Hallowe’en

FRI., OCT. 23, 1998, 6:41 AM HALLOWE’EN

In a couple of days you shall have an opportunity to talk with a group at UCM about death, dying, and Hallowe’en. You have found some material about the history of this “celebration”, and you’ll tie this in with your perspectives on life and death. These latter are the more important of the contributions to understanding and appreciation that you can make on this Sunday eve. But it’s about time you gave Me, Holy Spirit, a chance to help.

As it is generally “practiced” in your culture today it is an opportunity for some special decorations, for kids putting on costumes, and for some pretense at mischief, with candy rewards for not being mischievous. It has almost no religious significance, except as it portrays death in some macabre ways. Interestingly, in your culture’s “holiday calendar” it follows the 4th of July and Labor Day, which are social and political and without religious significance. It leads on to Thanksgiving, which originated in Thanks to Me and still retains some of that spirit, even as it is essentially a family eating day (with harvest decorations… and not a “good day” for turkeys)… and then to Christmas, which is fundamentally a Christian remembrance, but is now a commercial gift-exchanging holiday in the winter season.

In your Ecological perspective Hallowe’en has little significance, except as a recognition that death is an expected part of life, and that the bones are left when the flesh deteriorates or is consumed. There is no concept of life continuing in bony skeletons… except, of course, in Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones, certainly a preview of Hallowe’en in the Old Testament.

The Humanistic perspective has no concept of an after-life, except in the memories that those who survive a loved one’s death have and hold. The Humanistic focus could be on this as a cultural remnant from early British life… and as a time to provide sustenance to the young, even if it’s mostly candy.

The Christian perspective is of little relevance to this celebration. I, in any of My triune “forms” am not recognized, and it is difficult to tie this, in any way, to the Christian story… except, I suppose, in My rising from the dead, as Jesus. In Christian perspective death is not real, but with little expectation that any of us would return bodily, as I did, as Jesus. There just was nothing “scary” about this resurrection, as is the spirit at Hallowe’en.

Reincarnation also accepts spirit as the essence of life, which is not lost when a body dies. Spirit could return to earth in some non-form, just as spirit… or could inhabit a new body. The fact that Hallowe’en is “circular”, coming back each Oct. 31, relates to reincarnation in some ways. It also could accept the reality of ghosts and other manifestations of spirit life. With karma there is the possible acceptance of evil forms of life, as some sort of recompense for evil one has done in a “former life”.

The Life After Life perspective, which is a rather pragmatic one, not one with a long history, could encompass meeting loved ones who have pre-deceased you, accepting that life continues, in spiritual body form, after a particular body dies. And there is that “minority experience” – that one could end up in a place of torture rather than in a warm encounter with a Being of Light.

You see, as I’ve led you through these adequate perceptions of life and death that none of them directly accounts for this celebration called Hallowe’en. It does encourage the portrayal of ghostly and skeletal forms of life, some friendly and some scary. At its best it is a time of adults giving to children, in a happy, appreciative mood. At its worst it is a time of destruction and harm to property, just for the fun of it.