Yesterday was October 31, which–over time–has become the date of Halloween. Today is November 1, which–over time–has become [for Catholics and Christians] the date of All Saints Day.

I have said this before, but again, I want to add that the Catholic Church and the Early Christians evoloved out of a Pagan Culture, and I want to reiterate that many of our current holidays were initiated on days that the pagans had grown accustomed to celebrating their pagan holidays. It was a way to appeal to the pagans–a way that the pagans could continue to celebrate on the days that they had celebrated for many years.

Ancient Pagan Holidays Celebrated Today–Some of Them Are Celebrated as Christian

The more recent celebrations of Halloween and All Saints Day evolved from the pagan celebration of Samhain, which is a celebration of light.

For some ancient pagans, November 1 was celebrated as the beginning of a new year, and it was celbrated by the lighting of a new fire [new light] for the coming year. For those people, October 31 was the end of that year, and the fires of that year were extinguished on October 31. No doubt, that is why people associate black and darkness with Halloween today.

Samhain – The Ancient Celtic Origin of Halloween – A Struggle to Light the Darkness

Last night was Halloween night, and my garden was blessed by a glorious rain–essentially, the only decent rain for this entire month. My garden was parched, but because of the rain, it has been renewed.

This morning, I went outside thinking about All Saints Day, and my wonderfully wet and refreshed garden reminded me of the traditions of Baptism in our more modern churches.

I grew up in the Baptist church, and the Baptists believe that baptism should involve the dipping of the person being baptized into water. In my Baptist church, when the baptized was lifted out of the water, the words were repeated: “Walk in newness of life.”

Romans 6:4: “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life”

After being baptized, a person’s old life has been extinguished–or buried–allowing the baptized to emerge from that water burial to walk into a new life.

Several ancient cultures believe that before the world was created, a dark, watery abyss surrounded the world.

In creating the world, the dark wet nothingness was replaced by a light, new world:

Water is the stuff out of which the world was created, and it is through water that we are refreshed and cleansed. During my young adulthood, I became Episcopalian, and I cherish the blessings of the water that are part of the Episcopalian baptism. Note: The Episcopal church is the American counterpart to the Church of England: