They fall on one day and seem to have nothing to do with each other: Reformation Day and Halloween. The latter is “All Hallows Eve” – the evening before All Saints’ Day. It’s nothing less than heaven and hell.
On October 31st it’s that time again: While some – mostly younger people – parade through the streets in scary costumes to scare neighbors and local shops with costumes dripping with fake blood and collect sweets, others – mostly adults – remember one thing the most important events in church history. Because Reformation Day and Halloween fall on the same day. Two occasions that couldn’t be more opposite at first glance – but it’s not that simple.
You can celebrate Halloween “almost evangelically,” says Isabell Pawletta, who works as a volunteer preacher in the parish of Gransee (Oberhavel). Because it is possible, according to the church employee, to find “connections between Halloween and Luther’s thoughts” – to which Reformation Day goes back [kirchenkreis-oberes-havelland.de].
Because Halloween is a festival that has its roots in the Catholic feast of All Saints. Already in the 9th century, celebrated by the Celts, it was known as “All Hallows Eve” – the evening before All Saints’ Day (on November 1st). The harvest was celebrated, the beginning of the cold season and the start of a new calendar year – in the Celtic calendar, October 31st is the last day of the year. The Celts also believed that on this day there could be contact with the realm of the dead. According to legend, according to Isabell Pawletta, people wanted to remember a “wandering” man to whom heaven and hell were closed. And Luther also ultimately believed that people always move between heaven and hell throughout their lives, and that they are always just and sinners at the same time (Latin simul iustus et peccator).
The first Irish emigrants brought this custom with them to the USA in the 19th century, where it gradually developed into what we know here today: a festival full of ghosts, pumpkins and spooky decorations. Children and young people wear bedsheets as ghosts or slip into frightening costumes from popular series such as “Money Heist” or “Squid Game”.
However, because in recent years in some areas of Berlin, there have been more than just martial costumes, and instead firecrackers have been thrown and pyrotechnics have been set off, the police will once again be increasing their presence in the city for Halloween this year. It is still unclear how many emergency services will be assigned to this in 2024 – last year there were around 1,000.
The enthusiasm for Halloween, which has only been widely celebrated in Germany since the 1990s, is also unbroken in other respects, namely commercially. According to a study by the trade association [www.einzelhandel.de] A record sales of 540 million euros from Halloween goods are expected for 2024 – a clear sign of the commercialization of this festival. Make-up, costumes, scary rubber gear and party decorations are sold every year for this occasion.
On the other hand, Reformation Day takes place at the same time, without any impact on trade, but with a religious aspect, which commemorates the publication of Martin Luther’s 95 theses in 1517. This day is a public holiday in many northern German states. Evangelical Christians celebrate it as a day of reflection and remembrance of the reform movement that permanently changed the Christian world. And while they appreciate the historical context and religious significance of the day, others at the same time enjoy the spooky atmosphere of Halloween.
And Luther himself was at least fond of disguises. After all, persecuted by the emperor and believed to be dead, he had retreated disguised as “Junker Jörg” in order to translate the New Testament into German.
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Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, October 31, 2024, 6:20 a.m
