Window light campaign intended to ‘reclaim’ Halloween as Christian holiday

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London, England, Oct 14, 2010 / 12:43 am (CNA).- In an international effort to “reclaim” Halloween as a “joyful” Christian celebration, a founder of a U.K.-based Catholic community has asked Christians to place a light in their window on Oct. 31 as a sign of their faith.
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Damian Stayne, founder of the community Cor et Lumen Christi (Heart and Light of Christ), said the “Night of Light” initiative is the vigil of the Feast of All Saints, when Catholics celebrate “the glory of God in His saints, the victory of light over darkness in the lives of God’s holy ones in heaven.” Jesus is the “Light of the World” by whom the saints lived and became a beacon to their generation, he explained.
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catholicnewsagency.com/news/window-light-campaign-intended-to-reclaim-halloween-as-christian-holiday/
 
 
Personally I find the idea of eating cross-shaped candy a tad distasteful, but I suppose it could be worse.
 
americancatholic.org/newsletters/cu/ac1099.asp

How Halloween Can Be Redeemed
by Page McKean Zyromski

Introduction to the 5 page article:

Halloween has grown into a major secular holiday in American culture. But for those who don’t value devotion to the saints, the Eve has become “hollow” instead of “hallow.” The purpose behind it has been lost—like celebrating New Year’s Eve without a New Year’s Day. Take away the saints and our beliefs about the dignity and destiny of human beings, and the only thing left is pre-Christian superstition regarding the dead.
 
This is cute:

Pumpkin Carver’s Prayer

Dear God,

As I carve my pumpkin help me say this prayer:

Open my mind so I can learn about You; (Cut the top of the pumpkin)

Take away all my sin and forgive me for the wrong things I do. (Clean out the inside)

Open my eyes so Your love I will see; (Cut the eyes out in heart shapes)

I’m so sorry for turning up my nose to all you’ve given me. (Cut a nose in the shape of a cross)

Open my ears so your word I will hear. (Cut the ears shaped like the Bible) - we did rectangles

Open my mouth so I can tell others You’re near. (cut the mouth in the shape of a fish)

Let Your light shine in all I say and do! Amen. (Place a candle inside and light it)
 
Pumpkin Prayer Idea #2

Before class, carve a pumpkin and keep the pieces intact. Cut eyes, ears, mouth, nose and cut a circle around the stem. Remove the seeds and pumpkin gunk, put it in a plastic bag and return it to the inside of the pumpkin. Put the eyes, ears, nose and mouth back in the cut-out holes and replace the lid. Have a candle and long-stemmed lighter ready.

Gather the children around the pumpkin and pray this prayer:

Lord, open my mind so I can learn new things about you and the world you created. (Remove the top of the pumpkin.)

Remove the things in my life that don’t please you. Forgive the wrong things I do and help me to forgive others. (Pull out the bag of seeds.)

Open my eyes to see the beauty you’ve made in the world around me. (Remove the eyes.)

Open my ears when I hear your word, so I may learn how you want me to live. (Remove the ears.)

I’m sorry for the times I’ve turned up my nose at people who are different from me, but who are your children, too. (Remove the nose.)

Let everything I say please you. (Remove the mouth.)

Lord, help me show your light to others through the things I do. (Place a candle inside and light it.)

Amen.

Read more at Suite101: The Religious Side of Halloween: Pumpkin Stories for Catholic Religion Classes suite101.com/content/the-religious-side-of-halloween-a30160#ixzz12SESy9OU
 
I appreciate the links, but the reason I posted this is so people could discuss the article. Could you please make your posts go in that vein? I dont’ want the thread deleted.
 
I highly doubt that many parents or children will have their attention drawn to a light in a window at Halloween.

Yes, if the light is a blinking sign that reads “All Holy Saints’ Eve”.

A pumpkin carved with religious symbols, yes.

Religious themed candy and holy cards, yes.
 
I wonder what method people might use for this. I like the idea of a candle but that’s a little dangerous, unless you have a wide window sill and no nearby curtains.
I might do something like this if I can figure out the logistics, especially since we no longer carve a pumpkin.

I liked this part of the article:
“The celebration of feast days is an important part of our Catholic culture. On the evening of 31st October why not do something to make your faith respectfully seen and heard? Light a candle or display publicly another kind of light, for example, perhaps alongside an image of Christ.”
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This will be interesting especially as we Pagans have more or less claimed this as our Holy Season. I wonder how the coming spiritual and sometimes legal battles will go…
 
torch621 said:
I appreciate the links, but the reason I posted this is so people could discuss the article. Could you please make your posts go in that vein? I dont’ want the thread deleted.
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I think the Catholics who have responded so far are supportive of the idea expressed in the article. Whether or not they formally participate with the organization mention, they agree with the perspective of reclaiming Halloween as rooted in Christian tradition.

BTW, here is the website for the organization mentioned in the article:
nightoflight.org/
 
Dale_M said:
I think the Catholics who have responded so far are supportive of the idea expressed in the article. Whether or not they formally participate with the organization mention, they agree with the perspective of reclaiming Halloween as rooted in Christian tradition.

BTW, here is the website for the organization mentioned in the article:
nightoflight.org/
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All I can say is it’s about time somebody did something.
 
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