Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Mystery of Halloween: How it reverted back to paganism after the Reformation

Thanks, Spirit Daily, for this insightful article.

There are mysteries about Halloween. Why is it like it is? Is there really an occult underpinning? Does it have any supernatural ramifications?

One little-known fact is that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses -- his argument against Catholicism -- on the door of the Wittenberg church on October 31, 1517. Those theses led of course to the Reformation and the break up of Catholicism, as Protestantism was born, soon itself to splinter into dozens of denominations.

A former monk and priest, Luther preached not only against the sale of indulgences and corruption in the Church (which were real), but also against the power of priests, the Pope, and saints as intercessors with Jesus.

This is crucial because -- ironically -- it helped to transform Halloween (the very day, coincidentally, that he'd nailed those theses!).

"Halloween" is an abbreviation or corruption of "All Hallow's E'en," the Irish way of saying "All Hallows Eve." It was called that because it preceded All Saints Day (called "All Hallows," or "All Hallowmas"). In old English the word "Hallow" meant "sanctify."

It is not something we associate with October 31 any longer.

That all changed once Protestantism removed the focus on saints and the "holiday" reverted to its original paganism.
more...

posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 10:11 AM