This week we are re-posting this entry from last year which we hope will be a helpful introduction to the days of Allhallowtide…
There is a series of days which exists in the Church’s calendar which has all but disappeared from the Christian calendars of contemporary American Christianity save for one lingering event: trick-or-treating on Halloween.
Halloween is a remnant of a series of three days on which the Church celebrated the victory of Jesus’ Kingdom over the powers of the world, the flesh and the devil; Hallow’s Eve, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day.
The triduum began on the Eve of All Saints (“the Eve of All Hallows” as it used to be called — think of the “hallowed be thy name” from the Lord’s prayer). With lights and candles and fires lit against the darkness, liturgies sung in the churches would spill-out into the streets and alleys with caroling and door-to-door festivities. Dances commenced, costumes —many making ridicule of the vanquished enemies of hell— were donned, and games began. On the other side of the year from Easter Christians were celebrating the fact that the things which were true of the body of Jesus on Easter Sunday are true also of the bodies of the faithful —the Body of Christ.
After the late-night charivaris were ended, All Saints' Day bloomed bright and merry. Bells were tolled, new fires started, and feasts prepared. This day celebrated all of the glorious companions of Jesus who had lived throughout the ages. Those that the church collectively calls “saints” are each an evidentiary proof of the fact that the life which Jesus calls us to, the way of the Cross, is not a pipe-dream but a reality —and not merely a reality for the few but for many who are called to follow our Lord. This was good news for our Christian forebears —and its still good news for us today! In a generation who finds it increasingly difficult to imagine a life really and truly conformed to the Gospel of Jesus (“that’s not really possible… you can’t really live like that”), this is a day to which we must hold fast.
All Souls Day completes the three days with a celebration of all the souls who belong to the Lord. It sets-aside a day in the year where the Church thanks God for all the faithful departed who may never be called “saints” in a proper sense, but who cleaned kitchens, paid taxes, taught Sunday school, raised children, repented of sins, fed the poor, visited the lost, changed diapers, etc., following the Lord of the Cross in a myriad of mundane and holy ways. They too are a witness and a testimony of the Gospel’s power to redeem, they too proclaim that this thing we call Christianity is a viable way of life —is the viable way of life. It is the only way which promises life beyond the grave.
Let us keep these days well… and in keeping them may we find ourselves kept by them in the Way that leads to Life.