A number of years ago, I posted 13 Halloween related posts. Last year, I posted 26. This year, my goal is 31. So here's the first of "31 Nights of Halloween."
Halloween or Hallowe'en (a contraction of Hallows' Even or Hallows' Evening), is also known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve (wikipedia).
The custom of commemorating on a single day all the saints of the church, especially the many unknown martyrs, originated in the fourth century. By the eighth century, the festival commemorating all saints had been moved in England and Ireland to November. In current Christian use, the day is dedicated to thanksgiving for all the unnamed who died in the Lord. In many assemblies, the names of those who have died over the previous twelve months are read aloud, a practice originally associated with All Souls Day on November 2. The conflation of the two emphases fits with the Protestant beliefs that all the Christian dead are saints, none needs release from purgatory, and it is only to God whom we pray (sundaysandseasons.com)
31 Nights of Halloween (31 of 31). Here we are Grandmama, Pugsley, Wednesday, Morticia, and Pubert Addams with their faithful butler Lurch. Pugsley says Gomez, Fester and Thing are at home playing Autopsy. Happy Halloween!
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