Dear Hill Country Families,

Tomorrow is officially Halloween, which is my least favorite holiday of the year (more on this in a moment), but my thoughts on it might surprise you:

First, I recognize that Christians have differing opinions on Halloween. My task today is not to affirm or disparage one side or the other.

Second, I deeply dread and dislike Halloween and the reason is primarily selfish. My kids and my wife thoroughly enjoy it, but I am a curmudgeon. And a selfish one at that. If I am honest, I mainly don’t like it for two reasons:

1. The night of Halloween is a massive interruption to my evening. Ding dong, interrupt what I’m doing, get up, go to the door, pass out candy that none of the children need and is going to rot their teeth, go back to what I’m doing; ding dong, you get the picture.
   
2. Then, there is the aftermath of the three-week sugar high with my children, which really looks like a series of massive highs and painful lows until my wife and I finally get fed up and throw all of their candy away. Yes, we are those parents. (Sorry for that minor confession.)

Now that you know what a selfish human being I am, I thought I would at least share some fun historical insights related to Halloween that may or may not enhance your ability to celebrate, or at least not dread the holiday. Halloween began as a Celtic practice close to 2,000 years ago. The Celts, not yet Christians, believed that the space between heaven and earth was thin, and as a result, they believed that heavenly/spiritual beings could cross back and forth between heaven and earth. Samhain (originally known as the Celtic New Year) was a celebration to thank the gods for the harvest and to ward off evil spirits. Specifically, they believed that dressing in scary costumes would scare the evil spirits away, providing protection throughout the winter.

Interestingly, Halloween was co-opted by the Christians—first by Pope Boniface IV and later by Pope Gregory III, with a similar purpose in mind. All Saints Day (November 1) was a day to honor the martyrs and saints who had gone before, and was made an official Christian Holiday in the 7th century. All Hallows Eve (the night before All Saints Day) merged the Celtic celebration of Samhain with Halloween and became a night to light bonfires, dress up in costumes, and scare away the evil spirits.

I give you this historical context in part so that those of you who celebrate Halloween can do so with joy in your hearts, knowing that you are in good company with Christians throughout the centuries who celebrate the victory we have through Christ. I can’t help but think that Martin Luther had this in mind when he penned these words to one of my favorite hymns: “And though this world with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear for God has willed His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo! his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him (emphasis mine).”

The prince of darkness is indeed grim, and not something we should regularly laugh at. But I do find it humorous that early Christians fought back at the Devil by dressing in silly costumes, almost as though to mock him. I’m not advocating we mock the Devil, but we can sing with Luther that “One little word (Jesus) shall fell him!”

Thanks be to God through Christ, who has made us no longer slaves to the fear of what the Devil might do.

Eric DeVries, Head of School