Every year, on October 31st, children excitedly prance down the street dressed up as ghosts, superheroes, princesses, and other assorted characters, asking for candy from their neighbors.
As a Catholic mom, this day can cause concern as we follow our children, seeing decorations that can, quite frankly, be borderline demonic. Are we being bad Catholics and examples to our children by allowing our children to join other children in celebration of this day? What is the significance of this day? What can we do as Catholic moms to teach our children about the true meaning of this day?
Let’s start with the basics and delve into the origins of Halloween.
In the early Catholic Church, many of the major church holidays began their celebration at sunset on the day before. Christmas Eve is the most notable remnant of this old tradition. Halloween is in fact a simplification of Hallow e’en, or All Hallow’s Eve, the evening before All Saints Day which falls on November 1st.
But what about all the dark imagery such as ghosts and goblins?
That happens to also be influenced by Christians. According to an article on ECatholic by Father Augustine Thompson, the tradition of dressing up as ghosts and goblins on Halloween was first created by the Medieval French and was more associated with All Souls Day, November 2, than All Saints. With the death tolls on the rise from plagues in Medieval Europe, Dressing this way served as a “Memento Mori ” or as a reflection of our own mortality.1
Being reminded of our mortality, these Memento Mori, were meant to give Christians time to reflect on their lives and how they will be judged on their last days. This was a common practice from the Medieval into the Renaissance Period.
If Halloween was Christian, then where does trick or treating come into play?
This also has its history steeped in Catholic traditions. This time, in England. During the All Hallows Eve / All Saints / All Souls day period, children and the poor (soulers) would go door to door and offer prayers in exchange for cakes.2
Sadly, just as with other traditionally Catholic holidays, All Hallow’s Eve has been taken over by secular society and has nearly entirely lost any appearance of its Christian origin. This leads me to the main point of this article
How can I celebrate Halloween as a Catholic?
- Dress your kids up as their favorite saints! This is a classic. I remember dressing up as Saint Joan of Arc when I was in middle school and attending an All Hallow’s Eve party with my youth group!
- Host an All Hallow’s Eve Party! If you are blessed enough to have other Catholic mom friends, get together and have an All Hallow’s Eve party and take the chance to teach the group about the Catholic origin of the day. You can even bake soul cakes to distribute to the children!
- Say a prayer with your family, maybe even after trick-or-treating for the souls of those departed, adding in a prayer for the loved ones of the houses you have visited.
- Be an example of generosity to your neighbors.3 Many of our neighbors know who we are as Christians and we are told to show we are Christians by our actions.
Unfortunately, like many Catholic Holidays, Halloween has been taken over by secular society. However, we as Catholics should celebrate the Catholic origin of the holiday, remembering the saints who have gone before us!
Citations and for further reading
- Father Augustine Thompson, O.P., “The Catholic Origins of Halloween”, October 28, 2019, Accessed October 28, 2021, https://ucatholic.com/blog/the-catholic-origins-of-halloween/
- “Soul Cake”, Accessed October 28, 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_cake#Souling
- Doctor Taylor Marshall, “Top 10 Catholic Halloween Ideas” October 30, 2017, accessed October 28, 2021, https://taylormarshall.com/2017/10/top-10-catholic-halloween-ideas.html
Mommy's Prayer 