Through the last few weeks I have been trying, once again, to understand the phenomenon of Halloween. I call it that, because to me, I have no attraction to blatantly dark, evil things. I suppose my temptations to the dark side are more subtle. We all have to deal with unhealthy attractions in one way or another, but to openly embrace darkness as fun and exciting isn’t something I’ve ever really understood. So I have been asking questions, observing, and exploring the concept from different angles.
This is cute and fun, and I enjoy this part of fall celebrations. Pumpkins, in their natural state, are beautiful and delicious.
I even get why costumes are so much fun. Who doesn’t love to dress up as something else? It’s the play of childhood the rest of the year. Grown ups love it too, and now do this at huge conventions all over the country in honor of their favorite pop-culture icons.Yes, we did have a discussion about how Darth Vader did come over to the good side of the Force and was reconciled to his son before he died. 🙂
But THIS is what I have such a hard time comprehending. What is it about the human psyche that makes this so attractive?
The roots of this holiday go back to the practice of dressing up as beings from the Netherworld in order to not be harassed by spirits of the departed who would be able to cross and cause trouble for the living on this night. So is all this rooted in fear of death and the unknown? If I become that which I fear, I will be protected from it? This is my theory. I don’t know if it’s true. Most of the people I know who celebrate this holiday with gusto, are not “evil” or worshiping Satan in their closets at night. People seem to enjoy being scared (hey, I love roller coasters), but I think more importantly we enjoy experiencing that which seems threatening, and realizing at the end of it, we are still okay. It is an empowering ritual, and confronts our deepest fears about death and things that go bump in the night that we can’t see.
The thought occurs to me as well that any time we seek safety and security in anything but Jesus alone, and what He has done, we are celebrating a personal form of Halloween. There is no cloak of safety in any human invention. No mask can save us from the dark. We need to take them off, in honesty, and embrace His Life.
I find that these celebrations (especially in remembering deceased ancestors and loved ones) are found in many cultures, past and present. Usually practiced in the season where everything is dying off and the sun is waning, the natural world reminds us of our own impending mortality.
Maybe my lack of interest and attraction to these customs has to do with the fact that I have no fear or doubts about death, or any spirit without a body, because of my security in who I am in Jesus. What better time of the year is there to share this GOOD NEWS to the world? As many zealous Christians and HRM followers both understandably revile and abstain from this holiday, I truly believe that in spite of all that seems dark and offensive, a deep truth lies beneath. A truth that can be used as a foothold to bring Light, Hope, and Love to a world that has seen plenty of pain from the dark side. In arguing so strongly against something, we sometimes unwittingly give it more power than it’s due, and magnify it. I join my fellow humans in declaring victory over the fear of death. Only in Jesus. In Him there is no darkness or shadow. It is vanished, because it has not power in itself. That makes Halloween a reason to rejoice for me.
8thDay4Life 