Oct 31…Halloween or Reformation Day? Does it matter? As a believer in Christ perhaps it does. As many years as I had been a believing Christian, the church I attended never mentioned it nor did they honor the man for whom it is remembered. It was not until I was a Reformed Christian Day School teacher that I was awakened to what this day symbolized for me as a Protestant. This was new to me and as the “new kid on the block” so to speak, I had no idea about what was before me. With my teammate, Linda we decided we would combine classes on that day and have a “Reformation Party”. A Reformation Party? I had just come from 12 yrs in a public school where the party idea was centered around Halloween, costumes, candy and spooky music! What an awakening I was about to experience which would forever alter my view of this day. We planned games, readings, food, costumes and a special chapel centered around the key character of Martin Luther. To prepare myself I set off to do some research. Why was this a new idea? Why didn’t my church celebrate this day? What was so special that we should devote an entire day to him? I found that he, as a respected professor, was drawn into a controversy with the Catholic hierarchy about the sale of indulgences (certificates sold by the Roman Catholic Church that promised people release from works of penance for absolved sins, both in life and in purgatory). These indulgences “assured” the peasant population of their entrance into heaven. Luther realized from the study of the scriptures that this was a blasphemy against Christ and a deception on those truly seeking their eternal destination. Because of this Luther drafted a series of 95 statements in Latin explaining this and nailed them to the door of the Wittenburg Church on All Saints Day, Oct 31, 1517. Martin Luther was sure that once the church realized this error they would change their ways and he could have an academic discussion with the church and “reform” their thinking. Instead this document brought Luther into conflict with the Pope and the rest of the Church. In the end Luther was excommunicated from the church. Martin Luther then began preaching and teaching the masses of the truth he had come to learn from Paul in Romans: “the just shall live by faith”, that man is saved not by works but by faith in Jesus Christ alone. It learning about this that gave me another viewpoint of why this is an important day for Protestants and should be so honored.
So as a parent, grandparent or even a school aged child how might this day be celebrated? Here’s some ideas I found cruising through the web: http://www.lovetolearnplace.com/SpecialDays/Reformation/ReformersWordSearch.pdf Have a Reformation Day Faire:
http://www.lovetolearnplace.com/SpecialDays/Reformation/activities.html#anchor58776
Sing “A Mighty Fortress is our God” written by Martin Luther: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/m/i/g/mightyfo.htm
Print out this picture for little ones to color as you explain this day: http://www.teacherhelp.org/images/Martin%20Luther.pdf
Excellent ideas for teaching about this special day; activities, books etc.
http://www.lovetolearnplace.com/SpecialDays/Reformation/#anchor22952
What a testimony to your neighbors if you welcome each trick or treater dressed as Martin Luther! Post your “95 theses” as an additional welcome: Rom 1:17 “The just shall live by faith.”
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