Season of the Dead: The Roots of Allhallowtide

The heartwarming time of year when all children celebrate Catholic holy days​

We think of our American experience of Halloween—with its focus on horror themes, costumes, candy, and decorations—as normative. In fact, it’s a product of the 20th century media-saturated, consumer-oriented appropriation of Catholic feasts for mass consumption, which strips things of their true meaning. Like secular Christmas and Easter, it’s a hollowed out thing that emphasizes pleasure while downplaying devotion.

Yet tantalizing hints of its genuine origins remain, and the Catholic calendar continues to focus doggedly on its real meaning.

Allhallowtide is actually a kind of triduum: three days of commemoration that includes All Hallows Eve (October 31, shortened Hallowe’en), All Saints Day (All Hallows Day, November 1), and All Souls Day (November 2). As with other major feasts, celebration of All Saints Day begins on the vigil, which is why secular culture celebrates Halloween on the night of October 31st, but then does nothing on the actual feast days that follow.

Halloween is Catholic​

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