Hallows Eve-- Tutti Santi/All Saints

The word Hallowe'en is a contraction of "Hallowed evening". Hallowed is
an old English word for "holy" — as in "Hallowed be Thy Name", in the Lord's
Prayer.
Why is this evening "hallowed"? Because it is the eve of the Feast of
All Saints — which used to be called All Hallows. Like Christmas Eve and New
Year's Eve, and the Easter Vigil, the Church's celebration of her greatest
feasts begins the evening before. (This follows the ancient Jewish practice of
beginning the celebration of the Sabbath at sundown on Friday evening.)
We
need to begin to re-Christianize Hallowe'en by repairing the broken link to its
Christian meaning and significance. We need to reattach it to All Saints Day —
and to All Souls Day, for it is only in relation to this that we can understand
the original and true significance of the "hallowed eve".
Excerpt from
article by Helen Hull Hitchcock http://www.wf-f.org/Hallow-Saints.html



I printed these out because having grown up in Italy I have a
different view of Halloween. In fact, in Italy we do not celebrate Halloween at
all as a pagan/harvest festival. It is a festivity dedicated to all Saints (and
I believe Christians are all saints) and for Souls Day, we pay respect to those
who have gone before us. We dress up and have fun with “tricks” and games on
Carnival, which comes around February before Lent and Easter.

~~This up here is what we printed out and put next to our door outside. We are still inviting the kiddos and the adults to ring the door bell tonite and get some little treats (I got mostly chocolate for some reason!). I never really thought about doing Halloween. We have a few friends who do not celebrate it at all. I was talking to one of them recently. We were at the storytime at the library and they were, in preparation of Halloween, reading books about it and making a "halloween wreath" for craft time. She wished she hadn't come because now she had to explain to her 3 year old daughter why they didn't do it. I am going to dress Jeremiah for a picture, maybe go out to the court square and connect with the community. I do not fear the "evil" and "devil" stuff that is part of this festivity. I am told to only fear God! And He is greater than all that. However, I do not want to associate with that stuff either.

We talked about how nice it is to dress up and all, so I thought about Carnevale, the time before Lent around February, when we dress up in Italy. I think that is what I wish to do with my family, with Jeremiah as he grows up and Lord willing other children he will bring to our family. I always loved Carnevale growing up, it will be a great alternative to Halloween that will give us the opportunity to have fun with dressing up in costumes and connecting with our Italian heritage.

(I do think though that as long as we live in the states I will try and celebrate 'harvest time' as opposed to Halloween so to still have something going on, just like the churches here usually have a 'fall fest' for the kids and families)

I already have an idea of what I want to dress up like for Carnevale. But does anyone else have some neat and unique suggestions for a costume?

The Constant of Change

Yes we moved. We had a baby, we made BIG plan changes, and we moved back to Searcy. Never thought we would, but here we are. I am hopeful, if not even excited, about some of the changes. First Jon is going to go back to school and get a second B.A. in Computer Science at Harding. He is now working in the IT department, learning about computers and such. All that kind of stuff (programming, software, web development) that goes way above my head. Glad he is the logic one, the one I turn to when I have problems with my blog or email :)
This is the reason behind the move. We don't plan to stay here any longer than what it takes Jon to get his degree and than find a job and a place where we can make a difference. We still want to do that. Though we have no idea how.

It hurts a little to change. We had planned to go to Milano, Italy, and work with the Shorts there. We wish we could, but Jon is not ready. His heart is not yet confident in what God's purpose is for him. And I am proud of him for stepping up, admitting such a difficult thing about himself, and realizing that he must 'seek' out what God has in store for him and for us as a family. It takes courage to change and do what is right, even when it hurts.

It has been emotional, this change. I miss Italy, and desire to go back there (although I know that in my mind I probably have it painted much nicer than what it really would be). I miss our friends and we hurt for the Church there, wanting to encourage and love them. But I am reminded of my vows: "Where you go I will go" and I am learning to stay faithful to them, both physically, but also emotionally and menatlly. Learning to become one is an everday process.