We approach the three-day festival during which the land of the living and the land of the dead become open to each other. The English version of this festival is, or was, known as Allhallowtide. In its Christianized version, October 31 is All Hallows Eve, or Hallowe’en; November 1 is All Saints Day; and November 2 is All Souls Day. Everyone knows about Halloween, and if you grew up Catholic you might know that All Saints Day is a “holy day of obligation,” which means you have to go to Mass. Looked at imaginatively, the three days reflect the three realms of the Catholic Christian Otherworld: hell, heaven, and purgatory. Halloween has infernal associations, which is why children may dress up as ghosts, skeletons, witches, and the like. All Saints celebrates the blessed, especially the martyrs. And All Souls is the day in which people are encouraged to pray for the souls in purgatory.
October 28, 2022
October 28, 2022
October 28, 2022
We approach the three-day festival during which the land of the living and the land of the dead become open to each other. The English version of this festival is, or was, known as Allhallowtide. In its Christianized version, October 31 is All Hallows Eve, or Hallowe’en; November 1 is All Saints Day; and November 2 is All Souls Day. Everyone knows about Halloween, and if you grew up Catholic you might know that All Saints Day is a “holy day of obligation,” which means you have to go to Mass. Looked at imaginatively, the three days reflect the three realms of the Catholic Christian Otherworld: hell, heaven, and purgatory. Halloween has infernal associations, which is why children may dress up as ghosts, skeletons, witches, and the like. All Saints celebrates the blessed, especially the martyrs. And All Souls is the day in which people are encouraged to pray for the souls in purgatory.