We are all
familiar with tomorrow’s Holy Day of Opportunity, the Solemnity of All Saints,
but did you know that what we now call Halloween
was once part of a mini-triduum of sorts, Allhallowtide? According to ChurchPOP, Christians have been
celebrating All Saints’ Day, known as Hallowmas,
since the first millenium, to honor all those great saints and
martyrs whose lives we couldn’t celebrate during the rest of the year (because,
to be frank, we just ran out of days!).
The Vigil for this feast was All
Hallows’ Eve, and was originally a day of fasting and prayer. Much later, St. Odilo of Cluny added All
Souls’ Day (November 2) to the calendar, to remember the rest of the faithful
departed. And believe it or not, in the
15th century, this three-day celebration was extended into an entire octave – a
whole week of praying for the dead, saints and sinners (though this was
eliminated by Pope Pius XII).
So pray for the
dead tonight, on Halloween, and
throughout the month of November. Add
the names of your departed family members and friends to the Book of
Remembrance in the church. And watch
this blog for more posts meant to help us remember all those who have gone
before us…
During the month of November, we
remember all souls…
Information source: The Triduum of Death: The Forgotten Season of Allhallowtide
For more
information on how Christianity co-opted some of the symbols associated with
pagan celebrations at this time of year, click here.
