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Susana
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| Posted: Sept 20 2012 at 12:24pm | IP Logged
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I'm wondering, do some of you celebrate an old fashioned or Catholic All Hallows Eve and also celebrate on All Saints Day? If so, what do you do and when, etc..? I'd like to hear thoughts and ideas on this. Please do share what you do for these two days. Thanks!
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JennGM
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We do both. We trick-or-treat on Halloween, and then have an All Saints Day party with our homeschool group. Sometimes it's different costumes for each activity.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Family in Feast and Feria
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Erica Sanchez
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Ditto what Jenn said and always different costumes which makes for a lot of work, but it is something the kids looks forward to each year.
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Have a beautiful and fun day!
Erica in San Diego
(dh)Cash, Emily, Grace, Nicholas, Isabella, Annie, Luke, Max, Peter, 2 little souls ++, and sweet Rose who is legally ours!
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JodieLyn
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We like to "double up" as well. We do attend Mass on All Saints and when our Church has something we do the double costumes too (though you know Jedi Knights have a great resemblence to Monks  )
I don't try and avoid grusome.. boys revel in it   but what I attempt to avoid is the depiction of evil.. we do pirates (such easy costumes) and other sword weilding swashbucklers and we do skeltons but I try and have us avoid vampires and witches and the like.
We normally trick or treat, we live in a small community and it's still fun and safe.. my favorite episode when telling about it being safe around here was when my oldest was about 7 and some of the teens from Church would hang out of their cars and call and wave to her when they were driving around. So it's not exactly Maybury but it's not real life scary out there either. But we might also do a party here. A hot dog roast in the backyard or such for the older kids.
Then All Saints Day we attend Mass and our Church usually has a party for the kids where they dress up as Saints. But that can be shifted around some so that it's done on a close by Sunday and more kids join in and the whole parish is there to get to see the kids and they have a party during CCD after Mass.
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Chris V
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I can remember when my first born was just on the cusp of enjoying "Halloween" - the Mom's group that I belonged to at the time devoted an entire session to "how to avoid the occult" with your children on this day. I was tempted to ban all secular traditions from our home - but then took a look at my own experiences as a Catholic child and realized that it is entirely possible to allow a bit of the "glammed" up version of secular "Halloween" into our home, and not see it as worshiping the darkside  . Fast forward years later, our experiences are much like what Jenn, Jodie, Erica have shared - which is a little bit of both worlds.
I'm not sure what our new parish does for this special occasion, but at our old parish there was always a huge party for the children. We would go to the party all dressed up, and then on the way home grab some take-n-bake pizza. Then later on in the evening we take the girls trick-or-treating.
Our homeschool group also had a celebration. This was particularly fun  ! We always hold a costume contest - you dress up as your favorite Saint and one by one you get up in front of the group, talk a little bit about "who you are" and the rest of the kids have to guess which Saint you are. Super fun! We would have games and activities, candy, and a lunch pot-luck. A really good time for all! ... and you get to learn about the Saints too. 
This year will be different for us, living in a new community. ... not sure what we'll do. And I mean it when I say - my girls are worried that we won't go trick-or-treating this year. We will, we just need to figure something out.
Within our own home, I go all out with the decorations. My kids absolutely love it! And we talk A LOT about what it's really all about, so they know the history and its beautiful purpose.
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MaryM
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Yes, we celebrate an old fashioned Halloween and also All Saints Day (and we continue big with All Souls Day). So it's a big three days for us. We don't do gory or gruesome for Halloween - have always stuck with fun and festive, but my kids love trick or treating and pumpkin carving. Our support group has vacillated between having the All Saints Party actually on All Saints Day or on All Hallow's Eve. If it is on the eve, we usually don't go or we go after trick or treating. I prefer when it is actually on All Saints Day and if I'm planning it, then it is.
We really do All Souls up big here - Dia de los Muertos activities focusing on Mexican culture (skeletons, sugar skulls), visit to cemetery, Mass.
There was a really good article in this past issue of This Rock magazine (from Catholic Answers) - Title is "Why Catholics Should Embrace Halloween: There is spiritual value in mockery of evil." Wish is was online somewhere, but I couldn't find it.
In the past we have generally done Halloween with just our family or some friends who aren't Catholic. Last year we celebrated and trick-or-treated with several other local Catholic homeschooling families, including the chief moral theologian for the diocese - who teaches at our seminary. Figured that is a strong endorsement for it being morally okay.
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Mary M. in Denver
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Susana
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| Posted: Sept 26 2012 at 11:07pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for sharing! In the past, we've made an evening to work on Saint O Lanterns, have pizza, listen to Glory Stories, and read Fr. Phillip Tells a Ghost Story. I haven't taken the kids trick or treating in years though (It's gotten pretty ugly out there! Even just going to Michael's or Walmart! The Halloween stuff is pretty gruesome looking)., I'm thinking about the possibility of taking the kids trick or treating with church friends this year. I really like the idea of having them hand out a little note saying something like "Thanks for the treat! In the spirit of an old fashioned All Hallow's Eve, we'll say a little prayer for you in return!". I also like the idea of this All Hallow's Eve Party
Our parish will be having an All Saints Day party the Sunday after the Feast Day (wish it were on the actual feast day!). The kids look forward to it every year!
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JodieLyn
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Mary thanks for bringing Dia de los Muertos to mind.. I've been wanting to let the older kids do a party of some sort at Halloween but people can be so set in their ways and they already get together for stuff on Halloween.. and going with the mexican theme and All Soul's Day let's us use a less used day for a party and this just might work.
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Susana
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My family is Mexican, but we never celebrated Nov. 2nd with the sugar skulls, and making altars, etc. We would however, go to Mass and visit the cemetery, but my parents actually always thought the Dia de Los Muertos things were super pagan and so did my Cristero grandparents. I didn't grow up in Mexico (my 8 siblings were all born there however), so I've never experienced Dia de Los Muertos celebrations for myself. I'm thinking some aspects could be done in a Catholic way, as I'm sure you ladies do, so I'm thinking of maybe incorporating some things. I just have to get over the pre Catholic paganess aspects like the idea of the dead coming to eat the goodies, etc. Here in NM it is totally taken as a pagan thing, almost like the "rainbow day diversity" parades. It kinda creeps me out, but I bet I could use some of the elements to emphasize the need for praying for souls. Like the making of the deceased loved one's favorite food. We could make the food in memory of them, eat it and use it as an extra special reminder to pray for them. My family is very culturally connected to Mexico still (I grew up visiting family there), but this just one of those things we never did incorporate.
...just figuring things out and thinking "out loud" 
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MaryM
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Susana wrote:
| My family is Mexican, but we never celebrated Nov. 2nd with the sugar skulls, and making altars, etc. We would however, go to Mass and visit the cemetery, but my parents actually always thought the Dia de Los Muertos things were super pagan and so did my Cristero grandparents. |
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I'm glad you mentioned this - I know we have talked about it here on the forum in the past and you have expressed your concerns. It really is something to be watchful of - the celebrations as they are in many places do diverge much from a Christian celebration, becoming superstitious and pagan. I do have to be choosy about the books and other things we include. I am very aware.
There was a pre-Christian celebration of the dead in Mexico. It i s pretty universal in all cultures some focus on remembering the dead. The Church christianized it in combining with All Souls Day. Most European cultures have some type of tradition of visiting burial places/cemeteries, remembering and praying for the dead, sharing food, etc. We like to use some of the symbols of the Dia de los Muertos - like the sugar skulls and calacas as they do remind us of death but in the sense of mocking it and realizing that death is not the end but a continuation into the next life - for the faithful, hopefully in heaven with God.
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Mary M. in Denver
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JennGM
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Just wanted to share this great analysis of Halloween, All Hallows' Eve.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
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cathhomeschool
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We used to celebrate Halloween and All Saints Day with separate parties and costumes. This year we are trick-or-treating Halloween, going to Mass for All Saints but no party, then hopefully Mass for All Souls. There is a big Dia de los Muertos celebration this weekend (complete with Mass) so we hope to go to that, make sugar skulls, read some picture books and paint on a skeleton that I got on clearance a couple of years ago.
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JennGM
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Look at this cute Banana Spook Cake.
So cute, not scary. I was at a library book sale this past weekend and picked up the Georgie ghost books by Robert Bright, and Gus Was a Friendly Ghost by Jane Thayer (didn't realize there were other Gus books, too).
I'm not a fan of ghosts and goblins, but those ghosts are so cute and friendly. Love the illustrations! Just as cute as the banana spooks!
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Family in Feast and Feria
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MaryM
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I have a soft spot for Gus ...
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Mary M. in Denver
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JodieLyn
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Oh I haven't thought of the Georgie books in ages.. I can remember loving those books as a child
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Celebrate Hallows Eve & All Saints Day?
