Christians celebrate All Saints Day on November 1, and Halloween, or "All Hallows Eve," was born as a vigil celebration in preparation for the solemnity. Over the years it became transformed into a secular holiday, focusing more on door-to-door candy collection and clever costumes than on the spiritual origins of the day.
One Filipino archbishop expressed his regret that Halloween, like other holidays, seems to have lost its religious character and is now just a secular feast. "Unfortunately, secular, consumerist and pagan practices have seeped into what was sacred and spiritual in our religious observances," he wrote in a circular letter to the faithful of his diocese.
Now, however, many Christian families are crusading to put the "holy day" back in the holiday.
"Let's resolve to take back the holiday," writes Christian author Angelo Stagnaro, "and celebrate it as it was originally intended: a spiritual preparation for the two more important holidays following it: All Souls Day and All Saints Day. For years, my parish school has had the delightful custom of asking students to dress as their favorite saints for their Halloween party."
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