I readily admit that Halloween is far from my favorite holiday. This is a distaste which I believe I inherited from my mom. Of course when my sister and I were little we went trick-or-treating through the neighborhood as a family, a ritual which any child eagerly looks forward to every year. Upon arriving home my parents always had my sister and I choose our favorite 10 pieces of candy. The rest they told us was for the candy fairy. In the morning our extra candy would be gone, replaced by a small gift much like something Santa might leave under the Christmas tree. It was family traditions like these which fueled the magic of our childhood and I’m so grateful to our parents for them. 

However, as we outgrew trick-or-treating Halloween became more of a shared family annoyance than a beloved holiday. We always enjoyed passing out candy to the costumed kiddos but as the evening progressed our house would inevitably be visited by lazy or scantily clad teenagers expecting the same treatment, many of whom hadn’t bothered to don a costume at all. Later, Halloween as an adult with work friends was treated by my peers as little more than an excuse for drunkenness during which otherwise respectable young women would squeeze themselves into too tight, too short “costumes” lauding immodesty as the goal the entire time. This has also become a time when quaint family neighborhoods are regularly assaulted by demonic and excessively gory scenes sprawled across various front lawns.

For all of these reasons I’m not a fan of Halloween and wasn’t intending to honor the occasion with a full Monday post. However, I recently came across this post, Halloween and Hallowtide, from a fellow blogger which caused me to reconsider. She very eloquently reminds readers that, all demonic and scandalous behavior aside, Halloween was originally rooted in Catholic traditions. All Hallows Eve is part of a holy triduum in the Church. This is the vigil to All Saints’ Day which occurs on November 1st and is immediately followed by All Souls’ Day on November 2nd. During these three days we are to pray and feast in honor of our beloved dead. After reading this article, I can only echo her call to “sprinkle some Catholicism in your Halloween.” As Catholics we must always be careful to avoid participating in any activities which might lead ourselves and others deeper into sin but we also should attempt to live liturgically where possible by celebrating Catholic feasts like these.