by Fr. Tommy Lane
The day before All Saints is called Halloween in the
secular world. The name is
Christian, Halloween means the eve of All Hallows, the eve of All Saints, but
that is the only Christian element in it. All
the rest that accompanies Halloween is of pagan origin so it goes back to the
time before Christianity. It was a
pagan Celtic feast. They believed
that after sunset on Samhain, which we now called Halloween, the spirits of the
dead and evil spirits roamed the skies seeking to harm humans, especially if the
dead had been harmed by them. To
protect themselves people disguised themselves by dressing up in costumes and
carried lights inside in turnips. In
order to turn a pagan feast into a Christian feast the Church placed the feast
of All Saints on 1st November, to coincide with the pagan
celebration. Children have fun on
Halloween now and it is OK but it would be a pity if children did not know the
Christian feast at this time, the feast of All Saints. So if your children are celebrating
Halloween and know nothing about All Saints, please explain All Saints to them. We are Christians now, so let us not
celebrate as pagans. The Church has
tried to turn a pagan celebration into a Christian celebration. Is the reverse happening again now? Let us celebrate All Saints.
This homily was delivered when I was engaged in parish ministry in Ireland before joining the faculty of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland.
More homilies for November 1st - Solemnity of All Saints
The saints have reproduced in their lives Jesus’ victory on the cross over evil
Our Glorious Future and the Communion of Saints
The Saints Remind Us Who We Are and Encourage Us
We are united with the Saints in Heaven during this Mass - we join their liturgy in Heaven
Related Homilies: On the Beatitudes: Jesus’ Prescription for Happiness
stories about saints