Call me a contrarian, but I LOVE Halloween.
And I, for one, am not prepared to concede this holy-day to the enemy. Here’s why:
Halloween is a contraction of two words, Hallows’ Eve.
“Hallows” (related to the word “holy”) is a reference to “saints” (having nothing to do with the Church conferring sainthood on dead people, but having everything to do with every one of us who loves, worships, and serves Jesus Christ). (See Ephesians 1:15 for but one example of the biblical usage of the word “saint.”)
“Eve,” of course, refers to evening, much as we use the word in reference to Christmas Eve.
Put it all together, and Halloween is in reality a “Holy Evening,” the night before “All Saints Day.”
Simply put, Halloween is the one night out of each year set aside for the dual purposes of (1) Identifying those precious saints of God, those committed Christ-followers who have had a significant, positive, and holy influence in our lives; and (2) Planning how we are going to honor them on the following day, November 1, All Saints Day.
This in the spirit of Romans 13:7, “Render to all men their dues… respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due” (Amplified Bible).
Think of it this way: We have days set aside to honor our Mothers, Fathers, Presidents, historical individuals like Columbus, King, and others, our veterans, those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice (Memorial Day), etc., etc.
All Saints Day is the one day out of each year to honor those who have encouraged us in our walks with Christ, including those who have…
Led us to faith in Christ,
Taught us His Word,
Set an example for us of godly living,
Encouraged us,
Prayed for us,
Counseled us,
Loved us,
Helped us along the way to take one more step in our spiritual journey,
Or perhaps the most important of all… Were there for us when no one else was.
Tonight is the night to identify these precious people, the unsung heroes of our personal faith, and to plan how best to honor them the very next day.
We can honor them in so many simple and yet oh-so-important ways:
A card, a letter, a note, a phone call, a text message, a Facebook post, an email message, a gift. Some sincere expression of what these dear people mean to us, and how these individuals have blessed our lives.
What a beautiful concept. More than that…
…What a BEAUTIFUL DAY. All Saints Day. Preceded, as it is, with an equally beautiful evening. An evening devoted to identification and preparation. An evening called Hallows’ Eve!
So in the true spirit of this sacred holy-day, let me extend to each of you a heartfelt…
…HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
Dewey Bertolini 
Excellent!
I love your take on Halloween too! I’ll do just that tomorrow.
Here is what I wrote on my FB post yesterday about my Halloween decorations (that have a lot of skulls and skeletons in them) and how I view October and the Halloween season as a good time to ponder our mortality.
“2013 Halloween Decor – I have expanded a little on the skull motif this year. We learned on a few tours in Boston that the Puritans used skulls on the tombstones to remind the living of their mortality. My study of Heaven this last year has convinced me more than ever that we need to be constantly reminded of our mortality and the fact that this world is not our final home. We don’t know when we will take our last breath, so we need to be ready, and certain of where we are spending eternity. To me, Halloween is a good reminder of that….well, my version is anyway!”
Love it! Thanks, Dewey!
Dewey Rebecca and Ashley, we just wanted to tell you how much we love having your family in our lives. Dewey you have always put your heart into the study of the message that God gives you for our Safe Haven Family to hear and it shows every week. Also on line. And Rebecca and Ashley working with Mat in worship as he LOVES it so much more than he might say . As well as you working with the kids, and having the girls help out, it means a lot to them , and they learn so much from you by just watching you. You have and are touching our lives more deeply then you may know, and we see the fruits of your hard work in all our lives every day. And we thank you for that. But we are sure that is what you wanted for our Safe Haven family. And we are Still Standing do to your shared faith in Jesus, and your humor, and for you just being your self. We Love and appreciate you all so very much. Curt-Karen-Mathew-Sammi-Beca and Beth “Happy All Saints Day”
You all have NO IDEA how much of a blessing you are to us. WE LOVE YOU ALL!