Hallowe'en - Eve of All Saints - Suggestions for Reclaiming this Christian Feast

Women for Faith and Family ^ | Helen Hull Hitchcock

[NYer]

ot long ago, a friend and I were talking about children and holidays. "What am I going to do about Hallowe'en?" she asked. "My kids love planning costumes, figuring out jokes and riddles for trick-or-treating, and then there's the big night when dozens of neighbor children come to our door for handouts. But now I wonder if it's right for Christians to let our kids participate in pagan holidays like this at all."

Her concern was real — and considering some of the adult Hallowe'en street celebrations in recent years, anyone would think this is a deeply pagan festivity. (The same might be said of Mardi Gras celebrations!) Add to that the fact that some people today actually claim to be witches. They have claimed "ownership" of Hallowe'en. They claim it is really an ancient pagan harvest festival.

What about this? Can even innocent children's parties, trick-or-treating, dressing up like witches and ghosts on October 31 — as almost all Americans have done for generations — be participating in a pagan religious celebration? Worse, is it a way of seducing our kids into the occult or devil worship?

Are we compromising our religious beliefs and principles by letting our children, even if innocently, dabble in something that has its origins in evil? As Catholic families, what is our obligation to be consistent and true to our faith?

We think that Hallowe'en can be a real teaching moment. Despite what many people think — or what some modern-day "witches" may claim — Hallowe'en is and has always been a Christian holiday.

The word Hallowe'en itself is a contraction of "Hallowed evening". Hallowed is an old English word for "holy" — as in "Hallowed be Thy Name", in the Lord's Prayer.

Why is this evening "hallowed"? Because is is the eve of the Feast of All Saints — which used to be called All Hallows. Like Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and the Easter Vigil, the Church's celebration of her greatest feasts begins the evening before. (This follows the ancient Jewish practice of beginning the celebration of the Sabbath at sundown on Friday evening.)

We need to begin to re-Christianize or re-Catholicize Hallowe'en by repairing the broken link to its Christian meaning and significance. We need to reattach it to All Saints Day — and to All Souls Day, for it is only in relation to this that we can understand the original and true significance of the "hallowed eve".

The Communion of Saints

The Church's belief in the Communion of Saints is a key to unlocking the real mystery of Hallowe'en and to restoring its connection to the Church's celebration of All Saints and commemoration of All Souls.

The Communion of Saints is really a definition of the Church: the unity in faith in Christ of all believers, past, present and future, in heaven and on the earth. We are united as one body in Christ by holy things, especially the Eucharist, which both represents the Mystical Body of Christ and brings it about. (See the Catechism of the Catholic Church §960)

The Communion of Saints also means the communion in Christ of holy persons (saints) — "so that what each one does or suffers in and for Christ bears fruit for all". (CCC §961)

So, as Pope Paul VI put it, "We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church".

Furthermore, "we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and His saints is always [attentive] to our prayers". (CCC §962)

This is why Catholics honor the saints and "pray to the saints". (Actually, what we are doing is are asking them to pray for us -- to add their prayers to ours, just as we might ask a friend to pray for us. This is known as "intercessory prayer".)

It is because of our belief in the communion of all the faithful in Christ — in this world or in the next — that Catholics pray for the dead, for all those those have died and who are being purified (in Purgatory), that they will soon be granted eternal rest in heaven with God and reunited with all the saints.

A reminder of "Last Things"

It's odd, isn't it, that Hallowe'en is such a big deal in our secularized society in America today? In the pre-Modern world the threat of impending death from plagues and wars, as well as uncontrollable disease, loomed large in people's daily lives. Death could not be ignored. Themes of the Last Judgment, Heaven, Hell were on people's minds, and the art of the period illustrates this. Consciousness of personal sin, repentance, confession and penance and the Church's role in forgiveness of sins influenced the spiritual life and devotion of most Catholics.

The omnipresent reality of death, almost daily experience of it, and people's authentic religious beliefs about it, along with ignorance and superstition and folk legend, led to an attitude toward death that often seems primitive, bizarre and alien to us, now.

Paradoxically, though, in our contemporary world — justly called a "Culture of Death" — people often seem to be "in denial" about death. As a culture, we avoid not only avoid coming to grips with personal sin and the consequences of evil, but we deny the spiritual value of the suffering and pain associated with dying, which are a part of the human condition.

Even Christian funeral customs have changed markedly in the past few decades. Although the Church strictly forbids eulogies at funeral Masses, there has been a recent tendency to "canonize" the person who dies — to assume that the person is instantly in heaven. This emphasis on joy and eternal bliss, and the denial of the sorrow, loss and suffering death causes, may reflect the widespread denial sin and of hell, which is the eternal consequence of unrepented sins. (This mistaken idea of "instant heaven" among Catholics also deprives the "faithful departed" of needed prayers for purification.)

Could this denial of belief so common in our "culture of death" account for why Hallowe'en has become an occasion for flaunting our lack of belief in the power of evil, Satan and his power in this world? Do we attempt to tame death and hell by erasing all trace of the original connection of the Eve of All Hallows to the solemn feast of All Saints and the commemmoration of the dead on All Souls day?

We can see how such attitudes actually destroy belief in the Church as the Communion of Saints — past, present and future. The rejection of Christianity also underlies the self-conscious invention of new "pagan" observances, such as "wicca" and some New Age pseudo-religions.

Hallowe'en is distinctively Christian — and specifically a Catholic holiday — so we Catholics should restore the original meaning of this feast and season of the Church's year.

 

Celebration in the Domestic Church HALLOWE'EN

As Catholics — and as parents — our job is to make clear the real meaning of the Hallowed Evening and its link to the Communion of Saints to our families and our communities. Celebrating Hallowe'en in the "domestic Church" can help restore the link with All Saints and All Souls. Hallowe'en, like Valentine's Day, and even Christmas, is a big commercial "holiday". But if the original religious significance of these celebrations is restored, this could have a beneficial effect on the religious formation of youngsters.

Hallowe'en is chiefly celebrated in America, and principally as a children's festival. As with many holidays (holy days), pagan elements have been part of the tradition most of us associate with Hallowe'en. In a culture that has lost its Christian moorings, there is a serious risk that the "paganizing" of holy days will lead to further loss of belief.

Consciously anti-Christian Hallowe'en celebrations in recent years have led many Christian families to believe that participation in any Hallowe'en festivity — even kids trick-or-treating and dressing up in costumes — should be avoided.

But our task, as laity — as Catholics — is to evangelize our culture. In this case, we might say "re-evangelize", because, as we have seen, Hallowe'en is really a completely Christian festival.

There is something nostalgic and cheerful about our memories of celebrating Hallowe'en — even if our celebration was completely disconnected from the real holy day that inspired it. The same could be said of Mardi Gras, which is now detached from the authentic observence of Lent; and even jolly Santa Claus, who bears no resemblance to the Middle-Eastern bishop, Saint Nicholas, and adds nothing to the real meaning of Christmas. Saint Valentine's Day and Saint Patrick's Day celebrations have also become almost entirely secular and commercialized.

Do we want to abolish all these secular holiday customs? No, we don't. They are truly a part of our culture. But as Catholics, we should see in these celebrations an opportunity "inculturate" the vestiges of truth in the customs, and to integrate these customs with some fresh ways to instill the real meaning of the holiday.

Understanding our customs and traditions

Trick-or-Treating on Hallowe'en — like Santa Claus and his "eight tiny reindeer", is fun — and an authentic part of our own culture. The naughty and destructive tricks once associated with Hallowe'en seem mostly to have disappeared.

What about children dressing as devils and witches and ghosts?

We think dressing children to look like devils or demons is not a good idea. Is it harmful? Probably not. But at the very least it tends to reduce evil to something cute or fun, and this is certainly off-base. Talking with kids about choosing Hallowe'en costumes can give Christian parents an opportunity to make it clear that there is a real personal Devil, and he is truly evil — something people nowadays are inclined to forget.

Until very recently, witches seemed entirely fanciful — like fairies or leprechauns. Witches were comically wicked, like the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz, or Samantha on the old TV series Bewitched. Now, however, some very misguided people actually claim to be witches, and they practice fabricated religions based on magic and the occult. Some even claim to worship Satan. This is not funny. It is seriously wrong and it changes the picture considerably. Again, this can be a teaching moment when we talk with our children about this.

Jack-o'-lanterns are different. Although the big orange pumpkins with glowing scary faces are uniquely American, this is our remake of an old Irish custom, based on a folk tale about a man who was so miserly that, after he died, his ghost had to walk about at night with a lantern made from a hollowed-out turnip, in order to make amends for his sins by warning the living to repent. As the story goes, people later began to carve the miser's ghostly features in the turnips as a reminder of his message.

(This tale of the repentant miser's ghost reminds me a bit of Scrooge's ghostly partner, Jacob Marley, in Dickens's A Christmas Carol, who had to drag heavy chains forged in life by his sins. Remember? Marley's ghost visited Scrooge in order to scare him into changing his sinful ways before it was too late.)

But the story of the miserly Irishman and his penance was lost over time, and Jack-o'-lanterns grin fiercely from our American pumpkins, not turnips. This custom has become a memorable part of American childhood.

Picking out the pumpkins can be an excuse for arranging a nice family outing in the fall. And carving them is an activity that can involve almost all members of the family.

While we're helping small children carve the pumpkin, we might tell them the Jack-o'-lantern legend — and we can even relate it to authentic Catholic teaching about Purgatory and the need for every soul's purification from the effects of sin before entering Heaven.

Symbolism of Hallowe'en colors

Did you ever wonder why the traditional colors of Hallowe'en are black and orange?

Orange is the color the color of ripe pumpkins, falling leaves and glowing sunsets. The color represents harvest and autumn, the pleasant warmth of bonfires and blazing hearths, and the harvest moon of the year's waning days. As days are growing shorter and colder, and the creatures of the earth prepare for winter, we, too, are reminded of the "last things" of life.

Black is the traditional color of mourning. Throughout most of Christian history — until about thirty years ago — black was the liturgical color used for funerals, for Mass on All Souls and on Good Friday. Though priests now often wear white vestments at funeral Masses, black vestments are still proper for funerals, and for All Souls Masses. (Violet is also approved for funerals, and red for Good Friday.)

Traditionally, black signifies sins, evil (as in "black-hearted"), the occult or hidden (as in "black magic"). Many people may think this nearly universal association of darkness with evil comes only from the irrational childish fear of the dark, of the unseen. But there is more to it than that. Jesus is the Sun of Righteousness; the Light of the World. Black — the absense of light — is the opposite of this Light of Christ. For this Light penetrates and overcomes spiritual darkness, ignorance, sin.

In the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great Light. And they that walked in the valley of the shadow of death, upon them hath a light shined."

Suggestions for family celebration - Costumes - Parties - Games

• Help kids create Hallowe'en costumes drawn from Church history -- saints of the past, who are examples (witness/martyr) for Christian life. The children might choose their own name-saint.
  
• Get together with other families (perhaps in your childrens' school) and have a pageant of saints. This could be as simple as a procession, where the children tell about the saints portrayed by the costumes they are wearing. It could also be more elaborately organized, with props and children acting out the saints' lives -- either with spoken parts or a narration. (Obviously, this idea needs active adult planning and organizing.) This pageant could be held in the early evening, so that children could go trick-or-treating afterwards.
  
• Have an All Hallow's Eve party with several families. Begin with the children's "saints procession" with parents and grandparents as the audience.
  
• Play classic parlor games together. Some examples: Charades, Twenty Questions, The Minister's Cat, Musical Chairs, Blind Man's Bluff. If you don't remember these games, ask your parents or grandparents! In the days before television, many families entertained themselves by playing games involving the entire family -- from the toddler to the great-grandma.
  
• Other family activities for Hallowe'en parties could be making taffy or fudge or popcorn balls or candy apples. Messy but memorable!
  
• When making decorations or invitations for Hallowe'en parties, have the children help. Instead of black cats and bats, or cute little witches and ghosts, you might consider gluing real autumn leaves to a black or orange construction paper card, cut to fit ordinary envelopes.
  Stickers of autumn leaves or pumpkins or scarecrows also fit the autumn/harvest season.
  And remember -- this is the Vigil of a solemn feast of the Church. So the inside of your party invitation could say something like "To celebrate the Vigil of All Saints Day, we invite you to join us for a Hallowe'en party on ------", etc.
  
• While you're making black and orange decorations with crepe paper streamers, or blowing up black and orange balloons, you can explain what the colors signify.
  
• Refreshments can be very simple. Apple cider or cocoa with marshmallows would be good with bowls of popcorn. Children like to help frost cupcakes and cookies. Black and orange candy sprinkles on either chocolate or orange frosting are effective and fun. Use chocolate chips or raisins to make Jack-o'-lantern faces on cookies (before baking) or on the orange icing on cupcakes.
  
• For party favors, get an assortment of holy cards representing the patron saints of each guest. You could fasten the cards to ribbons for guests to wear around their necks.
  
• At the end of the party, just before the guests leave, assemble everyone to say together the Prayer to Saint Michael, composed by Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) after he had a vision of terrible evils to come in the twentieth century.

Saint Michael, Archangel, defend us in battle;
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
And do thou, O prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan
and all the other evil spirits who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Follow this prayer with the traditional invocation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: Have mercy on us.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: Have mercy on us.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: Have mercy on us.

+ In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen.

[Salvation]

All Hallows Evening bump!

(Shorten to Halloween in the U. S.) And of course, the meaning has become completely misconstrued.

[Conservative til I die]

I agree that is high time Christians not necessarily "take back" (because I think Santa Claus, Rudolph, Frosty, and Trick or Treating is harmless fun and a part of our culture, but we should also celebrate the religious aspects of it and avoid the materialism (Christmas) and mischief (dressing up like the devil on Halloween).

[raynearhood]

Actually, shortened to Halloween hundreds of years ago, somewhere in the British Isles. It was (and, lyrically, still is) common to shorten written words to reflect common pronunciation. Hallowed evening became Hallow' eve became Halloween.

This isn't at all like X-mas. (which, by the way, has some historical background, also).

As for the meaning of the holiday. This article is only partially correct. When Christianity spread through the western world, the missionaries found themselves in the middle of literally hundreds of different pagan religions. Alot of the converts heard the word and believed but had trouble giving up their old practices. Christians made an attempt to replaces alot of the pagan holidays with coinciding Christian celebrations.

If you will notice in the old testament, celebrations and recognitions of God's work is required (Passover feast). In the New Testament, there is nothing that says celebrate the birth of Christ, or the Resurrection.

So, what the Christians did was celebrate new holidays around the time of the pagan holidays to make the transition smoother. Before Halloween was called Halloween it was the day of the dead. Celtic people would remember there dead family members on this day, even praying to them, it was a sad day. But it was followed immediately by the Harvest feast. No there was no witches and warlocks. This was not wicca, but Celtic paganism. All Hallowed Eve and All Saint's Day replaced these. Of course outside of the church buildings, these holidays never completely took.

EASTER, the name of the holiday is actually the pagan name for the holiday. Ostara was the pagan Celtic goddess of life and rebirth. All world religions recognized spring and rebirth in the world. I believe God had planned the passover and the celebration this way. To coincide with the death and resurrection of Christ, to symbolize rebirth at the beginning of spring. So, the Christians tried to replace Ostara's spring celebration with Resurrection Sunday. Once again, never completely took. Although the pagan meaning behind this has seriously lost it's luster, symbols from the pagan goddess can still be seen. Ostara was represented by the Celts with a hare, and was worshipped with feasts of eggs, as eggs were representations of birth.

[raynearhood]

Wow, did I mess up some. Sorry. Mixed some Celtic gods with other pagan gods. Estre/Ostara was Germanic. Should have re-researched as it has been years since I've had this discussion. Sorry. See links below.

http://www.wcg.org/lit/church/holidays/sineastr.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter

Also, see the writings of Venerable Bede.

[raynearhood]

Whoa, did I mess up. Ostara/Eastre was Germanic. I was mixing pagan religions from different areas up. I should have re-researched before posting. Sorry. See links below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter

http://www.wcg.org/lit/church/holidays/sineastr.htm

Also see the writings of Venerable Bede.

[Salvation]

You are correct on the shortening of the word All Hallows Evening in England.

[Dumb_Ox]

My suggestions: Every time you see a devil costume, shout "Hail, Satan, King of the Losers!" The devil cannot abide to be mocked, nor can his stupid teenage admirers.

More pious: Revive the tradition of visiting the graveyard and maintaining the graves of your loved ones on All Souls Day, Nov. 2.

[NYer]

¯4 ??ggestions: Every time you see a devil costume, shout "Hail, Satan, King of the Losers!" The devil cannot abide to be mocked

Hey, I like that! Great idea. One of my basset hounds has a devil costume, horns and all. Given his 'devilish' disposition, it seemed so appropriate. Unfortunately, he stepped on and ripped the cape the first time he wore it. I've now transformed him into a ladybug - totally out of character but wings in place of the cape. With time, he may emerge as an angel :-)

[AnAmericanMother]

LOL!

The idea of dressing up as the martyrs certainly provides lots of opportunities for blood and gore.

I always thought St. Lucy, with her eyes on a plate as she is depicted in some southern Italian churches, would be a real hit.

[ArrogantBustard]

Parents and Children, Come Dressed as your Favorite Saint !!!
Prizes for the Best Costume in each Category!!!
Price of Admission - one bag of candy per family!!!

RSVP to ckrieger@stveronica.net by Fri., Oct. 28!!!!!

PRIZE DONATIONS NEEDED!!
PLEASE DROP OFF IN PARISH OFFICE!!
THE MORE PRIZES, THE BETTER!!!

Prize donations can include: fast food, restruant, or store gift certificates, small toys or religious objects, marketing/promotional stuff from the place where you work (e.g., hats, shirts, mouse pads, drink bottles, pens, squishy balls, etc.)

GAMES Bowl over the 7 Deadly Sins St. Andrew's Golf Links St. Michael Halo Toss Phlatten the Philestine St. Francis Bird House Toss St. Elizabeth of Hungary Bread Toss St. Peter Fishing for Men St. John Bosco Basketball Toss Pin the Halo on the Angle

ACTIVITIES Wall of Saints Guess the Saint Saint Trivia Moses, Know Your Commandments Mortification Mush Saints Coloring Table Prayers for the Faithfully Departed Guess the Amount (M&Ms, Candy Corn, Cheese Balls)

We will end the eveing with the "Litany of the Saints"

St. Veronica Catholic Church, Chantilly Virginia.

I'm more than half tempted to show up as St. Gabriel Possenti, complete with pistol.

[NYer]

That is just fabulous!!!! Do they do this every year?

I'm more than half tempted to show up as St. Gabriel Possenti, complete with pistol.

Naw ... too complex and confusing. Go classical! Go as this saint .....

Can you name him?

[NYer]

The idea of dressing up as the martyrs certainly provides lots of opportunities for blood and gore.

Especially St. Erasmus, who was disemboweled.

Bishop of Formiae, Campagna, Italy. Fled to Mount Lebanon in the persecutions of emperor Diocletian; was fed by a raven so he could stay in hiding.

Discovered, he was imprisoned; an angel rescued him. Recaptured, he was martyred. One of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. Namesake for the static electric discharge called Saint Elmo's Fire.

Died - disemboweled c.303 at Formiae, Italy

[ArrogantBustard]

Even if I didn't recognise St. Sebastian, I could have cheated and checked the image source ...

A monk's robe would, I think, be a more appropriate costume than a diaper. The weather here has definitely turned cold.

The Parish is very new ... last year, the facilities in which the party is being held were still under construction.

[AnAmericanMother]

That is EXTREMELY cute!

I'm going to Email the announcement to our youth director for some ideas for next year!

I like your idea about St. Gabriel Possenti, too.

Don't forget the lizard.

[Ciexyz]

Have a Harvest Party and have the kids dress up as Biblical characters or 'fun' characters (i.e., no devil or witch costumes). Have apple cider and candy apples (in addition to candy and other goodies) to emphasize the harvest aspect of the season. Lead the kids in prayer, thanking the Lord for the blessings of the Harvest.

[NYer]

A monk's robe would, I think, be a more appropriate costume than a diaper.

Excuses, excuses! Okay ... how about St. Francis. You could park a stuffed bird on your finger (or a basset hound near your leg :-). Ooops, be careful! I once had a hound who mistook my leg for a tree stump ;-(

The weather here has definitely turned cold.

You too? I changed over to flannel sheets today. Stay warm and dry. Think Franciscan or Dominican.

[ArrogantBustard]

How many "Saint" costumes give me an excuse to drag out my cap-n-ball revolver?

Hmmmm?

I do have a nice rubber iguana. I keep it on my computer display. It's a monitor lizard ... (Huhhuh Huhhuh)

The real problem is that I look more like one of Garibaldi's mercs than young Gabriel P.

I still have a week to think it over.

[NYer]

I do have a nice rubber iguana. I keep it on my computer display. It's a monitor lizard

ROFL!!!

Alright .. how about something truly extraneous - a saint that will confound everyone. Do you have a beard? a white beard? Could you pass as this saint?

And .... you get to wear a nice robe, too!

[marshmallow]

As one who has lived in several countries in Europe, America and Oceania, I can tell you that in few countries is Halloween given the "full monty" like the USA. It's almost on a par with Christmas, Easter and Thansksgiving in terms of the amount of decoration and festivity involved.

I've never understood why it is necessary to mix a perfectly harmless and even sweet custom (giving candy to children) with one which is thoroughly morbid and macabre (decorating one's home and person with symbols of the occult and death). In Portugal, for instance, children go from door to door and request candy (at least in the country areas) but they do it on All Saints Day, Nov. 1, and they do not dress up as witches and ghosts. They also have a sweet little rhyme which they say when they knock on the door; "Bolinhas, bolinhas, a porta todas os santinhos" or, "candy, candy, for all the little saints at the door".

A much more sensible practice, which retains the good but excludes all this occult trash.