The Other October 31st Holiday

St. Patrick's Day isn't the only Church holiday that gets overshadowed by other festivities. Today is actually a church holiday. No, not Halloween (even Halloween was originally the eve of All Hallows or All Saints Day celebrated by the Church). Most people treat Halloween as a chance to dress up and scare people, but October 31st is actually celebrated by many Protestants around the world as Reformation Day. On this day in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. This document, even though Luther may not have intended it to, sparked the Refomation of the church in the 16th century. For Protestant Christians, our heritage is traced back to Luther and his teachings.

If you, like me, are apart of the Restoration movement which was started by Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell. We are connected to Luther. Alexander Campbell was a came out of the Scottish Presbyterian church which owes its heritage to John Knox. Knox was trained in Geneva, Switzerland by Calvin and his teachings. Calvin was influenced by Martin Luther's teachings.

Martin Luther is one of the fathers of Protestant movement, so today when you are dressing up or handing out candy, remember what Martin Luther and others did so long ago to try to make the church a better place. Happy Reformation Day!