HALLOWEEN 2016

A gentle reminder from our parish priest about the original meaning of Halloween has got me thinking again about faith.

Apparently, Halloween comes from the contraction of the words All Hallows' Evening and is celebrated in many countries on the eve of the Christian feast of All Saints' Day, November 1.

For many, like myself, the focus of Halloween is the kids and Terry and I are lucky to live in a neighbourhood abounding with children who love to dress up in costumes ranging from unicorns and fairies to ninjas and zombies.

In fact, we were overrun by trick-or-treaters last week. Terry had bought 280 treats and by 8 pm we were lights out despite the fact the hordes of kids still roamed the street. Really quite amazing although I was a little chagrined by the dad who escorted his child from the comfort of his car and the mothers who held out bags for candies alongside their children's.

As Obama would say..."Come on man!"

Halloween can be a bit macabre and for some adults, a glorification of the dark side. However, for me, it's a tradition of giving to little ones and reminds me that the ball game doesn't end on this planet as some ghouls might suggest.

Rather, faith teaches me that all of us will go into unlimited extra innings and that's a God thing.