Reformation Day

When: Every year on October 31

Many Protestant Christians remember October 31, 1517, when the German monk and teacher Martin Luther sent out a list of 95 questions about the church of his day. It became the start of the Protestant Reformation.

Where it came from

Martin Luther taught the Bible at the university in Wittenberg, Germany. In 1517 he was troubled by the sale of “indulgences”, papers that people were told could reduce time in purgatory. He wrote 95 Theses, or statements for debate, and sent them to church leaders. The first of them says that the whole life of believers should be one of repentance.

A famous story says he nailed the Theses to the church door. Some historians doubt this, because the earliest account comes years later. We are sure about the letter he sent with them, dated October 31.

The Theses were printed and spread fast. The debate grew, and the church in western Europe divided into Catholic and Protestant churches. Luther translated the New Testament into German in 1522 so ordinary people could read it. Many other Reformers followed, such as John Calvin and Ulrich Zwingli.

How it is kept around the world

• Germany. Reformationstag is a public holiday in several German states. Churches hold services and sing Luther's hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”.
• Slovenia. Reformation Day is a national holiday, because the Reformation helped shape the written Slovene language.
• Chile. October 31 is the National Day of Evangelical and Protestant Churches, a public holiday.
• United States and many churches. Churches hold Reformation Sunday services, Bible-reading nights, or festivals for children, often as a Christian alternative to Halloween.
• Catholics and Lutherans together. In 2016, Pope Francis and Lutheran leaders held a joint service in Lund, Sweden, to remember the Reformation and to pray for unity.

Christians differ

Protestants usually see the Reformation as a renewal that brought the Bible back to the centre and put faith in Jesus first. Catholics honour Luther's concern for the Scriptures but also feel the sadness of a divided church, and the Catholic Church has changed much since then. Orthodox Christians were not part of this western split.

In 1999, the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation signed a joint statement about the main question Luther raised, how people are made right with God. Many Christians today try to remember the Reformation with honesty and without anger.

Do it together

Ages 0 to 2

• Sing a simple hymn or song together, and open a picture Bible.
• Hold a book together and turn its pages slowly.

Ages 3 to 5

• Look at a Bible in your own language. Count how many languages your family reads.
• Draw an open Bible and a big door.

Ages 6 to 8

• Find out why people were so glad to read the Bible in their own language. Say a verse in two languages.
• Learn about one translation, such as the Reina-Valera in Spanish or Ang Dating Biblia in Tagalog.

Ages 9 to 12

• Read Luther's first thesis. What do you think “repentance” means?
• Find a hymn by Luther or another Reformer and learn one verse.

Ages 13 to 17

• Read two or three of the 95 Theses with a grown-up. What was he arguing about, and why did it matter so much?
• Discuss: how can Christians remember a painful division honestly and kindly?

A short prayer

God, thank you for the Bible and for everyone who has helped people read it. Help all Christians to listen to you and to one another. Amen.

Mark as done

Where this comes from

• Martin Luther, Ninety-Five Theses (1517), in Luther's Works, American Edition, vol. 31 (Fortress Press, 1957)
• Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Reformation: A History (Viking, 2003)
• F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2005), entries “Luther, Martin” and “Reformation”
• Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church, Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999)

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.