This is so interesting and informative! I, too, love the three-day celebration of Halloween, All Saints, and All Souls. I see Halloween, especially our modern trick-or-treating tradition, as an opportunity to face the darkness with togetherness and banish fear. I love the idea of spending some time with the older traditions of these three days in order to consider deeper meanings that may be in line with human needs.
This is a wonderfully informative post, Kristin! I so appreciate the way you present the liturgical calendar alongside world history, while always being respectful of folkways. This statement is absolutely perfect:
"When looking at the history & heritage of these feasts, I like to approach them with curiosity & humility - and an awareness that none of us has a truly definitive, clear view of what life or motivation in these historical periods was really, truly like experientially, since we’re peering through the veil of time."
I, too, approach customs with curiosity and humility. As I get older I recognize I will never have enough time to gain all of the knowledge required to fully comprehend 'what came before me.' Instead, I try to learn as much as I can and interpret information based on my knowledge at the time. The Hallowmas mystery -- how exactly it came to be in its current incarnation -- is wonderfully interesting!
Thank you for sharing a brief history of the many theories -- this is a topic near & dear to my heart. ♡
I'm so glad you enjoyed reading it and connecte with these thoughts! You're so right...no matter how much knowledge we gain about these historical periods, we can never fully understand them. We come to them bringing too much of our own preconceptions and contexts...but it's still wonderfully comforting to reach across time and find familiarity and kinship nonetheless, isn't it?!
My brief foray into more evangelical churches where Halloween is feared as satanic showed me how much we miss when we leave the knowledge and history of tradition behind. This is such a rich time of year. Harvest festivals are fun but they miss the big picture. Researching about my ancestors and visiting the sacred places they are buried in this time of year is incredibly comforting. Love everything about this post--even the mentioning of hospitality. Something I’m grappling with right now.
I'm so glad you enjoyed - and yes, I totally agree...it's a real loss when so much historical context and tradition gets swept under the rug. I've also felt that about harvest festivals - they're all well and good, but not a replacement for the depth of Hallowtide.
Hospitality can be a tough thing, can't it?! It's so nuanced. I'm grappling alongside you.
After wanting to restack a sentencer from every paragraph.. I decided I needed to chill out and maybe just react with a comment..
I've learned so much here. Perhaps too much to process at once! But I'm grateful and will be thinking of what it looks like to incorporate the true triduum of this time of year into my life. It may be as simple as verbally recognizing it and praying through it this year as I'm reading this the day before Halloween, but I'm excited about what this has shown me. The liturgical calendar is so much more rich than I've truly realized.
Also, that first photo of your family's pumpkin patch.... wow! What a beaut! My wife and I are on a decent sized chunk of land now and my wheels are spinning as to what we could really do with it.
Oh how I wish we lived near each other so I could take my children to visit your farm! I mentally transported there as I read your introduction!
I love all of the information in here! I agree there is no way of knowing how all of this overlapping works. But there is so much to that has been combined over the years, like how the ancient celts used to dress up and leave out treats to ward off the “evil” faeries…the veil thinning and our ability to be closer to the dead, etc…. I think the church is a great starting point, as you shared, and there is just so much more to dive into to get to know our roots so to speak, and take what parts resonate for us. No matter what it is a time to reflect on our own lives, prayer for loved ones lost and also enjoy some candy (ha!)!
Can’t wait to see what else you share for this month! 🤍
I'm so glad you enjoyed reading! And I totally agree - Halloween is filled with an accumulation of so many various regional traditions over all these years. I LOVE seeing all the syncronicity between different traditions and cultures. (Sidebar: I get really excited about this when it comes to landscape, as well! So, holy wells, etc.)
I really appreciate your approach to the triduum of the season. I never thought of it that way. An inverse to Easter and harvest an inverse to lent as we are bringing in the abundance. The opposite side of the liturgical calendar. This was a really informative piece. Bravo🙏
Bless you! I'm so glad you enjoyed this...Hallowtide holds a really special place in my heart, and I feel like it is SO full of potential for shepherding faithful growth.
Thank you! My daughter has an October birthday and has always been excited for fall and Halloween. This year, she's started asking if we can decorate for Halloween. We have many in our neighborhood who go super gruesome/spooky in their decorations, so I'm starting to explore ways to decorate with the historical/spiritual context of Halloween in mind (as well as to talk about how a modern celebration of Halloween contrasts with it's liturgical beginnings). This article came at the perfect time!
Oh Laura, I'm so glad to hear that this found you at the right time! Two of our kids were born in October (one actually *on* Halloween!), so I very much understand the birthday excitement in this month...alongside the onslaught of gruesome decor. I'm excited to hear about how you explore decorations this month. Always feel free to reach out if you want some camaraderie! (Also, happy birthday to your daughter!)
I love Halloween and the dark autumn and winter seasons. While I am very interested in Christian history, I lean more to pre-Christian "pagan" traditions and practice (raised Lutheran, then lived in strongly Catholic and later Buddhist and Hindu cultures) in my personal faith. I honor the change of seasons, the harvest, and the framework which Christianity later built upon. I've also had a lot of personal experience (of my own and from my mother) with the supernatural, and am very in touch with those aspects of the seasons, as well.
What a beautifully diverse faith context you've experienced! This dark half of the year really brings with it so much wonder and mystery. I feel like our ancestors were more attuned to that, since they didn't have as much distraction mediating it with technology.
This was so helpful! I’m looking forward to celebrating the entire season this year. Not in the secular way, but in this traditional, reverent way. It all makes sense in context.
Nice piece, thanks. In my researching for November, I did notice that in the 1962 English Benedictine breviary, they had All Benedictine Saints on 13th and All Benedictine Souls on 14th November. The only modern one I have is the Solesmes Congregation; they still have All Benedictine Saints but on 8th November. No Benedictine Souls day, though, which is a shame.
This is such a beautiful, nuanced perspective. I so appreciate how you’ve woven in superstition, hospitality, and historical curiosity. We’ve so much to learn from Hallowe’en.
Catie, thank you SO much for taking the time to share this - the Eastern calendar rhythms are one of the (many) areas that I lack much knowledge & experience in, and I'm so grateful to get to learn from you! I'm often so aware of how Western-centric (and also Northern-Hemisphere-centric) my experience with the liturgical calendar is.
I had no idea that Saturdays are dedicated to all souls...what a beautiful thing to have that commemoration embedded into the weekly cycles of worship. Halloween on October 31st must be so tricky, then! If you have any go-to books that you might recommend about the Eastern calendar, I'd be all ears!
Also, some friends & I have recently started a liturgical living guild here on Substack, and it would be so wonderful to have your voice contributing to it, if you're inclined to write any articles...our first main issue will launch Dec. 1 and is themed around Advent - though, of course, your observance of Advent is starting earlier, and I'd love to hear more about that! :)
This is so interesting and informative! I, too, love the three-day celebration of Halloween, All Saints, and All Souls. I see Halloween, especially our modern trick-or-treating tradition, as an opportunity to face the darkness with togetherness and banish fear. I love the idea of spending some time with the older traditions of these three days in order to consider deeper meanings that may be in line with human needs.
I'm so glad you enjoyed, Dixie! I feel the same way about trick-or-treating - heading out into the darkness to be in community.
This is a wonderfully informative post, Kristin! I so appreciate the way you present the liturgical calendar alongside world history, while always being respectful of folkways. This statement is absolutely perfect:
"When looking at the history & heritage of these feasts, I like to approach them with curiosity & humility - and an awareness that none of us has a truly definitive, clear view of what life or motivation in these historical periods was really, truly like experientially, since we’re peering through the veil of time."
I, too, approach customs with curiosity and humility. As I get older I recognize I will never have enough time to gain all of the knowledge required to fully comprehend 'what came before me.' Instead, I try to learn as much as I can and interpret information based on my knowledge at the time. The Hallowmas mystery -- how exactly it came to be in its current incarnation -- is wonderfully interesting!
Thank you for sharing a brief history of the many theories -- this is a topic near & dear to my heart. ♡
I'm so glad you enjoyed reading it and connecte with these thoughts! You're so right...no matter how much knowledge we gain about these historical periods, we can never fully understand them. We come to them bringing too much of our own preconceptions and contexts...but it's still wonderfully comforting to reach across time and find familiarity and kinship nonetheless, isn't it?!
My brief foray into more evangelical churches where Halloween is feared as satanic showed me how much we miss when we leave the knowledge and history of tradition behind. This is such a rich time of year. Harvest festivals are fun but they miss the big picture. Researching about my ancestors and visiting the sacred places they are buried in this time of year is incredibly comforting. Love everything about this post--even the mentioning of hospitality. Something I’m grappling with right now.
I'm so glad you enjoyed - and yes, I totally agree...it's a real loss when so much historical context and tradition gets swept under the rug. I've also felt that about harvest festivals - they're all well and good, but not a replacement for the depth of Hallowtide.
Hospitality can be a tough thing, can't it?! It's so nuanced. I'm grappling alongside you.
After wanting to restack a sentencer from every paragraph.. I decided I needed to chill out and maybe just react with a comment..
I've learned so much here. Perhaps too much to process at once! But I'm grateful and will be thinking of what it looks like to incorporate the true triduum of this time of year into my life. It may be as simple as verbally recognizing it and praying through it this year as I'm reading this the day before Halloween, but I'm excited about what this has shown me. The liturgical calendar is so much more rich than I've truly realized.
Also, that first photo of your family's pumpkin patch.... wow! What a beaut! My wife and I are on a decent sized chunk of land now and my wheels are spinning as to what we could really do with it.
Oh how I wish we lived near each other so I could take my children to visit your farm! I mentally transported there as I read your introduction!
I love all of the information in here! I agree there is no way of knowing how all of this overlapping works. But there is so much to that has been combined over the years, like how the ancient celts used to dress up and leave out treats to ward off the “evil” faeries…the veil thinning and our ability to be closer to the dead, etc…. I think the church is a great starting point, as you shared, and there is just so much more to dive into to get to know our roots so to speak, and take what parts resonate for us. No matter what it is a time to reflect on our own lives, prayer for loved ones lost and also enjoy some candy (ha!)!
Can’t wait to see what else you share for this month! 🤍
Aw, I'd SO love to have you and your kiddos out to the farm for some pumpkin fun! We have a couple photos of pumpkin season here in the meantime ;)
https://jubileefarm.org/2020-pumpkin-patch/
I'm so glad you enjoyed reading! And I totally agree - Halloween is filled with an accumulation of so many various regional traditions over all these years. I LOVE seeing all the syncronicity between different traditions and cultures. (Sidebar: I get really excited about this when it comes to landscape, as well! So, holy wells, etc.)
I really appreciate your approach to the triduum of the season. I never thought of it that way. An inverse to Easter and harvest an inverse to lent as we are bringing in the abundance. The opposite side of the liturgical calendar. This was a really informative piece. Bravo🙏
Bless you! I'm so glad you enjoyed this...Hallowtide holds a really special place in my heart, and I feel like it is SO full of potential for shepherding faithful growth.
Thank you! My daughter has an October birthday and has always been excited for fall and Halloween. This year, she's started asking if we can decorate for Halloween. We have many in our neighborhood who go super gruesome/spooky in their decorations, so I'm starting to explore ways to decorate with the historical/spiritual context of Halloween in mind (as well as to talk about how a modern celebration of Halloween contrasts with it's liturgical beginnings). This article came at the perfect time!
Oh Laura, I'm so glad to hear that this found you at the right time! Two of our kids were born in October (one actually *on* Halloween!), so I very much understand the birthday excitement in this month...alongside the onslaught of gruesome decor. I'm excited to hear about how you explore decorations this month. Always feel free to reach out if you want some camaraderie! (Also, happy birthday to your daughter!)
I have always loved owls
This is lovely
Thank you so much! Aren't owls such fascinating creatures?!
I love Halloween and the dark autumn and winter seasons. While I am very interested in Christian history, I lean more to pre-Christian "pagan" traditions and practice (raised Lutheran, then lived in strongly Catholic and later Buddhist and Hindu cultures) in my personal faith. I honor the change of seasons, the harvest, and the framework which Christianity later built upon. I've also had a lot of personal experience (of my own and from my mother) with the supernatural, and am very in touch with those aspects of the seasons, as well.
What a beautifully diverse faith context you've experienced! This dark half of the year really brings with it so much wonder and mystery. I feel like our ancestors were more attuned to that, since they didn't have as much distraction mediating it with technology.
This was so helpful! I’m looking forward to celebrating the entire season this year. Not in the secular way, but in this traditional, reverent way. It all makes sense in context.
I'm so glad you enjoyed! All this history helps me even see trick-or-treating in a fresh way.
Nice piece, thanks. In my researching for November, I did notice that in the 1962 English Benedictine breviary, they had All Benedictine Saints on 13th and All Benedictine Souls on 14th November. The only modern one I have is the Solesmes Congregation; they still have All Benedictine Saints but on 8th November. No Benedictine Souls day, though, which is a shame.
Ohhh this is fascinating - I'll need to dive down that rabbit-hole for sure. Thanks so much for sharing...the variations on this theme are endless!
Such beautiful ideas that add so much more meaning to this time of year.
I'm so glad this resonated with you!
This is such a beautiful, nuanced perspective. I so appreciate how you’ve woven in superstition, hospitality, and historical curiosity. We’ve so much to learn from Hallowe’en.
Thank you so much, Elizabeth - it's so wonderful to see you here! Hallowtide really does have so much depth to share with us.
I’m interested in supporting your work but I can’t access the link.
Thanks so much, Sharon - I'm so grateful for your support! Hmm, I'm sorry about the link...does this one work?
https://tinyurl.com/ca24bsbf
Wonderful resource! Job well-done✍️❤️
Thanks so much, Diane! I'm so glad you enjoyed it...this was a really fun piece to research and write.
Catie, thank you SO much for taking the time to share this - the Eastern calendar rhythms are one of the (many) areas that I lack much knowledge & experience in, and I'm so grateful to get to learn from you! I'm often so aware of how Western-centric (and also Northern-Hemisphere-centric) my experience with the liturgical calendar is.
I had no idea that Saturdays are dedicated to all souls...what a beautiful thing to have that commemoration embedded into the weekly cycles of worship. Halloween on October 31st must be so tricky, then! If you have any go-to books that you might recommend about the Eastern calendar, I'd be all ears!
Also, some friends & I have recently started a liturgical living guild here on Substack, and it would be so wonderful to have your voice contributing to it, if you're inclined to write any articles...our first main issue will launch Dec. 1 and is themed around Advent - though, of course, your observance of Advent is starting earlier, and I'd love to hear more about that! :)
https://signsandseasons.substack.com/
No pressure, of course...but if you have anything you'd like to share, we'd love to dig in and learn from you.
Thank you SO much Catie, these all look phenomenal - I'm excited to dive in and learn more!