All Saints Day- 2023

November 1, 2023- All Saints Day

I am not a person who gives a rip about Halloween.  Halloween has never really appealed to me and frankly I do not understand why people spend hundreds of dollars on Halloween costumes and yard decorations.  To spend that much time and money on evil things just doesn't seem healthy as a society.  I also know many people just see Halloween as something "fun" and is something to break the monotony between Labor Day and Thanksgiving.  I get that but it still doesn't make much sense to me.  I also know those views are not real popular and I can live with that.  It's all part of my ignoring of Halloween.

Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, is celebrated in many Hispanic cultures.  It is closely associated with Halloween and if just a little to creepy for me.  All of the skeletons, and hideous masks give me reason to pause and wonder what exactly we are celebrating.  I know this is a time for people to remember their loved ones who have died, and I can totally understand that.  It's the skeletons and weird costumes that makes that something of a weird way to celebrate someone's life. 

Today is the day many religious oriented people celebrate All Saints Day.  This is a day to honor those Christians who have gone before us.  Some religions see it as a time to honor specific people who have been given "saint" status and deserve to be remembered for their contributions to Christianity.  Some people believe in praying to those saints and honoring them.  

For me, All Saints Day is a day to remember those Christians and Jews who have contributed to our Christian experience.  I include Jews in my view of All Saints Day because of all of the Jewish people who contributed to the Bible as we know it today.  Think about it.  Christians cannot fully follow their religion without spending time studying and learning from the life of Moses, Abraham, King David, and King Solomon.  The Apostle Paul, the twelve disciples, all who contributed to the writing of the New Testament and showing us the life of Jesus Christ.  All were Jews.  This is yet another reason why Christians should work to support Jewish people with the desire for them to accept Jesus Christ also. 

As I celebrate All Saints Day, I simply thank God for those great Jewish people who gave us the religious heritage we have today.  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  Hezekiah, Jonah and Amos.  There are so many, and they all deserve to be remembered today as we acknowledge the huge impact they have had on generations of Christians and Jews.  

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