Hallowe'en - Eve of All Saints - October 31st
Hallowe'en - a Christian Holiday
A Catholic Understanding
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.)
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.
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.
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."
At the end of the halloween party for your children, 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.
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All Saints Day - Origin as a solemn feast of the Church
All Souls Day - Prayers for the Dead
Thank you for listening.
