Reformation Day + Halloween

Dear users, dear authors,
Today is Reformation Day, which is a public holiday in some German federal states. It’s also Halloween.

Does that mean anything to you? If so, how do you celebrate the holiday / Halloween?

Let me know.

I’m Protestant, which is somewhat rare in Austria. That’s why we adults don’t have the day off—only schoolchildren have the day off from school. The day does mean something to me, especially since it’s our Reformation Day. Back in the day, I always went to church on this day with my mom, my brother, and my grandma, then to the cemetery, and then to the bank to put some money in my savings account. That was always a special day for me. Back then, it wasn’t yet customary to celebrate Halloween, so we would remember the dead and light a candle. I still do that today. I tend to remember the old customs that were common here rather than the new ones flooding in from the U.S.—I’m a bit old-fashioned that way.

I’m always glad when Halloween is over. I don’t like the spooky stuff and prefer cheerful things.

Since I was raised Catholic, All Saints’ Day was cemetery day for us. I always found that somehow sad and dreary. I’ve never really had a connection to graves, since only the dead body lies there and the soul has long since been set free. That’s just how I feel, of course.

Now I no longer need special days to think about people who have passed before us. They live on in my heart, even without me having to visit their dead body somewhere. Of course, I also think it’s perfectly fine if other people need this place and these days. It can be very comforting for some.



Tonight, we’re going with our daughter (see photo from last year) and her friend to a Halloween event at a wildlife park. We’ve been doing this for the past few years, and it’s always been spookily fun. Luckily, she doesn’t want to go trick-or-treating with us anymore, but she loves dressing up. Personally, though, I don’t really care for any of it—neither Halloween nor Reformation Day (even though I’m Protestant...).