Baptist traditions and for my graduate studies took courses at a consortium of mainline Protestant colleges on a university campus: Anglican, United (Methodist and Presbyterian), and Lutheran. I experienced a rebirth of my personal spirituality at a Roman Catholic retreat centre during my graduate studies. I presently hang my theological hat on the hook of progressive Anabaptism and teach at an evangelical Anabaptist college. All this is to say that I have gained an appreciation for the richness of various Christian traditions.

At this time of year, a few of these traditions come together in a unique way.

Halloween has become a secular holiday that is well-known. But not everybody knows it is part of a trio of holy days that includes All Saints’ Day on November 1 and All Souls’ Day on November 2. The root word of Halloween—“hallow”—means “holy”. The suffix “een” is an abbreviation of “evening”. It is to All Saints’ Day what Christmas Eve is to Christmas. All Saints’ Day is a day to honor saints (heroes of the faith) of the past.  All Souls’ Day is a day to remember all souls, or all people who have died. On All Souls’ Day, some Catholic churches have a Book of the Dead, in which parishioners have an opportunity to write the names of relatives to be remembered and/or the names are read aloud in memory of their lives.

What about all the costumes and candy? More than a thousand years ago in Ireland and Britain, a common custom of Christians was to come together on the feast of All Hallows Eve to ask for God’s blessing and protection from evil in the world. Often, they would dress in costumes of saints or evil spirits and act out the battle between good and evil around bonfires. This has morphed into a variety of costumes, “trick or treating”, and candles inside pumpkins.

October 31 is also known as Reformation Day because on this day Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of Wittenberg Cathedral as an act of protest against the corruptions in the church of the day. This act launched the beginning of the Protestant Reformation to which many denominations trace their lineage, including all those named above.

Mennonite churches are not known for following the liturgical calendar or the observance of holy days. I’m glad that our denomination is a “bit more mainline” both theologically and liturgically. I appreciate the symbolism and ritual of Catholic and mainline Protestant traditions. So this weekend, why not light a candle for those who have gone before?