“On the eve of All Saints Day, Jack-O-Lanterns light the way. God’s children need no longer fear the ghosts and goblins gathered here. For evil ghouls with icy breath must bow to Him who conquered death.”
Halloween is coming!!
For most of us, that means picking out costumes for the kiddos, stocking up on yummy treats for the doorbell ringers and crossing our fingers for a night that doesn’t involve rain or snow…
I heard a while back that many European countries still celebrate All Hallow’s Eve by preparing a huge bonfire in the cities for townspeople to gather around on that Halloween night. After Googling “Halloween Bonfires”, I found quite a bit of info on the tradition which made me wonder… why don’t Americans hold this same tradition??
I don’t exactly have the answer to that question but I did find a little history on the word “bonfire”.
(Keep in mind, there’s a lot of ritual sacrifice
in history so just a heads up on what’s touched on below)
“For all civilizations, fire is at the heart of our lives. And for the Celtic people, time was actually marked by fire festivals that they celebrated throughout the year, including the feast of Samhain, which took place on October 31st and November 1st.
Loyola Press. Article by Julianne Stanz.
Before the feast of Samhain, the Celts would gather together and drive their cattle off the cliffs of Ireland. After this, the cattle were harvested. The flesh was preserved for food and the skin for clothing, so that every part of the animal was put to good use. All that remained after harvesting were the bones, which they gathered into a large pile and set on fire to release the spirits of the cattle back into the air and to give thanks for the food.
These “bone fires” were always associated with feast of Samhain, and they live on today in our Halloween bonfire. That’s right; the bone fire is the origin of our Halloween bonfire.”
I personally like the explanation of the “bone fires” from Ireland…
Another Catholic website shared:
“The correct answer is that
A Good Catholic‘s Guide to halloween. Article by genevieve netherton.
the true and original substance of Halloween belongs to the Catholic Church.
The first happy hint is in the word “holiday.” Holiday comes from the word “Holy Day”—that is, from the holy celebrations and feasts of the Church.
Yes, Halloween is Catholic. As noted above, however, it is the “true and original substance” of Halloween that is Catholic.
The violence, gore, sensuality, occultism, and demonic aspects now associated with Halloween are not, in fact, true to its origins. They aren’t really Halloween at all, although retailers and the entire world of consumerism have made them so for the culture at large. Christians and non-Christians now fail to realize that Halloween is a hijacked holy day. Both are convinced it has pagan origins.
The word “Halloween”—or “Hallowe’en”—comes from All Hallow’s Eve. All Hallows Eve is the vigil celebration of All Saints Day—also known as All Hallows Day. The word “hallow” means “holy.”
(In the Our Father we pray, “Hallowed be thy name.”)
All Saints Day is a Holy Day of Obligation, and a major feast on the Church’s liturgical calendar. All Saints Day honors not only the saints in heaven whom we know by name, but also the countless saints in heaven whose names are unknown to us.
All Souls Day is on November 2nd.
These three days taken together—October 31st, November 1st, and November 2nd, which celebrate the major feast of All Saints Day and the smaller feast of All Souls Day—are the “Days of the Dead,” a triduum of feasts also called Allhallowtide, Hallowtide, or Hallowmas (Hallow meaning holy and mas meaning Mass).
Halloween is, therefore, the first day of Allhallowtide, the time of year when the living (the Church Militant) honor all the dead in Christ: the saints in heaven (the Church Triumphant) as well as all the holy souls detained in purgatory on their way to heaven (the Church Suffering). It is a beautiful celebration of the Communion of Saints!
Halloween is on October 31st because All Saints Day is November 1st. As Catholics, we really know how to celebrate: we do “vigils.” Vigils are when important feasts begin the night before the feast itself.
It was customary in historic Catholic Europe to have these evening vigils with pious celebrations; the rhythms of people’s lives and culture moved with the liturgical calendar. This explains why Halloween exists at all. Even today, Catholics begin celebrating major feasts the evening before the big day. Christmas has Christmas Eve. All Hallows Day has All Hallows Eve.
Celebrating these Christian holy days helps remind the faithful of the reality of heaven and hell, the saints and the damned, demons and angels, and the holy souls suffering in purgatory. It reminds us that life is short and we should use our time wisely. Memento mori, say the saints and sages. “Remember your death.”
Read More: Memento Mori – Remember Your Death
This time of year also reminds us to pray for the souls of the deceased. It is a reminder that we, too, will one day die, and should always strive to live good and holy lives so that we can be ready to enter eternity and stand before God.
{{Halloween does not have origins in paganism, Samhain, Druidic festivals, the occult, or Satanism. This common misconception is relatively new anti-Catholic propaganda, with roots going back to the Protestant Reformation}}
Unlike people today, who avoid the topic of death, our ancestors were very realistic and sober about it. They knew that death was unavoidable and could come at any moment—and they used this reality as a powerful moral lesson.
All Hallows Eve has indeed been taken over by a secular culture—and it’s our fault for letting it happen. The contemporary version of “Halloween” that glorifies the demonic with an emphasis on violence, horror, and sensuality is—at least in part—a result of Catholics believing the propaganda against their faith and pulling away from the traditional and faithful celebration of this holy day.
Catholics should not neglect the celebration of any of the Church’s major feasts.
All Saints Day is no exception. It is a Holy Day of Obligation, meaning that Catholics are required to attend Mass just as though it were a Sunday. To avoid superstition and the influence of the occult, Halloween should not be honored or celebrated apart from Catholic truth.
Fr. Steve Grunow said it best:
I think it is time for Catholics to accept the religious liberties that this culture claims to afford them and go public with their own festivals—and to do so dramatically and with a great deal of public fervor. What is holding us back? What are we afraid will happen? The reticence and fear that characterizes Catholics is costing the Church its unique culture and it is allowing the culture of death to flourish.
– “It’s Time for Catholics to Embrace Halloween”
by Fr. Steve Grunow, Word on Fire CEO
Allhallowtide is a time to:
~ reflect on Christ’s triumph over sin, death, and the devil
~ to meditate on our own mortality and duties to God
~ to shun sin, Satan, and all his works
~ to give honor to the saints in heaven
~ and to pray for the souls of the faithful departed in purgatory
(And, of course, to have fun with joyful feasting and merriment!)
Finally,
Here’s what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say about the things now associated with today’s Halloween:
Fortune Telling
“All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead, or other practices falsely supposed to ‘unveil’ the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.”
(CCC 2116)
Evil Spirits
“Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, ‘You cannot serve God and mammon.’ Many martyrs died for not adoring ‘the Beast,’ refusing even to simulate such worship.”
(CCC 2113)
Witchcraft
“All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others… are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons.”
(CCC 2117)
Superstition
“The first commandment forbids honoring gods other than the one Lord who has revealed himself to his people. It proscribes superstition and irreligion. Superstition… is the deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes.”
(CCC 2110-2111)
Graveyards
“The bodies of the dead must be treated with respect and charity, in faith and hope of the Resurrection. The burial of the dead is a corporal work of mercy; it honors the children of God, who are temples of the Holy Spirit.”
(CCC 2300)
How to Celebrate Halloween:
~ Try to get to Mass on All Hallow’s Eve
~ Pray for the intercession of the saints—especially those who are your patrons
~ Have a party with saint-based activities or costumes for kids. The priests said Mass for us and let us kids wear our saints’ costumes to Mass. Then we had a party (complete with a Saint Guessing Game) in the cafeteria. A parent brought a guitar and played “When the Saints Come Marching In” and let us kids parade around. There was dinner, candy hunts, and more—and little “saints” running around everywhere, with their costumes looking delightfully disheveled by the end of the night. All of this made a big impression on me as a kid—and was the best day of the year for my childhood life, second only to Christmas.
~ It is okay to dress up and do Trick or Treating. It’s no sin to wear fun costumes and enjoy trick or treating! (The medieval days were full of enthusiasm for dressing up, going door to door to sing to the folks inside, and more!) Just avoid homes that are decorated with hideous or demonic decor. Find a good, family-focused neighborhood to Trick or Treat in.
A Good Catholic’s Guide To Halloween – Good Catholic
~ Help your kids pick a saint to dress up as when they Trick or Treat—and don’t just limit yourself to the popular saints. Have fun discovering a little-known saint who has a great story and impressive costume possibilities. When neighbors ask your son or daughter, “Who are you?” and learn about the existence of a certain holy man or woman, it’s a chance for your family to witness to the Faith.
(If your kids are reluctant and want to be Davy Crockett or Amelia Earhart instead of a saint, help them research that person’s life and teach them to pray for the repose of that soul.)
