Posted on 10/14/2010 8:20:33 AM PDT by marshmallow
Catholic parents are being advised to celebrate Halloween by dressing up their children as popular saints instead of witches and devils.
They should kit out their youngsters to look like St George, St Lucy, St Francis of Assisi or St Mary Magdalene rather than let them wear costumes that celebrate evil or occult figures, according to a campaign endorsed by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.
Nor should pumpkins have menacing or scary faces carved into them, according to a website link provided by the bishops’ conference, but must wear smiley expressions and have crosses cut into the foreheads.
Party games during the October 31 revelries should also have a distinctively Christian theme, parents are told, with musical statues, or chairs, danced to music by “contemporary Christian artists”.
Trick or treat pranks are definitely discouraged, with Catholics advised to light bonfires instead in an attempt to re-brand Halloween as a celebration of the triumph of the forces of light over the forces of darkness.
The suggestions for a Christian-style Halloween end with the idea that children each take a wrapped present from a box plastered with such slogans as “Jesus is our light”, “Jesus is our king”, “Jesus loves me” and “Jesus is the biz!”.
Adults are also being encouraged to place lights in their window “as a sign to passers-by that yours is a Christian household and Christ is your light”.
They are also being asked to wear a white garment as a symbol of their “allegiance to Christ, our light”.
The bishops are launching the campaign in an attempt to reclaim the Christian festival of “All Hallows Eve” that, in their opinion, has become dangerously paganised and heavily commercialised.
They want Christians to understand that Halloween was once the vigil feast of All Saints’ Day, which is celebrated on November 1 and which remains a Holy Day of Obligation.
Bishop Kieran Conry of Arundel and Brighton, chairman of the bishops’ Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis, said: “Halloween is now the biggest commercial festival after Christmas and Easter, and it is time we reminded Christians of what it really is. The celebration of feast days is an important part of our Catholic culture.
“On the evening of October 31 why not do something to make your faith respectfully seen and heard?” he said. “Light a candle or display publicly another kind of light, for example, perhaps alongside an image of Christ.
“This could be a powerful way in which we can show people that we have hope in someone other than ourselves. The light will provoke questions and is a way that people can be signposted to goodness. I encourage everyone to participate.”
It is the first time the bishops have ever endorsed “the Night of Light”, an international campaign to reclaim Halloween that was started in 2001 by Damian Stayne, the founder of Cor et Lumen Christi, a Catholic community.
The initiative has been gaining ground among Christians left uneasy by the emphasis on horror themes in modern Halloween celebrations.
This year it will run in partnership with the bishops’ Home Mission Desk as a way of following up the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain last month.
Among the supporters of the “Night of Light” is Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster.
As Archbishop of Birmingham he complained about the “increasing tendency for the popular mind to make the association between Halloween and secular if not pagan imagery”.
He asked every parish to “think about what it could provide in the late afternoon and evening of Halloween in order to express the life of the Church and indeed in families that this is the beginning of a feast in which we rejoice in the work of God seen in his saints and cause of great inspiration and joy to the world”.
I try to stop my kid from putting on scary masks and costumes but he seems to like doing this.
As for dressing up like saints, I have noticed that some Catholics seem to have a fascination with stories of the various tortures undergone by some of the saints, so maybe this is not a good idea either.
The Catholic Church had the quite genius (IMHO) practice of making it easier for the pagans to convert by coopting or allowing parts of their rituals and putting Christian events around the same dates. This is how you get the Halloween dress-up, Easter Bunny, yule logs, Christmas trees, etc. for rituals and Halloween, Christmas and Easter for dates.
Outstanding post.
I must add: thanks for your service both in the military and in LE.
I agree with this, frankly.
;>)
I loved Halloween just like you! I was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, a kitty cat, a hobo (complete with an empty bottle in a brown bag), and more. I let my kids pick out costumes and we have a family night going to our neighbors and friends, drinking warm cider, eating tons of candy.... A FAMILY NIGHT! A holiday is what you make out of it. Personally, I’ve seen more “evil” from some of the people who sit in the front pews than a little kid dressed up like a witch. Just a thought.
You get it, mom. ;>)
That’s great for your family. It is also fine for other families to opt out. We have no desire to do any of those things.
I have no desire to hold you to my standards or life experiences.... nor would I allow you to hold me to yours.
Have a Happy Halloween..... I certainly will.
“nor would I allow you to hold me to yours.”
I never tried to do that. I was responding to your post that said we should just let kids be kids and let them dress up at Halloween.
I have no problem with a costume that makes somebody look like a witch or skeleton or something.
I read something once that costume events where people do an exaggerated thing that is opposite of their every day behavior actually serves to reinforce what is normal, surprisingly. Like a “powderpuff football game” that highschools used to have, where the boys dressed like cheerleaders and the cheerleaders played football, actually served to reinforce that, in normal life, the boys were not girly and the girls were not butch. To break the rules in a big way, you are acknowledging that the rules exist, and that they are the cultural norm.
So, my kids will be scary on Halloween if they want, but will be saintly on 11/1, for their religious ed. class. (Anybody got a St. Thomas More costume they aren’t using?)
**But I can red the news.**
Well, let’s hope that the news shows red maps after the midterms, OK?
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I can’t go out as Karl Marx in black face?
LOLOLOL. After another Baptism of a child named Madison, or something like that, I asked our Deacon when the Church had changed the rules about children being given a Saint's name at Baptism. He replied, "Oh, we do not know whether there is a St. Madison, or not. Perhpas she hasn't been born yet."
One of the most enjoyable Hallowe’ens I ever spent was as an adult. It was the end of the Jubilee year, and our Bishop arranged a great, Diocese-wide, celebration. He rented the Convention center and people from all over our Diocese converged on it for the whole day. The first 1000 in the door were given disposable cameras and told to record the day and turn the cameras in at the end.
There were displays of pictures of noted events in our Diocese on the 1st floor and displays and activities all over the convention center. The various Catholic schools presented their choirs and bands in mini-concerts. One of the high schools presented an act from the play 1776, and there were other dramatic presentations too. There were senior activities. On the top floor were children’s games and crafts. They built a Noah’s Ark out of 2 x 4s and cardboard, and you could have your picture taken with your head poking through various cut out animals.
Throughout this great complex, high school youngsters wandered about in Saints’ costumes. People attending were encouraged to approach these kids and guess their costume. The youngster gave (the person guessing) a Holy Card representing and telling the story of their Saint. I remember one very tall boy who was perfect as Saint Patrick and proud to represent him. He was super tall with his miter on!
At the end of this part of the event, you turned in your camera and they made your pictures into a calendar for the following year which came in the mail about 30 days later. I still have mine, even though this celebration was over 10 years ago.
At 5 pm everyone attending moved out into the street and marched in procession with other members of your Parish down the street to the Arena where we celebrated a HUGE Mass with every priest in the Diocese concelebrating with the Bishop. We had readings and song in every language spoken in the Diocese, with a full orchestra and choir. It was an incredible Hallowe’en celebration, and everybody enjoyed it. Thousands attended. Our Pastor had made a special plea to his parishioners to attend this event, and I’m glad that we did, even though we had no children to bring with us.
See #57.
Kids dress up for the fun of it, and once the costumes are shed they go back to their everyday life of school, chores at home and family time with mom and dad. (At least in my part of the country.)
I have fond memories of trick or treat, and I dare say it has not once affected my faith in God. As a matter of fact I think it allows us to reflect upon our mortal soul as we get older.
God Bless!
I feel that Evangelical Protestants go way too far in their avoiding “The Devil”.
God told us not to be afraid and put his trust in Him.
So, if my kids want to dress as Harry Potter characters, then go to the All Saints party the next day, it’s my own way of thumbing my nose at the lot.
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