Celebrating the Hallowed Days

I love these, especially the pro-life o’lantern!

One of the most wonderful times of the liturgical year is upon us, the Hallowed days; All Hallows Eve, All Saints, All Souls. Here are some ideas I’ve found for bringing these feasts home.

All Hallows Eve (Halloween, October 31st)

Does your family “do” Halloween? Both Atticus and I grew up celebrating, and I personally love it, so it will be part of our family’s tradition. This year, Maggie’s first Halloween, she’ll be dressing up and we’ll be going trick-or-treating with some friends of ours in their neighborhood. In fact, Maggie’s little friend is going to have the same costume.

in terms of celebrating this feast, there are so many options. Trick-or-treat or not? Harvest party or not? Scary costumes or not?

One writer from VirtuousPla.net had an excellent post about celebrating Halloween in the Catholic home. I love her idea of letting your child’s costume for Halloween be that of a saint who was a martyr. Saint Lucy, for example, and your daughter carries around fake eyeballs.

Her point being this:  “We’re Catholics, folks.  We own weird, bizarre, and even slightly creepy.  We reverence bone-y relics, we do exorcisms, we have holy cards of St. Peregrine showing off his cancerous leg.  We look death and evil squarely in the eyes and say, “Oh, it’s you” and roll over on our beds to go back to sleep.  We do this because we know that Christ has conquered death.”

Yes! Plus, who doesn’t love fun-size snickers?

Speaking of food, if you are planning to have a party or other gathering on All Hallows Eve, these “ghost” cookies from Catholic Cuisine are so cute!

Holy Ghost Cookies

• Nutter Butter Cookies
• Almond Bark
• Mini-Chocolate Chips

Take the Nutter Butter cookies and dip them in melted almond bark. Use mini chocolate chips for the eyes. Let set on waxed paper.

All Saints Day (November 1)

This is the day we reflect upon the life, death, and witness of the Communion of Saints, both those canonized and those known only to God.

There are so many ways to celebrate this very popular feast of the Church. In fact, one of the reasons I am head over heels in love with this feast is the sheer Catholic-ness of it.

Some ideas:

Listen to a requiem Mass, particularly Brahms, Mozart, or Verdi. Reflect on the beauty and meaning of the funeral Mass.

Take time to pray for the intercession of your (and your family’s) saint(s). For us that includes St. Bernadette, St. Thomas More, St. Margaret of Scotland, St. Gianna, and St. Michael.

You can make Saint O Lantern’s instead of Jack O Lanterns. So fun!

These St. Lucy cupcakes are awesome. Since I’m planning on naming a future child Lucy, this recipe is getting tucked away for future use. I may even make them this year, just because I love the eyes. Does that make me creepy or awesome? Probably both.

All Souls Day (November 2)

This might sound morbid, but part of the reason I enjoy the Hallowed days so much, and All Souls in particular, is because there a lot of dead people in my family. I like making a family altar in our dining room, with pictures of all our deceased loved ones, and offering part of our daily prayer for their souls.

We usually leave the photos and holy cards out for the whole month of November, since it is the month of the holy souls.

I wish I was Mexican, because it would be awesome to celebrate Dia del los Muertos, known for it’s macabre and colorful skulls. And this:

If a rosary were ever going to be described as “badass” it would be this rosary.

Even if you aren’t Mexican, your family can celebrate All Souls Day with some of the Dia del los Muertos traditions.

This site has recipes for Sugar skulls, Pan de Muertos, and skeleton cupcakes. I can’t wait until Maggie is old enough to make the sugar skulls, they look like a lot of fun to make and decorate.

Another way to remember your loved ones who have died is by making some of their favorite foods on All Souls Day. This year I’m going to make a Vegetable Pie, which was one of my mom’s favorite things to make and eat. I’ll share the recipe, in case you’re curious.

Mom’s Vegetable Pie

1.5 hours total, serves 6

1 prepared pie crust (either homemade or store bought, top and bottom)

8 oz. mushrooms (fresh or canned)

2 tablespoons butter

1 large head broccoli, chopped (or frozen)

8-10 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

3 large sweet potatoes, cooked (or 40 oz. can)

Preparation

1. Brown mushrooms in butter and add broccoli. Saute until soft. Meanwhile, bake bottom pie crust at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven.

2. Place cooked mushroom and broccoli in the bottom of the pie shell. Add shredded cheddar cheese on top of broccoli. Mash cooked sweet potatoes and spread evenly over cheese.

3. Place top crust on pie, adding slits for steam release.

4. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Do let me know if you try it! It might sound like weird ingredients, but it tastes so good together. Trust me.

There you have some ideas for celebrating the Hallowed days coming up, and I’d love to hear any of yours. Family traditions are a wonderful thing, so share your stories friends. Happy Hallowed days!