Bring The Communion Of Saints To Your Celebration Of Halloween In A Catholic Home

Celebrating Catholic feasts, such as Halloween in a Catholic home, solidifies basic Christian truths and gives children a true sense of being Catholic. They’ll never feel like they are missing out by not celebrating any of the secular, pagan celebrations taking place during Halloween, but rather will be immersed in the faith of our fathers and learn all about the sacred reality of the Communion of Saints.

Kathleen Bowen

October 30, 2024

Celebrating feast days is one of the best ways that mothers can hand down the faith to the next generation. The belief in the Communion of Saints is the focus of All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

The Church Triumphant are those who fought the good fight and are now in heaven because they won the battle against sin and vice and chose Christ.

Many of them have been raised to the altars to be set before us as examples of heroic virtue while others are known only to God.

And celebrating Halloween in a Catholic home is all about honoring these saints.

Return To Catholic Halloween Fun With The Spiritual Celebration: A Parade of Saints

On All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween in a Catholic home) children dress up as their patron or other favorite saint.

Children love retelling the stories about their saint as they parade one at a time in an effort to win the honor of being awarded the prize for the best costume.

READ: Halloween For Kids Is Wholesome With These Fun All Hallows Eve Party Ideas

During this show and tell, children learn that the saints are in heaven praying for them and all the Church Militant as they prepare to go out in the world to spread and defend the one, true Faith.

Bring The Four Last Things In And Add A Bit Of Spooky To Your Halloween In A Catholic Home With A Visit To The "Graveyard"

A fun way to sprinkle in a little of the spooky while still keeping with the theme of the Communion of Saints is to create a “cemetery” in your yard by mounding up dirt (or leaves!) to resemble graves.

On each of these graves put phony headstones that read:

• “Departed Family”, 
• “Departed Friends”, 
• “Departed Clergy” and 
• “The Forgotten Dead” 

READ: Watch Snippets From The Life Of A Saint Come To Life Through These Short Films

This decoration further serves as a reminder to pray for the poor souls throughout the month of November. This is a very important part of celebrating Halloween in a Catholic home!

Setting up a room or corner to represent hell during All Hallows’ Eve is also well liked by children and impresses the important truth of the four last things: death, judgement, heaven, hell.

A hell room can be a closet with eerie music playing and lights flickering like flames.

The entrance can be covered with a white sheet and above the door a sign that reads, “Abandon hope all ye who enter here,” should be affixed.

Inspire Compassion In Your Kids: Remind Them Of The Souls In Purgatory

As part of the observance, it is imperative to ask children to pray for the holy souls in purgatory, the Church Suffering.

These poor souls can do nothing for themselves so children must be taught that their prayers and good works, especially earning indulgences for them, can help these holy souls be purified and get to heaven.

Make a poor soul list for your children to pray for during the month of November. After you’ve carved pumpkins, eaten soul cakes and bobbed for apples give each of your children a bag of candy with the names of the poor souls stapled to it.

This way the fast before the feast can be observed as you ask them not to partake in their candy until after All Saints’ Day Mass and to pray for that list of poor souls throughout the month of November.

It is easy for children to forget to pray for the poor souls, but they never forget that they have a bag of candy. Having them associated is a great way to remind kids to pray for the poor souls.

Bring On The Pomp And Splendor When You Celebrate All Saints' Day On November 1st!

All Saints’ Day should be observed with as much solemnity as other big feasts such as Christmas and Easter. Serve a special family meal and pray the litany of the saints as part of your family Rosary.

On All Souls’ Day, take your children to a cemetery and pray for the faithful departed. Under the usual conditions, there is a special plenary indulgence that can be obtained for the poor souls for praying at a cemetery any day between November 1st-8th.

READ: All Saints' Day Crossword!

Reciting the “Dies Irae” is a rich addition to the family Rosary on this day.

Celebrating these feasts solidifies basic Christian truths and gives children a true sense of being Catholic.

They’ll never feel like they are missing out by not celebrating any of the secular, pagan celebrations taking place during Halloween, but rather will be immersed in the faith of our fathers and learn all about the sacred reality of the Communion of Saints.

Kathleen Bowen is a wife and homeschooling mother of ten children. She began industriousfamily.com in 2013. As her children have grown, they’ve taken her down the path of Catholic moviemaking. Her family’s 5th film is currently in pre-production.