The costumes are back in the closet marking the end of another season of candy corn, sugar rushes and spooky stories. While everyone sorts through their candy haul, fighting over who gets to keep what, some people are celebrating and reflecting on something different.

Reformation Day is a Protestant Christian holiday celebrated on Oct. 31. Reformation day commemorates the beginning of the Protestant Reformation when Martin Luther, a German monk nailed his 95 theses on the door of the Roman Catholic Church. He was deeply concerned with certain practices of the church, the dominant religious and political power at the time.

The 95 theses were an outline of 95 arguments that criticized the selling of indulgences and the responsibilities of the church. They also argued salvation was not by works alone, rather by faith alone in Jesus Christ.

John Voorhoorst, a devout Christian, summarizes the 95 points. “The teaching at the time was that the Roman Catholic Church was the head of the church when in fact Jesus Christ is the head of the church. The church taught there was salvation by way of works whereas Martin Luther realized salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.”

Martin Luther meant for this document to promote academic discussion. However, rather than promote discussion, it turned into a manifesto that took root in the church and sparked the beginning of a protest.

It was a common belief that during this time of Samhain the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead blurred and spirits were free to roam the earth. The souls of those who had died returned to visit their homes and those who had died during the year journeyed to the other world.

The Christian worldview points out the necessity of having no fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness and leaves Christian individuals to consider whether Halloween is something they really should be celebrating.

“It’s a way to teach the next generation who we are and where we came from. Any celebration that helps to remind us of where we’ve come from is a long-term positive celebration”

-Voorhorst

Shaun Geusebroek, a Lethbridge Polytechnic student used to celebrate Halloween. As a kid he would go trick or treating with his family and spend time in the community, knocking on his neighbours’ doors.

“I used to be an advocate for it. I thought it was good for the community good to meet your neighbors, I thought there was no harm in it. More and more, I’ve come to the realization that it’s a holiday based on the worship of all things evil and as a Christian, I can’t support that.”

He states there is some value in the traditions of Halloween but it’s hard to separate because he doesn’t agree with the origins of the holiday.

Reformation day still holds value for Christians today even though over 500 years have gone by. Understanding what it has done for the Protestant Christian church allows people to see what caused the split from Catholicism.

“It’s a way to teach the next generation who we are and where we came from. Any celebration that helps to remind us of where we’ve come from is a long-term positive celebration,” says Voorhorst.

Without the courage of one monk named Martin Luther, the Protestant Christian Church would not be where it is today. Protestant Reformation is a foundational and defining historical event that sparked the beginning of Protestant Christianity. The Protestant Reformation established the core theological pillars that distinguished Protestant beliefs from Roman Catholic beliefs, known as the 5 Solas.

Christians around the globe still celebrate this part of their church history, whether that means an assembly at a high school or a gathering in a household. What originally was meant for academic discussion became a protest that changed the course of western Christianity forever.