We had a very small group today - just three kids - which ended up being a good thing because my presentation for today ended up being a bit half-baked. I certainly thought I was more prepared than I was! That said, I think what I put together is a good foundation for future discussion on Allhallowtide, spanning Oct 31-Nov 2.
I started off by asking the children what happened last night. I got answers like trick or treating and dressing up because it was Halloween. From that, I introduced them to Allhallowtide. I explained that Sunday was All Saints’ Day, when we celebrate all holy people. Hallow means “saintly”, and the two “e”s in Halloween stand for “eve”. So Halloween literally refers to “the day before the day of the saints”, ie, All Saints’ Day. This is followed by Nov 2, All Souls’ Day, or the Day of the Dead, when we honour our ancestors.
I explained that the things we do on Halloween are based on older traditions. For example, trick or treating for candy comes from the tradition of “souling”. People, usually poor people of the community, would go from house to house saying they would pray for the souls of the inhabitants and their friends. In return, the people in the house would give the people soul cakes. I realized after that I should have baked some soul cakes for sharing with the kids, and even found what looks to be a good recipe...
I present...
I started off by asking the children what happened last night. I got answers like trick or treating and dressing up because it was Halloween. From that, I introduced them to Allhallowtide. I explained that Sunday was All Saints’ Day, when we celebrate all holy people. Hallow means “saintly”, and the two “e”s in Halloween stand for “eve”. So Halloween literally refers to “the day before the day of the saints”, ie, All Saints’ Day. This is followed by Nov 2, All Souls’ Day, or the Day of the Dead, when we honour our ancestors.
I explained that the things we do on Halloween are based on older traditions. For example, trick or treating for candy comes from the tradition of “souling”. People, usually poor people of the community, would go from house to house saying they would pray for the souls of the inhabitants and their friends. In return, the people in the house would give the people soul cakes. I realized after that I should have baked some soul cakes for sharing with the kids, and even found what looks to be a good recipe...
I present...
SOUL CAKES!
Something to do next year, I guess.
We also discussed dressing up in costumes and its origins in Mumming. I showed them pictures of mummers all dressed up, either going door to door or presenting street plays. We also discussed the origin of the Jack-o-Lantern. Originally, Jack-o-Lanterns were carved out of turnips (which must have been very difficult indeed!). It switched to pumpkins after the tradition came to North America. Finally, we discussed the Day of the Dead and how it is celebrated in many parts of the world and is a fun celebration. One of the children present that day is Mexican, and told us about how it was a public holiday in Mexico and how it was not a sad event, even though it celebrated lost loved ones.
We also discussed dressing up in costumes and its origins in Mumming. I showed them pictures of mummers all dressed up, either going door to door or presenting street plays. We also discussed the origin of the Jack-o-Lantern. Originally, Jack-o-Lanterns were carved out of turnips (which must have been very difficult indeed!). It switched to pumpkins after the tradition came to North America. Finally, we discussed the Day of the Dead and how it is celebrated in many parts of the world and is a fun celebration. One of the children present that day is Mexican, and told us about how it was a public holiday in Mexico and how it was not a sad event, even though it celebrated lost loved ones.
I finished the session by giving the children the following page:
Courtesy of: http://looktohimandberadiant.blogspot.ca/2014/10/finding-truth-in-halloween-repost.html
I think if I were to do this again, I would probably discuss Allhallowtide as a whole, dropping most of the Halloween information and focussing on the Souling (by bringing Soul Cakes) and talking more about Day of the Dead. I’d probably look for a different colouring page with pictures of saints on it (like this one: http://audreyeclectic.blogspot.ca/p/printables.html).
Last year, Children’s Liturgy happened on Nov 2 and I had the children bring pictures of relatives who had died and we set up an altar with decorations. I think setting up an altar as example would have been a nice touch. Lots of ideas for next year!
Thankfully, it happens every year, so there is always an opportunity to improve.