The Little Way: Feast of All Saints

Today is the Feast of All Saints, which is celebrated every November 1. It was originally called The Feast of All Martyrs and was celebrated on May 13. The words “martyr” and “saint” originally meant basically the same thing — someone who is a witness to Christ even unto death. The date was changed to November 1st in the ninth century by Pope Gregory IV.

In 1484 Pope Sixtus IV established November 1 as a holy day of obligation. The vigil for this feast day was known as “All Hallow’s Eve,” today called by its shorter version. Hallowed means holy (as in “hallowed be Thy name”). The abbreviated name for evening became “e’en” and this is where we get the name “Halloween.”

Instead of focusing on the scary aspects of the "Halloween" that our modern culture celebrates, let us think about those who have gone before us. The Saints that have persevered in holiness and faithfulness, setting before us the way unto salvation of our souls. By celebrating them and learning about them, we can teach our children about true heros that they can look up to and model their lives after.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, anoint us with the oil of joyfulness in the midst of our sufferings and the gift of perseverance during persecution, that we may run the race of those saints who have gone before us, keeping our eyes on the crown of glory and eternity with You. Amen.

How we celebrated:

We went to Mass. Our homeschool group had an All Saints Party. It was so much fun for the children and parents alike. The Saints paraded in while singing "When the Saints go Marching In" The younger children played a game of guess the Saint. They dressed in costume and gave 3 facts about their Saint and the other children tried to guess who they were. After that the 5th and 6th graders acted out a scene from the life of St. Clare. It was very dramatic and moving. The 7th and 8th graders decorated a portion of the gym as heaven and dressed as Angels and Saints so the younger grades could take a "walk through heaven." After this there were different booths and games. I enjoyed setting up and managing the St. Martha's Bakery Booth - Decorating Holy Cookies. The booth was a big hit and while most of the "Holy" cookies seemed to be more of an attempt to pile the most icing on a cookie, there were a few that stood out. In particular a Santa Hat made by a second grader, a Dove made by a 5th grader, and one profound lad explained to me that his cookie with yellow, white, and red squiggly icing depicted heaven, earth and hell. Pretty profound for a cookie!