HALLOWE'EN, ALL SAINTS, ALL SOULS
Hallowe'en - a Christian holiday
All Saints Day - Origin as a solemn feast of the Church
All Souls Day - Prayers for the Dead
Ideas for Family Celebration of Hallowe'en | All Saints | All Souls
Hallowe'en - a Christian Holiday
by Helen Hull Hitchcock
Not 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 Saint's 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 Chirst, 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 "incercessory 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 towards 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 a specifically Catholic holiday - so we Catholics should restore the original meaning of this feast and season of the Church's year.
"The glorious company of the apostles praise Thee.
The goodly fellowship of the prophets praise Thee.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise Thee.
All Thy saints and elect with one voice do acknowledge Thee,
O Blessed Trinity, one God!"-- Feast of All Saints (November 1), Antiphon at Lauds. from the Te Deum
Origin of All Saint's Day as a feast of the Church
What makes this feast so important that the Church celebrates both the night before All Saints and the day after it?
The Church has always honored those early witnesses to the Christian faith who have died in the Lord. (The Greek word for "witness" is martyr.) During the first three hundred years Christians were serverly persecuted, often suffering torture and bloody death -- because they were faithful . They refused to deny Christ, even when this denial might have saved their own lives, or the lives of their children and families.
The early history of the Church is filled with stories of the heroic faith of these of witnesses to Christ's truth. The stories of these saints -- these baptized Christians of all ages and all states in life, whose fidelity and courage led to their sanctity or holiness -- have provided models for every other Christian throughout history.
Many of those especially holy people whose names and stories were known, the Church later canonized (that is, the Church formally recognized that the life of that person was without any doubt holy, or sanctified -- a "saint" who is an example for us.) The Church's calendar contains many saint's days, which Catholics observe at Mass -- some with special festivities.
But there were thousands and thousands of early Christian martyrs, the majority of whose names are known only to God -- and throughout the history of the Church there have been countless others who really are saints, who are with God in heaven, even if their names are not on the list of canonized saints.
In order to honor the memory -- and our own debt -- to these unnamed saints, and to recall their example, the Church dedicated a special feast day -- a sort of "memorial day" -- so that all living Christians would celebrate at a special Mass the lives and witness of those "who have died and gone before us into the presence of the Lord".
This feast that we know as All Saint's Day originated as a feast of All Martyrs, sometime in the 4th century. At first it was celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost. It came to be observed on May 13 when Pope St. Boniface IV (608-615) restored and rebuilt for use as a Christian church an ancient Roman temple which pagan Rome had dedicated to "all gods", the Pantheon. The pope re-buried the bones of many martyrs there, and dedicated this Church to the Mother of God and all the Holy Martyrs on May 13, 610.
About a hundred years later, Pope Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a new chapel in the basilica of St. Peter to all saints (not just to the martyrs) on November 1, and he fixed the anniversary of this dedication as the date of the feast.
A century after that, Pope Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration of All Saints to November 1 for the entire Church.
The vigil of this important feast, All Saint's Eve, Hallowe'en, was apparently observed as early as the feast itself.
Ever since then -- for more than a millennium -- the entire Church has celebrated the feast of All Saints on November 1st, and, of course, Hallowe'en on October 31.
It is a principal feast of the Catholic Church. It is a holy day of obligation, which means that all Catholics are to attend Mass on that day.
All Souls - Prayers for the dead
From the beginning, Christians have prayed for the dead and have undertaken works of penance on their behalf. There is scriptural basis for this intercessory prayer for the sins of others and for the dead in the Old Testament. Job's sacrifices purified his sons (Job 1:5); and Judas Maccabeus "made atonement for the dead that they be delivered from their sin" (II Macc 12:46).
The tradition in the Church of having Masses said for the dead began in the earliest times. The pre-Christian Roman religion, which held that some form of life continued after death, gave votive offerings to the gods for the dead at three specified times: the third, seventh and thirtieth day after death. This practice of praying for the departed on these same days was adopted ("inculturated") by the early Christians -- and continued in the Church for nearly 2000 years: the Church offered Masses for the deceased person on the third, seventh and thirtieth day after death.
Beginning in the year 998, All souls -- the "faithful departed" -- were officially remembered in the Church's prayers on the evening of November 1, and with Requiem Masses, Masses for the dead, on November 2. All Souls Day is now a feast of the universal Church. (The word "requiem" is Latin for "rest".) Following the Second Vatican Council, all Masses celebrated on All Saints day observe that feast, not "All souls". Three Masses may still be said on All Souls Day. The first two are Masses for Burial, and the third is a Mass for the Dead. Black vestments may be worn on this day.
We pray for the faithful departed, those who have been baptized, but who need to be completely purified of all stain of sin before they come into full union with God in Heaven. In other words, most of us. The Church's teaching about Purgatory, the place of purification, is explained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (§1030-1032):
"All who die in god's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter heaven.
"The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:
"As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.
"This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: 'Therefore [Judas Maccabeus' made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.' From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almogiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead:
"Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them." [Saint John Chrysostom - 4th century]
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 which is has lost its Christian moorings, there is a serious risk that "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, St. Nicholas, and adds nothing to the real meaning of Christmas. St. Valentine's Day and St. 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. 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 Dicken'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 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
- 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
chldren tell about the saints portrayed by the costumes they 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 fits 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 at a Hallowe'en party on ------",
etc.
- While you're making black and orange decorations with crepe peper
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. Back 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 each
guest to wear around the neck.
- 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.
ALL SAINTS DAY - November 1
All Saints is a Holy Day of Obligation. The principal activity for every Catholic family today is to go to Mass -- together, if possible.
Other family activities:
- After school, read (re-read) to your children Saint John's vision of the
Resurrection of the Saints that we heard at Mass today. It is from the Book
of Revelation (or the Apocalypse), chapter 7:2-4, 9-14, . Have them draw
pictures of the descriptions it contains. Michelangelo's famous painting of
the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel was inspired by this scripture
passage. Your refrigerator is not the Sistine Chapel, but it's a good place
to display the kids' pictures!
- Talk (or read) to your children about the saints they are named for. If
you don't already have a good "age-appropriate" book to read from, prepare
in advance by reading from, say, Butler's Lives of the Saints, and tell them
the story in your own words.
- Have each child choose a favorite saint, and make a booklet of their own
about the saint's life.
- Help them focus on how this saint gave an example of unusual courage, or
devotion, or dedication to others, and how we can learn from their example.
- Take the children to a religious goods shop and allow the children to
look for a medal or small statue of their own patron saint, or another
favorite saint, along with a prayer card for that saint to use for bed time
prayers. Ask your parish priest to bless these images for the children.
(They can give them to the priest themselves for the blessings.
- Teach children the great hymn For All the
Saints (here from The Adoremus Hymnal).
ALL SOULS - November 2
The feast of All Souls is a reminder to pray for the "faithful departed". Although they are members of the Communion of Saints, have been saved and will one day be in heaven, they need to be perfected before they can go to Heaven, that is, to come into full unity with the perfection that is God.
We say prayers, not only for those we knew and loved, but also for the "poor souls". Explain to your children about praying for the "poor souls" who may have no one else -- no families, no children or grand-children -- to pray for them.
Be sure to mention that that respect for the dead is part of respect for all human life which comes from God. Our heavenly Father gave us life, and we are all infinitely precious to Him, and he wants us all to be with him in heaven forever. We can see, then, how a denial of death, or a refusal to accept pain, sorrow, and suffering as part of life, is really a denial of the value of life and love.
We hope your school-age children have an opportunity to attend Mass on All Souls day. (If this is already not on your parish school's schedule, do suggest that it be added!)
Family activities:
- One of the best ways to teach children how we respect the dead is to
visit a cemetery. You might be surprised that this can be a very pleasant
family outing during the fall, when all creation seems to be preparing to
end the active life of this season on earth, in order to prepare for life in
the next.
- Ideally, you could visit the graves of your own family members. This
would be a good time to tell children family stories about their
great-grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins -- to remember their lives,
and especially how their Christian witness has influenced your own life, and
your children's, as well.
- Many cathedrals in Europe have people buried in them, bishops, saints,
ordinary faithful. Even some American cathedrals have the tombs of bishops
inside. (The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis is one of them) If you live
near a cathedral -- especially if it contains tombs -- this would be a good
day to make a little pilgrimage.
- Instead of the ordinary bed-time routine, dig out some family albums and
look at them with your children. This usually inspires some good family
stories you might forget to tell them otherwise.
- Don't forget to add prayers for deceased relatives in the regular bed-time prayers. And then together say a prayer for them, like this one:
Heavenly Father, You sent Christ Jesus your son to wash away the sins of all mankind through His perfect sacrifice,
and you cleansed our departed brothers and sisters in the waters of baptism. May His perfect sacrifice free them from the power of death and give them eternal life.
In your mercy, O Lord, grant them eternal rest, and may perpetual light shine on them forever. + Amen.
Permission for publication has been obtained by the author and
Women for Faith and Family
Copyright © 2000 by Helen Hull Hitchcock.
Permission is hereby granted to print these pages for private use. For all other
uses, permission must be requested.
Illustrations from Prayers for the Dead,
Book of Hours, Paris use, 1450-1460 - Private collection.
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