Transitions: Origin Stories
Summer/Fall 2024
Last year, I wrote about this week’s triduum of holy days, Halloween/All Hallow’s Eve on October 31, All Saints’ Day/All Hallows’ Day on November 1, and All Souls’ Day, November 2. These three feast days, also known as Allhallowtide, date back to the Middle Ages when Abbot Odilo of Cluny (in France) formally established them as holy days, likely in the early 11th century. Such celebrations were already happening, especially as Christianity spread into England and Ireland and fused with Celtic traditions that marked the end of the harvest and the change in season. Much of what we know as Halloween comes from the Celtic holiday of Samhain.
Then, I shared about the Mexican tradition of Allhallowtide, Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, the origins of which also predate Christianity. The ancient Aztecs had long celebrated a similar holiday to honor their Lady of the Dead, Mictēcacihuātl, Queen of Mictlān (the underworld). The Spanish conquistadors, similar to the missionaries who brought Christianity to Britain, combined the Catholic feast days with this similarly-themed holiday and gradually, Day of the Dead, as we know it now, was created.
There is yet another major origin story that took place at this same time of the year: the Protestant Reformation. It was on All Hallows’ Eve, 1517, when Martin Luther published his 95 Theses, his list of 95 major problems in Roman Catholicism. There is some debate now as to whether he nailed his list to the church door (a church called All Saints, in Wittenberg, Germany), or he mailed them to the Archbishop of Mainz, or both. Luther’s contemporary and fellow reformer, Philip Melanchthon, is the one who wrote that Luther posted them on the church door, intentionally choosing October 31, because it was a time when many people would gather at church and thus see his theses. As a result, October 31 is also known as Reformation Day in some Protestant communities, especially among Lutheran and Reformed denominations.
When I was a United Methodist pastor, I only commemorated the feast day once, in 2017, on the 500th anniversary. Methodism has different roots than Lutheranism; Methodism comes from the Church of England, also called the Anglican Church, founded in 1534, so coinciding with the Reformation, but for significantly different reasons. Luther, Melanchthon, and other Reformers had theological problems with Roman Catholicism. King Henry VIII just wanted a divorce, and for no one, even the Pope, to have authority over him. It was a political move, not one actually trying to improve the Church (as a side note, the Methodist movement, started by John Wesley, was an attempt to improve the Anglican Church). Finally, interestingly enough, in the spirit of ecumenism (different strands of Christianity working together), the Roman Catholic Church recently recognized Reformation Day and sends official representatives to Protestant commemorations.
All transitions have origin stories. There is always a reason for a change. Sometimes the purpose is a power play, like Henry VIII; sometimes the motives are more altruistic. Sometimes you never know the root reason. Regardless, we continue this transition toward colder weather in the northern hemisphere, marking the passage of time, remembering our loved ones who are no longer with us, and doing what we can to make our corner of the world a more beautiful and life-giving place.
