Halloween

To say I like Halloween is an understatement of sorts. A lot of my friends don't participate in Halloween activities because of the thought that it is celebrating evil. In Catholic Doctrine, Halloween came about as all Hallow's eve(All Soul's Day), which is a MAJOR holy day and precursor to All Saints Day (Nov 1). On All Soul's Day, you pray for the dead and their souls, so if they are in Purgatory (the space between heaven and hell), they will go to heaven because of our prayers and pentence for them.

So all Soul's Day is a day of prayer and repentance for Catholics. According to my catechism classes, you dress up as the person who died to celebrate their lives and pray for them. Of course, American's had to commercialize it and make it into a day of making money instead of what it really is, a day of prayer for your dearly departed. I buy into the part of the commercialization by dressing up in costumes and passing out candy, well eating the candy I am supposed to be passing out. I love seeing the kids dressed up in their costumes and parading about the neighborhood asking for treats. It provides an opportunity to pretend to be something fun for the day.

This me having fun in my costume

This year Halloween took on a new meaning for me. I prayed for by abuela who passed away and prayed that she will help me to not grieve so much for her, to not miss her so much. It hasn't worked yet, but I am hoping it will soon.