Trick-or-treating isn't on my list of personal experiences. Going door-to-door on foot wouldn't have been practical in our rural setting, and it wasn't the tradition at home or at school anyway. We had other opportunities to wear costumes and enjoy sweet treats. Programs at the end of each school year often included dressing up as characters in a story, and it was traditional to observe birthdays by handing out candy bars at school.

Still, I grew up thinking of Oct. 31 as a special day, and in later years I enjoyed it because of getting together with people from various towns for a festive service with an invited speaker and special instrumental and choir music.

The fact that I look forward to Oct. 31 does have a connection with Halloween and especially with what happened on Oct. 31 almost 500 years ago in a German university town.

Since Halloween was the eve of All Hallows or All Saints, many people in those days attended the related church observances at the beginning of November, and it was a convenient time to post notices on the church door for everyone to read. In 1517, a theology professor who was irritated with some church practices of his day posted a set of statements for discussion called the Ninety-five Theses. His name was Martin Luther.

As his differences with the established church expanded, he was condemned as a heretic and was kidnapped for his own safety. Living in seclusion for a while, he used the time to translate the New Testament into the language of his people. After returning to teaching and preaching, he translated the Old Testament as well.

Continuing developments and conflicting beliefs eventually led to the formation of new churches, and other unrest in society contributed to a shift in the relationship between church and state. Luther's posting on the wooden doors of the Castle Church in Wittenberg became known as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

Since I attended elementary schools operated by Lutheran churches, Reformation Day was a natural alternative theme for us to observe on Oct. 31.

One of the musical expressions of the theme was, of course, Luther's hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," which has been called "the battle hymn of the Reformation." It was one of nearly 40 hymns he wrote, as he encouraged congregational singing. He also stressed education, an emphasis which continues today in an extensive system of Lutheran schools.

In the schools I attended, we usually presented programs on Oct. 31 for other classes or for our parents, and sometimes we had treats afterward.

For the programs, we usually learned recitations that told about Luther's beliefs and events in his life. Twice my recitations were about Luther’s emblem or coat of arms. Later, my mother gave me a necklace with that design.

In a letter to a friend, Martin Luther described the seal he designed as an expression of his theology. He said:

"The first thing expressed in my seal is a cross, black, within the heart, to put me in mind that faith in Christ crucified saves us ... this heart is fixed upon the centre of a white rose to show that faith causes joy, consolation and peace ... This rose, moreover, is fixed in a sky-coloured ground, to denote that such joy of faith in the spirit is but an earnest and beginning of heavenly joy to come ... And around this groundbase is a golden ring, to signify that such bliss in heaven is endless, and more precious than all joys and treasures."

One of the earlier programs that I remember, from the primary grades, included crayon artwork. First we completely covered one side of a sheet of paper with different colors. Then we were supposed to color black all over the top. I wasn't too happy about that idea, but after we scratched designs through the black, the bright colors underneath showed through. As I remember it, my picture was of Christmas presents around a tree, since Luther is connected with the custom of bringing evergreens indoors to decorate.

In retrospect, I think the brightly-colored pictures under the dark layer are a reminder of Luther's attempts to restore to people a more complete knowledge of the Christian Gospel at a time when he himself had found it to be a hidden treasure.

Luther stated it this way in his Ninety-five Theses:  "62. The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God."

I suppose if the Internet had been available in 1517, Luther would have posted his Ninety-five Theses there. In fact, they are posted there now, along with hymns, catechisms and other materials he wrote. A statement from the Project Wittenberg site serves to briefly summarize his influence on society. He was a "founder of Lutheranism, translator of the Bible, shaper of the German language, and a catalyst in the events that shaped the formation of modern western civilization."