SAINTS AND HALLOWE'EN

I still remember from sometime in the 1970's, on a visit to Edinburgh, opening the door of my friends flat to be confronted by some masked monsters. I shut the door quickly not at all sure what was going on. I felt much the same when we came to live in Edinburgh. Hallowe'en just did not feature in the place we came from. What was going on? I am still doubtful about its popularity and the way it is promoted commercially and supported by the media.
It is a makeover apparently of the old pagan festival of Samheinn (summers end), marking the beginning of winter. Bealltainn or Beltain -May 1st- the beginning of summer. With the coming of Christianity Samheinn became All Saints Day (November 1st) and Beltane, Candlemas. But the Christianising of these Festivals did not put an end to the ancient Festivals associated with them, even if they are now exploited for monetary gain.
So what of All Hallow's Day itself? 'The creation of the cult of saints was akin to the church's adoption of those other pagan festivals. Rather than lighting bonfires and hanging rowan over their doorways to ward off evil spirits, people could ask the saints to intercede with God on their behalf, to protect them in this life and save their souls from eternal damnation.'  (Chris Tabraham in HISTORIC SCOTLAND Autumn 2010)
And yet this does not accord with Christian belief based upon theNew Testament Scripure, where Jesus death (when the veil in the Temple was torn aside) opens access directly to the Father through the Son; when those who follow him are being made more like Jesus ie being 'sanctified' by the Holy Spirit throughout their life. The Apostle Paul often refers to Christian believers as Saints. (I noticed in the introduction to a modern translaton of the New Testament the authors sought alternative words or phrases for 'saint' as they noted the word had been changed in meaning--)
That we should thank God for the examples of the many who by their example have inspired us in our Christian formation is right and good - the last Pope read out a long list of non-Catholics whose life examples are recognised as are Catholic Saints - but we don't pray to them.
I think I am more uncomfortable about the recent creation of new 'saints' than I am about Hallowe'en-