Friday, October 31, 2025

It is the 31st of October 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

So, some will observe the mostly silly day of costumes and candy and the like, others don’t. You are free to do so, or not, or do so in a modified fashion… Now, in response to a number of e-mails about today AND tomorrow (today is the “e’en” or “eve” for tomorrow’s bigger day) I thought I would take this occasion- the 31st of October to remind you of a few stories I’ve told on the pod before- and some new ones- AND then tie it into the Weekend Edition which will have a little bit of a, well… spooky theme. 

So.. perhaps if you say a certain version of the Lord’s prayer (most versions, actually) you will say of God the Father- “hallowed be thy name”- we are asking God to continue to make his name and person(s) set apart. From “Hallowed” we get “Holy”. And who are the “Holy ones”- those would be those set apart by God, what we can also call “Saints”. And so All Saints Day- or All Hallow’s Day comes after All Hallow’s Eve- which comes down to us as “Halloween”.

The Day to recognize All the Saints who have gone before us was originally May 13th- this began in 609 when the Roman Pantheon was rededicated as a Christian church to Mary and all the Martyrs. By 700, this day dedicated to them became a day for all of the departed saints. So, All Hallow’s Eve was May 12th… not too spooky.

But from Pre-Christian times, there had been a parallel celebration on the last day of the calendar year- back when there were 10 months, and so the last day of October was the last day of the year. A year to celebrate and look back on the year, to remember those who had gone, and to prepare for the coming winter. And it became a folk belief that the last day of the year was the time when the spirits and ghosts roamed the earth. And so, as part of the festivity, you would light bonfires and make other decorations to shoo away these spooky figures. In Britain, a story developed about one “stingy Jack,” a guy who reportedly trapped the devil, only to let him out when he promised not to send Jack to hell. People would carve potatoes and beetroots among other vegetables in the likeness of this Jack and light them with candles- the “jack-o-lantern”.  When Irish Catholic immigrants brought this practice to the North East, they swapped out the tubers for the native American Pumpkin.

The story also went that these spirits could travel from home to home under various guises, and so if someone came to your door asking for food or goodies, you did well to give it to them.

It was in the early 700s that Pope Gregory III dedicated another church- a chapel at the Vatican to All Saints- and seeing the opportunity to “counter program” the pagan holiday, did so on November 1st- making its Eve- October 31st. By 837, this was pronounced as a feast across the Empire.

All Saints Day wasn’t initially ditched by Protestants- Anglicans and Lutherans tended to keep the practice- and of course, something happened on All Saints Eve in Wittenberg that involved some theses… It’s why I tell the kids who come to my door, “Did you know that Jesus didn’t say 'do penance' but rather 'repent, ' which Luther took from Erasmus- and they stare at me until I get them some candy.

The day as we know it today- a relatively family-friendly holiday- came to America in the interwar years of the 20th century. Sears Roebuck would sell kids' costumes and Mars candy saw dollar signs. This opened the “eve” beyond pagans and Catholics. In the 1980s, amidst the so-called “Satanic Panic” in some evangelical circles, another “counter programming” was seen with harvest festivals (arguably pagan, too!) And anti-Halloween family programming. You can do what you will- but save me the Almond Joys, Peanut Butter Cups, Hi-Chews, and those fruit-flavored tootsie rolls, if you can still find them.

On tomorrow’s weekend edition, I will be telling some of my favorite- well, spooky? Mysterious? “Unsolved Mystery” type stories from church history- nothing scary or gross or gory- but a little fun and a story or two about All Saints Day- it’s in outline form right now- we’ll see what develops.

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and 2 Peter 1:

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 31st of October 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who certainly doesn’t give out raisins or apples or pretzels or anything else that’s likely to get your house egged- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man whose kids have outgrown the costumes, and so we wait for the grandkids… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.