We have three days coming up, All Hallow’s Eve, or Halloween as it is now commonly called. It is the celebration of the Eve of All Saints Day. So All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day.
All Hallow’s Eve can be fun as we are celebrating the Eve of a Holy Day, the next day being All Saints Day, hence Halloween.
People used to dress as saints on All Hallows Eve for many years and go around dressed as Saints. Over time, in this country, dressing up as Saints became something done in Catholic Schools and then for a short time seemed lost. As a child of the ’70s and ’80s, I don’t remember any Saints Day parties on Halloween. I remember my dad taking me trick-or-treating to certain houses on our street when we lived in Bellevue and to the houses of people we knew in Southern MO. In Florida, Fall celebrations were more common. The Catholic School I attended had a Fall Festival on Halloween, with fun costumes allowed.
Hopefully, Catholic schools are getting back to celebrating All Hallows Eve rather than secular Halloween. This can be done with a parade of Saints on Halloween; many people like to dress up on Halloween.
Last year one of the neighbors hosted an All Saints Day party, which we all enjoyed!
If not dressing as a Saint for Halloween at least dress as something not gruesome or evil. Being that I run a home for children, a lot of the kids come from homes where Halloween is about creepy stuff. My rule is “dress as something nice, not scary”. Some years I’ve done a household theme, especially if the kids couldn’t decide what to dress up as. I’ve had many kids say at the end of the evening that it was the first time they enjoyed Halloween, it had been fun, not scary.
So as we approach All Hallows Eve, Halloween, dress up as a Saint, or something nice and enjoy the day!
