This is a weird time of year. I remember Ned Sherrin on BBC Radio 4 welcoming Guy Fawkes Night (5 November – commemorating the attempt by Guido Fawkes and his mates to destroy Parliament in 1605) by saying that at least we had got past the spooks of Halloween and could now get back to the real business of burning Catholics. This, of course, was a response to the complaints by Christians about the commercial and cultural promotion of Halloween with its demons, devils and death. So, we have our bonfires and fireworks and forget what lies behind it.
Well, perhaps this year it is worth remembering. I heard this morning that the Vatican has warned against the dangers of Halloween and its association with all the spooky stuff. It might help if, instead of complaining, the Church worked positively at explaining that Halloween is a Christian festival that forces escapists to take seriously human mortality and questions of the meaning of death and beyond. Many churches will be celebrating ‘Bright Lights’ parties that hold together All Souls and All Saints and keeps the integrity of the two.
But, I think we can go one better. A couple of weeks ago the Pope very kindly offered to take some disaffected Anglicans into his fold. Today we would like to make a reciprocal offer to help his Church out over Halloween.
Today might be Halloween in the UK, but in Germany it is Reformation Day – the celebration of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the Schlosskirche in Wittenberg in 1517 and setting off the Reformation in Europe. Three years ago I was in Wittenberg with the Archbishop of Canterbury and some others. The German Protestant Church (EKD) is going through a serious Reform Process which is intended to change the church and fit it (in the spirit of reformation) for the 500th anniversary of Luther’s action in 2017. I asked if the Roman Catholic Church would be involved in the celebrations in 2017 – and I didn’t get a clear answer. So, I wondered aloud if the RC Church would be celebrating the 500th anniversary of Luther’s ordination to the Catholic priesthood in 2007.
Er… no answer was forthcoming. Which was probably wise.
But it was a serious question – to do with how we cope with our histories and the bits we find uncomfortable. Do we just pretend they didn’t happen and wish they would go away? Just think of the damage such escapism or denial does in the life of an individual.
Anyway, I would like to offer the Vatican a way out of the Halloween conundrum. The German Pope Benedict could drive this with good reason and great credibility: celebrate Reformation Day, remember a difficult history and then link it all in to All Souls and All Saints.
I can’t see a downside.
October 31, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Choices, choices. It is just so hard these days to know what to celebrate as a local community.
Finding the sacred in the secular?
Secularising the scared, whoops, I mean sacred?
‘Celebrating’ witches
‘Burning’ Catholics.
Maybe we should just be counter-cultural and just ‘celebrate’ Catholics and ‘burn’ witches?
But I’ve a horrible feeling that might have been done before, too. Drat. Is there nothing new under the sun?
October 31, 2009 at 5:33 pm
In Dursley the entire churches together will be marching with torches from the Catholic church to the Anglican church, passing the two chapels en route. The Bishop of Tewkesbury will be leading us. The general idea is that we do not set fire to each others’ churches, but I suppose it might happen if anyone gets a bit careless.
I would have said this covers all the bases you outline, but I appreciate it is not an ideal solution for everyone – particularly not in the inclement late October period!
November 2, 2009 at 10:41 am
……….”how we cope with our histories and the bits we find uncomfortable. Do we just pretend they didn’t happen and wish they would go away? Just think of the damage such escapism or denial does in the life of an individual”.
Admirably put. I confess to finding it irritating that you can’t get straight answers to your questions though of course it may be “they” (whoever “they” happen to be) have never considered the questions in the first place. As one of my climbing friends put it – you can’t get up a straight crack by moving sideways.
November 2, 2009 at 11:40 am
As you mention Guy Fawkes, I thought I’d share this with you: at my son’s last scout meeting they made guys. As usual one of the scouts finished the meeting with a prayer – finding herself unexpectedly picked on, the flustered scout said, “Dear God, thankyou for Guy Fawkes. Amen”
There are so many possible responses to that, I don’t know where to start!
(no one else seemed to find it at all funny or odd -or anything, I suspect they weren’t actually listening…)